How far does the Federal Arbitration Act’s policy favoring arbitration go? Given the recent personnel changes on our highest court, the newest U.S. Supreme Court decisions on arbitration of employment disputes, Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon and Morgan v. Sundance Inc., shed light on the future of employment arbitration.
Both holdings limit the reach of mandatory arbitration, and in doing so, reprimand lower courts that overly rely on the FAA’s policy in their pro-arbitration decisions. And notably, both decisions are unanimous, making a strong statement about federal courts that overreach in a rush to favor arbitration.