The Supreme Court of the United States today made a ruling on a case involving New Prime Inc., setting a precedent that affects more than just the Springfield trucking company.
The Supreme Court's 8-0 ruling came about after New Prime, dba Prime Inc., appealed a decision by lower courts prohibiting the company from forcing arbitration in a lawsuit involving one of its truck drivers. Justice Brett Kavanaugh recused himself since the arguments were made in October, before he joined the court, according to the
Supreme Court's ruling.
In the class-action suit filed in 2015, the driver, Dominic Oliveira, alleges a Fair Labor Standards Act violation against Prime for failing to pay its apprentices the lawful minimum wage. The Supreme Court ruling means Oliveira's suit can proceed.
At the crux of Prime's arbitration argument was that independent contractors, such as Oliveira, should not be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act. Oliveira argued a provision in the nearly century-old law excludes the employment contracts of transportation workers. Prime sought to invoke its authority under the act to compel arbitration, according to court documents.
Under his operating agreement with Prime, Oliveira is described as an independent contractor with a clause containing a mandatory arbitration provision. Prime attorneys have indicated the provision meant Oliveira could not use the Federal Arbitration Act clause as an argument.
Prime, according to court documents, sought to force arbitration, arguing "contracts of employment" referred to traditional employer-employee relationships and not independent contractors.
