Nieto

*276 *70 Plaintiff Daniel Nieto was employed for many years as a delivery driver for defendant Fresno Beverage Company, Inc., doing business as Valley Wide Beverage Company (VWB). After being terminated from his employment, Nieto filed a class action lawsuit against VWB alleging various wage and hour violations under California labor law. VWB responded by filing a petition to compel arbitration, since Nieto had signed a written arbitration agreement when he was hired. VWB argued that under the Federal Arbitration Act ( 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., the FAA) Nieto must be ordered to arbitrate the dispute in accordance with the terms of the parties' arbitration agreement. Nieto opposed the petition, primarily arguing that his employment at VWB came within a statutory exemption to the FAA granted to transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce. Nieto reasoned that since the FAA did not apply, a California law allowing court actions on wage claims notwithstanding the existence of an arbitration agreement (i.e., Lab. Code, § 229 ) was not preempted by the FAA, meaning the lawsuit may proceed in court. The trial court agreed with Nieto's exemption argument and denied the petition to…