AB5

The Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) has sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in hopes of receiving some clarification on what truckers should expect from the law.

The judge overseeing a major trucking industry challenge against enforcement of California’s new AB5 independent contractor law has lifted an injunction in the case after the U.S. Supreme Court failed to take up the matter.

The Supreme Court’s refusal to review a legal challenge to California’s so-called AB5 rule that covers classifying independent owner-operators as trucking company employees has large truckload carriers scrambling for a suitable Plan B.

The protests were in response to the United States Supreme Court’s having denied review—or Certiorari—of the Circuit’s reversal against the injunction of AB5 (Assembly Bill 5) in California, a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state.

The ongoing trucker protests in recent days over the implementation of AB5 are taking a toll on operations at the Port of Oakland. The protests are in response to the United States Supreme Court’s having denied review—or Certiorari—of the Circuit’s reversal against the injunction of AB5 (Assembly Bill 5) in California, a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state.

Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court denied review—or Certiorari—of the Circuit’s reversal against the injunction of AB5 (Assembly Bill 5) in California, a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state. As previously reported by LM, truck drivers are divided on AB5, which limits when workers can be contractors instead of employees. Some local port drayage operators supported the measure which would have limited owner-operators...

The owner-operator business model in trucking, an essential part of the industry that uses upwards of 1 million independent contractors at any given time, is under attack in California and the U.S. Congress in Washington.

There is one labor issue keeping trucking executives awake at night, and it concerns the legality of using owner-operators as independent contractors in California and elsewhere. The issue is whether these owner-operators can be legally classified as independent contractors or whether they are actually employees. If it’s the latter, trucking companies would be responsible for paying much higher costs in terms of Social Security contributions, workers compensation and other labor costs.

Top trucking executives are breathing a sigh of relief after a California judge recently issued an injunction against Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state. Truck drivers are divided on AB5, a California law that limits when workers can be contractors instead of employees. Some local port drayage operators supported the measure which would have limited owner-operators in that sector.