Delivery Drivers Deserve the Whole Package: Package Delivery Drivers and the Transportation Worker Exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act

Authors

Evan Kelly

Abstract

Package delivery is a ubiquitous part of modern American life, and package delivery driving is a fast-growing occupation in the United States. These drivers work long hours in a fast-paced, highly regimented environment, and because of arbitration agreements they are made to sign, they often cannot go to court to settle disputes with their employers. Under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), these arbitration agreements are generally “valid, irrevocable, and enforceable.” However, the FAA includes an exemption (known as the “Transportation Worker exemption”) that excludes arbitration agreements in “contracts of employment for seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of worker engaged in interstate commerce.” The Supreme Court has previously held that this exemption is “limited,” and only applies to transportation workers with a direct link to interstate movement. There is a circuit split around whether package delivery drivers fit into the exemption. The First and Ninth Circuits decided that package delivery drivers fit into the exemption based on a historical understanding of the FAA that embraces Supreme Court precedents from related statutes that more broadly define the boundaries of “engag[ing] with interstate commerce.” In contrast, the Fifth Circuit adopted a strict interpretation of the FAA and held that these drivers do not fit into the Transportation Worker Exemption. This Comment will argue that a broader historical understanding of the FAA is consistent with the scope and purpose of the statute and that package delivery drivers qualify for the exemption.

Recommended Citation

Evan Kelly, Delivery Drivers Deserve the Whole Package: Package Delivery Drivers and the Transportation Worker Exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act, 74 Cath. U. L. Rev. 344 (2025).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.edu/lawreview/vol74/iss2/9