As March Madness gets underway, a California federal judge has called a flagrant foul and ejected the trucking industry from its ongoing battle to challenge Assembly Bill No. 5 (“AB5”)....more
3/18/2024
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Teamsters ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wage and Hour
On April 28, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the application of California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”) to motor carriers is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration...more
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court in Vasquez v. Jan-Pro Franchise International, Inc. held that the three-part “ABC” test previously set forth in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court also applies...more
In November 2020, a California state appeals court ruled in People of the State of California v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County and Cal Cartage Transportation Express, LLC that the Federal Aviation Administration...more
12/14/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Trucking Industry
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the recently passed Assembly Bill 5 (“AB-5”) codifying the Dynamex decision relating to the classification of independent contractors/employees in California and further “clarifying the...more
9/27/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Orders
Since then, many in the trucking industry have been considering and evaluating alternative ways to maintain a mechanism of dispute resolution through arbitration on an individual basis so as to avoid class actions, collective...more
8/29/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Collective Actions ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trucking Industry ,
Wage and Hour
The Ohio Trucking Association successfully led and won the fight to enact House Bill 62 (the “Bill”) in an effort to assist its members in standardizing the administrative processes that burden motor carriers using...more
In November, we documented a number of 2018 independent contractor-related developments in New Jersey since Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s inauguration in January, one of which was the filing by the NJDOL in August of an...more
On January 15, 2019, in a very disappointing decision for the trucking industry regarding the application of arbitration provisions in motor carrier-independent contractor service agreements, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
The significance and meaning of the midterm election results is obviously the subject of pervasive interest and intense debate, and the uncertainty of what comes next may be thrilling or terrifying, depending on one’s...more
11/16/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Election Results ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
FUTA ,
Governor Murphy ,
Independent Contractors ,
IRS ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
Trucking Industry
California Senate Bill No. 1402 (the “Act”) was recently signed into law by Governor Brown, further entrenching motor carriers, brokers and shippers into the on-going California independent contractor (IC) vs. employee...more
10/5/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Exporters ,
Forward Contracts ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Governor Brown ,
Importers ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
Shipping ,
Trucking Industry
As we are on the cusp of another football season throughout the country, where two-a-day practices and training camps are winding down, and final preparations are being made for the actual season, it may be worthwhile to...more
As has been widely reported, the California Supreme Court on April 30, 2018, issued a decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County that rejected a long-standing flexible, multifactor...more
On Monday, April 30th, the California Supreme Court issued a decision that the long-standing flexible Borello classification standard for employee versus independent contractor does not apply in the context of California wage...more
Recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed misclassification claims presented by an owner and his company holding that the Plaintiffs did not qualify as an ‘individual’ under Massachusetts...more
Recently the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia determined that Co-Defendants, Omnicare, Inc. (“Omnicare”) and Act Fast Delivery of West Virginia, Inc. (“Act Fast”) were acting as joint employers...more
A National Labor Relations Judge dismissed an action brought by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) regional director against Menard, Inc. (“Menards”) for misclassifying its independent contractor (“ICs”) drivers in...more
11/22/2017
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour
The ‘Agent Model’ is commonly used by motor carriers operating with independent contractors (“ICs”) to increase capacity in various markets. The model allows the motor carrier to align certain increased costs; e.g., sales,...more
Recently, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression (Oliveira v. Prime) further demonstrated the importance of choice of law provisions in Independent Contractor Service Agreements (“ICSAs”) as they...more
Courts continue to review the circumstances surrounding the degree of control exercised over transportation service providers. This has held true in several different segments of the transportation industry whether it is home...more
Two years ago in Flash No. 451, we wrote about the trial court decision in the Indiana case of Celadon Trucking Services, Inc. v. Wilmoth, et al., highlighting the importance of close attention to the “ingredients” of...more
Over the last two years, the Benesch Transportation & Logistics Team has written in various installments of the FLASH about the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149, §148B (the “Massachusetts...more
While the rest of the country was basking in the glow of the Cleveland Indians improbable trip to the World Series last week (ok so maybe just the City of Cleveland) the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals threw a knuckleball to...more
Disruptors Continue to Create Challenges for the Independent Contractor Business Model -
Our increasingly on-demand, technology-driven economy has been a petri dish for disruptive business models that are responsible...more
On May 11, 2016, the First Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in Massachusetts Delivery Association v. Healy (the “MDA case”) preempting Prong 21 of the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law (the “Massachusetts...more