A group of truck drivers filed wage claims with the California labor commissioner against a transportation company. The transportation company petitioned to compel arbitration based on agreements it had with each trucker.
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The labor commissioner and the truckers successfully opposed the petition in the trial court, but the court of appeal applied federal law under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and reversed the trial court’s ruling.
Performance Team Freight Systems is a motor carrier company involved in warehousing, shipping, and distributing merchandise from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to locations throughout California. Performance Team retained truck drivers as “independent contractors” to transport goods. From 2012 to 2014, a number of truck drivers filed wage claims with the California labor commissioner.
Performance Team filed a petition asking the trial court to compel arbitration of the drivers’ wage claims. The petition was based on a provision in the written “Independent Contractor Agreements” between Performance Team and the drivers that stated:
“Any dispute between the parties with respect to the interpretation or performance of the terms of this Agreement may be submitted to arbitration by reason of either party giving written notice of its desire for arbitration to the other party.”
Performance Team argued that the agreements were governed by the FAA and that the drivers’ claims were subject to arbitration. The labor commissioner and the drivers opposed the petition but submitted no corroborative evidence.