Christopher Ward on Federal Arbitration Act – ‘It matters what a worker does’

Foley & Lardner LLP partner Christopher Ward is quoted in the Law360 article, “Airplane Servicers Nod to Justices, Reiterate That Fueling Isn’t Interstate Work,” offering perspective on the Federal Arbitration Act’s Section 1 exemption for transportation workers and its application in a wage and hour case centered on whether airline fuel pumping qualifies as interstate work.

Ward, who is representing the aviation services companies involved in the case, said the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Bissonnette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC made clear that for the Section 1 exemption, it matters what a worker does, and courts should not complicate it further.

“The easiest way to keep this simple is to have a direct relationship between the worker and the goods,” Ward added. “If you don’t have that relationship, it gets amorphous.”

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