No Relief In Sight For Use Of Independent Contractors For Trucking Industry

BY JOHN H. SHAFFERY, ESQ. Poole Shaffery

Ongoing efforts are being made in an attempt to shield the trucking industry from AB5 enforcement.

AB5 is the rule adopted by California that makes it much more difficult to hire an independent truck driver and have them classified as such. It was adopted in 2019 and codified the “ABC test” for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The biggest thorn in the side of the trucking industry relates to the “B” prong of the test, which says that a worker can be considered independent if “the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.” So a trucking company hiring a driver to haul product presents a clear challenge.

Efforts have been made to impose a preliminary injunction to stay the enforcement of AB5 until the substance of the case can be resolved through the normal trial calendar, including a request that made its way to the United States Supreme Court. However, each of these requests have failed, to date. A preliminary injunction was temporarily put in effect on the grounds that AB5 appeared to be in conflict with federal law, but this was overturned on further appeal.

A new request for injunction has been made, however, a hearing on that matter will not occur until May 2023. Ultimately, it is looking less likely that a preliminary in- junction will be issued and that the hopes of striking down AB5, as it applies to the trucking industry, will need to wait until a case can be heard on at trial on the merits. Stay tuned for further updates on this issue in May 2023. As always, contact legal counsel with experience in this area, such as Poole Shaffery, when making independent contractor status determinations for your workers.