BLS Blog

In Archer, et al. v Grubhub, Inc., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that § 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) applies to Grubhub delivery drivers.

The plaintiffs, former delivery drivers for Grubhub, commenced a putative class action against Grubhub in the Massachusetts Superior Court. The drivers alleged that Grubhub violated Massachusetts statutes, including the wage act (G.L. c 149, §§ 148 and 150), the tips act (G.L. c. 149, § 152A), and the minimum-wage act (G.L. c. 151, § 7).

In McCarthy v. Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, an employee brought a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging that the employer breached the parties’ contract by failing to pay the employee severance benefits. The employer moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the contract requires the parties to arbitrate disputes about its enforcement or interpretation. The employee counterargued that the contract, at the very least, is ambiguous. The arbitration provision, according to the employee, conflicts with the contract’s forum-selection provision. That latter provision states that “each party . . . consents to the jurisdiction of a competent court in Massachusetts to hear any dispute arising out of this Agreement.”