The high court recently decided that distributors of baked goods like Tastykake and Wonderbread to various retailers could qualify for an exemption Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). An exemption would allow them to proceed with their wage and hour action.

The Case: Bissonette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC

The Court: U.S. Supreme Court

The Case No.: 23-51

The Plaintiff: Bissonette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC

The plaintiffs in the case, distributors of products made by Flower Foods, argued that they were misclassified as independent contractors and denied overtime pay and other paycheck protections they should have received if the company had appropriately classified them as employees.

The Defendant: Bissonette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC

The defendant in the case, LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC, argued that the FAA required that the suit be resolved out of court due to an arbitration clause in the distributors’ contract. However, the plaintiffs counter-argued that they were exempt from the act as workers engaged in interstate commerce (exemption found in Section 1 of the FAA exempts “workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce”).

The Case: Bissonette v. LePage Bakeries Park St. LLC

The question before the high court was whether or not the exemption applied to bakery workers or if it was only applicable to workers in the transportation industry. While a May 2022 ruling ruled that workers weren’t exempt because they primarily made money by selling baked goods, Judge Roberts noted the court’s last decision on a Section 1 exemption, Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon. In Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon, the court decided that the exemption application depends on a worker’s attributes - not those of the business they work for or the industry they work in. The judge pointed out that the language used in the exemption referenced the “worker” being “engaged” in commerce, which focuses on the performance of work rather than the industry of the company or employer.

If you have questions about how to file a California misclassification lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to help you in various law firm offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.