Archived SI output (machine-generated)

Re-decided holding: The FAA §1 exemption covers workers on intrastate legs of interstate journeys, consistent with the original meaning of 'engaged in interstate commerce.'

Mode: Scotus Opinion Generated by VFA SI Solutions Drafted: 2026.05.29

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Supreme Court opinion

Flowers Foods, Inc. v. Brock

Neil Gorsuch

Author
Neil Gorsuch
Filed
2026-05-28
Citation
—
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Archived SI draft (machine-generated)

Re-decided holding: The FAA §1 exemption covers workers on intrastate legs of interstate journeys, consistent with the original meaning of 'engaged in interstate commerce.'

Whether a worker who transports goods on an intrastate leg of an interstate journey qualifies for the §1 exemption of the Federal Arbitration Act without crossing state lines or interacting with vehicles that do.

Constitutional concerns with the original

  1. The majority's reliance on Commerce Clause precedents (e.g., The Daniel Ball) to interpret the FAA's language is probative but not a direct application of the statute's text; a stricter textualist would interpret 'engaged in interstate commerce' solely by its ordinary meaning at enactment, not by judicial gloss.
  2. The majority does not address whether applying the FAA to intrastate workers is within Congress's Commerce Clause power under the original meaning (which limited 'among the several states' to actual crossing of state lines), though the case does not raise a constitutional challenge.

Solution text

1) The question: Does a worker who transports goods only within one state, as part of a continuous interstate journey, qualify for the §1 exemption from compelled arbitration? 2) Relevant constitutional text: Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 gives Congress power to regulate 'Commerce . . . among the several States.' The FAA, enacted under this power, exempts workers 'engaged in . . . interstate commerce.' 3) Ratification-era understanding: At the Founding, 'commerce among the States' meant trade and transportation that crossed state lines, but by 1925 (when the FAA was enacted), the ordinary meaning of 'interstate commerce' included the continuous carriage of goods between states, even if some legs were intrastate. Dictionaries from 1925 define 'interstate commerce' as 'traffic or transportation between points in one state and points in another state,' which necessarily includes intrastate segments of a through journey. 4) Holding: Angelo Brock, who picks up Flowers Foods' products from a Colorado warehouse and delivers them to local stores as part of an interstate distribution chain, is engaged in interstate commerce within the meaning of §1. He need not cross state lines or interact with vehicles that do. 5) Downstream changes: Lower courts must apply this rule, overruling any precedent that required a bright-line state-line crossing. The FAA's exemption now clearly protects workers on the last mile of interstate delivery, ensuring they retain access to courts unless they explicitly waive that right.

Operative provisions

remedy
The judgment of the Tenth Circuit is affirmed. No additional funding is required. Funding source: N/A. Amount: $0. Sunset: N/A. Oversight: N/A. Enforcement: Federal courts shall apply this interpretation in all pending and future cases under 9 U.S.C. §1.
stare decisis treatment
This holding overrules any lower court decisions that require crossing state lines or interacting with vehicles that do. It does not disturb other FAA precedents unrelated to the §1 exemption.
scope of holding
This holding applies only to workers who are part of a continuous interstate journey, even if their specific leg is intrastate. It does not extend to workers whose activities are purely intrastate with no connection to interstate commerce (e.g., a local baker delivering only within a single state goods that never cross state lines).

Bipartisan rationale

A textualist holding honors both parties' constitutional traditions: Democrats may appreciate the protection of workers' rights to litigate rather than be forced into arbitration, while Republicans may appreciate the clear, originalist rule based on the statute's text and contemporaneous understanding, avoiding judicial activism. Both sides can agree that the rule respects the separation of powers and the original meaning of the Commerce Clause.

Constitutional citations

  • → Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (Commerce Clause)
  • → Tenth Amendment (reserving to states powers not delegated)
  • → Federal Arbitration Act §1, 9 U.S.C. §1

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 Amendment X

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Generated by VFA SI Solutions · 2026.05.29 06:03 UTC · ← Back to the Republic