Attorney General Bonta Joins Multistate Coalition in Defense of the Rights of Transportation Workers

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 18 attorneys general in an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Southwest Airlines v. Saxon to uphold the rights of transportation workers to resolve work-related disputes in court. The case centers around whether or not workers who load and unload airline cargo are subject to arbitration procedures under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which — with certain exceptions — generally requires the enforcement of private agreements for arbitration. Private agreements that mandate arbitration of wage and hour, discrimination, and other employment disputes have often been imposed by employers as a condition of employment and can leave workers with fewer tools for enforcing their rights, limiting transparency within the dispute resolution process. In the amicus brief, the coalition urges the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the appellate court decision confirming that airline cargo workers fall within the FAA's exemption.

“The law is clear: Cargo workers are an integral part of interstate commerce and Congress never intended the FAA to apply to them,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Transportation workers are entitled to a robust process to resolve disputes that may arise while on the job. Public court proceedings for workplace disputes protect worker rights, help states to ensure labor laws are being followed uniformly, and promote stability in industry. I respectfully urge the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the appellate court’s decision.”

The transportation sector plays a critical role in state economies and infrastructure, and a disruption in rail, airline, or shipping operations has the potential to impact nearly every aspect of commerce within a state. Accordingly, the state coalition has an interest in ensuring that disputes involving transportation workers are resolved in public and transparent proceedings. Public proceedings allow the states to monitor such disputes and respond as necessary, as opposed to private and confidential arbitration proceedings. Further, states have a longstanding interest in protecting their residents from unlawful working conditions, which includes ensuring that workers can avail themselves of the appropriate forum when seeking a remedy for unlawful conduct. When workers across the country are, as a condition of employment, subject to arbitration agreements — which typically include confidentiality provisions and other protectionist terms — it can make it more difficult for states to gather information about the pervasiveness of unlawful practices. A decision requiring transportation workers to arbitrate their claims could affect the amount of information that is made publicly available about the working conditions for cargo workers and potentially threaten state efforts to ensure the robust application of worker protection laws.

In the amicus brief, the coalition asserts: 

• Congress exempted transportation workers, including workers who loaded and unloaded cargo, from the FAA in response to the widespread economic and societal disruption caused by labor conflicts in the transportation industries;
• States have an interest in maintaining transparent and uniform dispute resolution procedures for transportation workers, including workers like the respondent who load and unload cargo; and
• States are better able to protect their economies and exercise their investigatory and enforcement powers when transportation-industry disputes are resolved in a transparent and public manner.

In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

A copy of the amicus brief is available here.