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
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied the California Trucking Association's (CTA) petition for certiorari related to a case involving federal preemption of California Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5), a law that changed the legal...more
In a brief one-line order, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the California Trucking Association’s petition to review a lower court ruling holding that federal law does not preempt California’s independent contractor law. The...more
Unfortunately, today, June 30, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a deeply disappointing loss to the transportation industry and supply chain interests throughout the country by declining to review the California Trucking...more
The transportation and logistics industry has been widely anticipating a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court as to whether or not it will accept for review two very significant cases involving the scope of the Federal...more
The highlights of independent contractor legal developments in November 2021 focus on interstate transportation workers. Questions addressed by the courts last month included whether ride-sharing workers classified as...more
In the latest chapter of the independent contractor or employee saga in California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in California Trucking Ass’n v. Bonta, ruled that federal law doesn’t preempt AB 5, the...more
For decades, the practice of motor carriers arranging for freight to be transported by independent owner-operators—i.e., independent contractors who drive their own trucks—has been ubiquitous. However, this practice is now...more
California Trucking Association v. Bonta, No. 20-55106, 2021 WL 1656283 (9th Cir. Apr. 28, 2021) - Summary : The Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act does not preempt the “ABC test” for determining whether a...more
April 2021 was a meaningful month for two industries that are hardly strangers to lawsuits involving the status of workers as independent contractors. A federal district court in the District of Columbia issued an extremely...more
In a previous post, we talked about California shifting gears to the so-called “ABC test” for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor in a law called “AB-5.” Compared to California’s previous...more
On 30 April 2018, the California Supreme Court issued the seminal decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, adopting the “A-B-C Test” for determining independent contractor status in the state. The A-B-C...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in California Trucking Association v. Bonta, has reversed the preliminary injunction staying enforcement of AB 5 (now Labor Code § 2775). ...more
Originally published on WhoIsMyEmployee.com - May 3rd, 2021. Have you heard of Schrödinger’s cat? It’s not a real cat, like Felix or Brian Setzer. It’s a hypothetical, seemingly impossible cat that exists only in the world of...more
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
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a long-awaited decision on the question of whether AB5, California’s strict independent contractor misclassification statute, may be applied to motor carriers, or whether the...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held today that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“FAAAA”) does not preempt application of California’s Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), codified as amended at Labor...more
In 2020, a California district court granted a preliminary injunction to prevent enforcement of Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) against motor carriers operating within California. AB 5 codified the judge-made “ABC test” for...more
The vast majority of class action litigation in the logistics industry over the past quarter, and indeed the last few years, has been focused on the issue of worker misclassification. In particular, as state legislatures...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
November 2020 was a superb month for ride-sharing and app-based delivery companies and for President-Elect Biden, but was far less favorable to professional sports leagues, interpreting and translation companies, oilfield...more
Since its introduction on September 18, 2019, Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) has caused confusion and controversy, and has sparked fervent opposition across California, as it codifies the common law “ABC Test” used for determining...more
In the latest Chapter of the continuing saga of whether the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) of 1994 preempts either California’s expanded Dynamex “ABC” test set forth in AB 5 or the recent statutory...more
The legal landscape surrounding independent contractor relationships in California continues to evolve swiftly....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a case involving motor carriers, the California Court of Appeal has held that the FAAAA (Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994) does not preempt the ABC employment test California...more