Retail Display Merchandiser Bypasses Arbitration in Wage Suit

Prime Retail Services Inc. can’t force a merchandiser to individually arbitrate claims that she and others weren’t compensated for off-the-clock work, after a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled they’re not bound by federal arbitration law.

Plaintiff Sarah Fraga’s merchandising work is “so closely related to interstate commerce” that she is “practically apart of it.” As such, Fraga qualifies for the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption for transportation workers, Judge William G. Young said Monday.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to consider the FAA’s transportation worker issue in a case between Southwest Airlines Co. and a cargo ramp supervisor employed at ...