Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams
532 U.S. 105, 121 S. Ct. 1302, 149 L. Ed. 2d 234 (2001)
Supreme Court of the United States · March 21, 2001
What the court decided
The Federal Arbitration Act's exemption for "contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce" covers only transportation workers, not employment contracts generally.
Who won
The employer won. The Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit (5-4).
Why it matters for workers
Most workers' arbitration agreements are covered by the Act. The exemption is a narrow one for transportation workers.
Key passage: 532 U.S. 105 at 119.
Read the decision (PDF) Marked with official reporter pages for citation.
Source of the text: Library of Congress (official United States Reports, bound volume 532) — https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep532/usrep532105/usrep532105.pdf. This page summarizes the decision in plain language; the court’s own words are in the PDF above.