Southwest Wins Arbitration Bid Under State Law After SCOTUS Loss

A Southwest Airlines Co. ramp supervisor must arbitrate her federal wage claims against the company despite a US Supreme Court decision in her favor because state law provides an alternate means to move the case to private dispute resolution.

The high court expanded the reach of a Federal Arbitration Act exemption for transportation workers when it sided with Latrice Saxon last June. But Southwest can enforce the arbitration agreement Saxon signed with the airline under state law, which doesn’t include a similar exemption, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said.

The district court granted Southwest’s ...