Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21-309_o758.pdf
Page Number: 4

Cite as:  596 U. S. ____ (2022) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the 
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to 
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that 
corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

No. 21–309 
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SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO., PETITIONER v. 
LATRICE SAXON 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT 

[June 6, 2022]

 JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court. 
Latrice Saxon works for Southwest Airlines as a ramp su-
pervisor.  Her work frequently requires her to load and un-
load baggage, airmail, and commercial cargo on and off air-
planes  that  travel  across  the  country.    The  question
presented is whether, under §1 of the Federal Arbitration 
Act, she belongs to a “class of workers engaged in foreign or
interstate commerce” that is exempted from the Act’s cov-
erage.  We hold that she does. 

I 
Southwest Airlines moves a lot of cargo.  In 2019, South-
west carried the baggage of over 162 million passengers to 
domestic and international destinations.  Dept. of Transp.,
Bureau of Transp. Statistics (BTS), Passengers Southwest 
Airlines—All  Airports  (May  2,  2022)  (online  source  ar-
chived  at  www.supremecourt.gov). 
In  total,  Southwest 
transported  more  than  256  million  pounds  of  passenger, 
commercial, and mail cargo.  BTS, Air Carriers: T–100 Do-
mestic Market (U. S. Carriers) (May 2, 2022) (online source 
archived at www.supremecourt.gov). 

To  move  that  cargo,  Southwest  employs  “ramp  agents,”