The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case that could add further definition to the nearly 100-year old federal law that sets bounds for enforcement of private arbitration provisions in employment contracts. The March 28, 2022 arguments in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 21-309, addressed whether baggage handler supervisors who had sued the airline for overtime pay were performing job functions that were “engaged in interstate commerce” and thus fell within an exemption from being forced to arbitrate such claims under the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. § 1.
