AAJ, Public Justice Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Transportation Workers’ Access to Justice

AAJ, Public Justice Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Transportation Workers' Access to Justice

In joint amicus brief, AAJ and Public Justice ask the Court to reject Flower Foods' attempt to avoid accountability for wage and hour violations against its workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The American Association for Justice (AAJ) and Public Justice today filed a joint amici curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Flower Foods, Inc. v. Angelo Brock, urging the Court to reject Flower Foods' attempt to avoid accountability for wage and hour violations.

After being accused of wage and hour violations by its workers, Flower Foods, Inc. is trying - for the third time - to evade responsibility and force workers into a rigged and secretive arbitration process. The Supreme Court must now determine whether to accept Flower Foods' argument that employees are not exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) because they did not transport goods across state lines. Previously, the 10th Circuit denied Flower Foods' motion to compel arbitration.

In their amicus filing, AAJ and Public Justice urge the Court to uphold the 10th Circuit's decision and to clarify that any transportation worker engaged in interstate commerce, whether that's the long-haul driver moving goods across state lines or the driver making the delivery 15 minutes down the road, is exempt from the FAA and deserve the ability to seek justice in front of a judge and jury.

"The law clearly states that transportation workers should not be forced into arbitration," says AAJ President Bruce Plaxen. "This case is nothing more than another corporation's attempt to avoid responsibility for violating its workers' rights."

"We think the historical record is clear that, when Congress exempted certain workers from the FAA, it intended to exempt workers who, like Mr. Brock, make last-mile deliveries," said Shelby Leighton, senior attorney for Public Justice's Access to Justice Project. "We urge the Supreme Court to agree that Mr. Brock's claims are not covered by the FAA and can proceed in court."

Sachin Pandya, Roger Sherman Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law, also served as co-counsel for amici.