Bakery Driver Axes Wage Arbitration Bid, but Can’t Sue for Class

A driver who delivers baked goods for Flowers Foods Inc. qualifies for a transportation worker arbitration carveout, but his agreement with the company still blocks him from pursuing class or collective wage claims.

The driver’s delivery tasks fall under the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for transportation workers, so he can keep his wage claims in court, the US District Court for the District of Oregon said. But his “class and collective action waiver is distinct from” the rest of the arbitration agreement, and it’s still enforceable, the Wednesday opinion said.

Plaintiff Clint Porteous owns CPORT Distributing Inc., which entered ...