⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Ninth Circuit considers whether a proposed class action by Oregon nurse Anna Ford belongs in federal court or arbitration. Ford alleges that St. Charles Health System failed to provide nurses with uninterrupted meal periods required by Oregon law. St. Charles says the nurses' collective bargaining agreement, their union contract, governs the dispute. The district court held that Ford's claims arise under state law and fall outside the contract's arbitration clause. St. Charles will argue that deciding the claims requires interpreting the union contract, so federal labor law preempts, or displaces, the state claims and sends the dispute to arbitration. Ford will argue that Oregon law controls. Both sides agree that without federal preemption, the federal courts lack jurisdiction and the case must return to state court.

Ford v. St. Charles Health System, Inc. (No. 25-855) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, argued July 7, 2026.