⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Supreme Court of the United States hears oral argument in Flowers Foods, Incorporated versus Brock, a dispute over whether local delivery drivers who never cross state lines fall within the Federal Arbitration Act's exemption for transportation workers. Flowers Foods produces packaged baked goods and distributes them using independent contractors who buy territorial rights. Angelo Brock signed a distributor agreement with an arbitration clause to deliver Flowers products in parts of Colorado. Flowers baked the goods out of state and shipped them to a Denver warehouse. Brock picked them up there and delivered them to retail stores, all within Colorado. When the relationship soured, Brock sued, alleging Flowers misclassified him to avoid paying proper wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Colorado labor law. Flowers moved to compel arbitration, but both the district court and the Tenth Circuit held that Brock qualifies for the transportation worker exemption in Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act. The question presented asks whether workers who deliver locally goods that have traveled in interstate commerce, but who themselves do not transport goods across borders nor interact with vehicles that cross borders, are exempt transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce. The case turns on how the Court interprets recent precedents and the statutory text of the FAA.

Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock (No. 24-935) — Supreme Court of the United States, argued March 25, 2026.