Tis Good to Be a Trucker....

Nieto v. Fresno Beverage Co., No. F074704 (D5 Mar. 22, 2019)

Plaintiff is a truck driver bringing wage and hour claims. His employment contract has an arb clause. But since he’s a transportation worker, a carve out in the FAA’s preemption clause means that state laws regarding the enforceability of arbitration contracts apply. It applies even though the routes Plaintiff drives are all within the State of California because his employer is clearly involved in an interstate business. Which means that Labor Code § 229—an oft-preempted statute that exempts wage and hour cases from arbitration—applies in full force. So the trial court correctly ruled that Plaintiff’s claims aren’t arbitrable.

Affirmed.