Supreme Court Broadens 2 Worker Liability and Arbitration Rulings in May 2026 Labor Roundup
Updated
Updated · Littler Mendelson PC · Jun 8
Supreme Court Broadens 2 Worker Liability and Arbitration Rulings in May 2026 Labor Roundup
1 articles · Updated · Littler Mendelson PC · Jun 8
Summary
May’s federal labor-law roundup was led by two Supreme Court rulings: negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers can proceed under the FAAAA safety exception, and some “last mile” delivery drivers can be exempt from arbitration.
Those decisions rejected bright-line limits on both broker liability and transportation-worker status, with the Court saying interstate commerce can include intrastate delivery legs and state tort claims against brokers are not currently preempted.
Appellate courts also tightened standards for labor and wage cases: the Sixth Circuit dissolved a Section 10(j) bargaining injunction for lack of clear irreparable harm, and the Second Circuit barred FLSA notice to out-of-state workers without personal jurisdiction.
Employer-friendly rulings continued elsewhere, including Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth Circuit decisions upholding employers on ADA telework, FMLA, First Amendment, Title VII vaccine-accommodation, race-discrimination and NLRA termination disputes.
Taken together, the May 2026 cases show federal courts refining limits on arbitration, injunctions, collective actions and workplace-accommodation claims while giving employers several procedural and merits wins.