June 29, 2021
A recent Eleventh Circuit ruling that suggested the Federal Arbitration Act may not cover "last-mile" delivery drivers shows how challenging it is to identify the law's scope, employment lawyers say.
December 18, 2020
Appellate courts handed down mixed rulings this year on whether gig-economy drivers are exempt from arbitration, and California courts issued decisions narrowing the scope of the federal government's preemption of certain regulations for airline and trucking workers. Here’s a look at some of the biggest rulings that impacted the transportation sector in 2020.
September 01, 2020
The First Circuit on Tuesday declined to revisit a panel's recent decision that Amazon delivery drivers are transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce even if they only make deliveries in one state, which allows their legal disputes to play out in court instead of private arbitration.
July 31, 2020
Amazon said Friday that a First Circuit panel cleared the way for rampant litigation when it upended the standard for enforcing workers' arbitration agreements by allowing a driver who only made local deliveries in one state to pursue his employment claims in court.
July 20, 2020
The First Circuit's finding that Amazon delivery drivers are exempt from mandatory arbitration clauses gives workers new ammunition to pursue employment-related court battles, spelling trouble for transportation, logistics and gig-economy companies that have banked on rigid contracts to derail class or collective disputes, experts say.
July 17, 2020
The First Circuit on Friday handed a big win to Amazon delivery drivers, saying they are transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce even if they only make deliveries in one state, clearing a path for their legal disputes to play out in court instead of private arbitration.
February 06, 2020
The size and scope of Amazon and the retail giant's reach may factor into whether local delivery drivers are interstate transportation workers exempt from arbitration, the First Circuit suggested Thursday as it heard arguments over whether the wage case should be arbitrated or proceed in court.
January 01, 2020
The commercial trucking, logistics and gig-economy industries' duels over the independent contractor status of drivers and couriers, as well as clashes over the scope of federal preemption are among the court battles that transportation attorneys will keep their eye on in 2020.
December 17, 2019
An Amazon delivery driver urged the First Circuit to reject the e-commerce giant's bid to limit an arbitration exemption only to transportation workers who "literally carry goods across states lines," saying a district judge properly kept his suit over allegedly unpaid wages and expenses in court.
November 22, 2019
The Washington Legal Foundation is urging the First Circuit not to allow an Amazon driver to "gut" the Federal Arbitration Act by stretching the exemption for transportation workers well beyond what Congress intended, backing the delivery giant in an effort to flip a lower-court ruling.