Ninth Circuit Rules Uber Drivers Must Arbitrate Classification Claims Because They Are Not Interstate Transportation Workers

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") exempts workers engaged in interstate commerce from enforcement of mandatory arbitration agreements. Uber drivers (and other drivers working in the gig economy) have frequently argued that they fit under this "interstate transportation" exemption in order to avoid arbitration of their claim that they have been misclassified as independent contractors. A growing number of courts across the country have rejected those arguments, however, finding that Uber drivers are not interstate workers because Uber's service is primarily local and intrastate in nature. Last week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals joined those courts, affirming a ruling from the Northern District of California that sent the Uber drivers' classification claims to arbitration.