One issue that continues to be debated in state and federal courts is whether delivery drivers who deliver takeout food and other prepackaged goods from restaurants, delicatessens and convenience stores fall into the class of transportation workers who are exempt from arbitration under Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. ' 1.
On July 27, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court joined numerous courts that have addressed this question in concluding that delivery drivers are not exempt from arbitration. In Archer v. Grubhub, Inc., the Court held that former delivery drivers for Grubhub did not fit within the narrowly defined class of workers engaged in interstate commerce ' e.g. railroad workers, seamen or other workers contemplated by Congress when enacting Section 1 of the FAA ' because they transported goods that had already completed their interstate journey by the time the goods arrived at the restaurant, delicatessen or convenience store. Case No. SJC-13228, 2022 WL 2964639, at *5 (July 27, 2022).
In reaching this conclusion, the Court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that they are...
