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
On November 15, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order concerning the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) challenge to California’s independent contractor law, Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The Supreme...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
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
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
Semprini v. Wedbush Securities., Inc., 57 Cal. App. 5th 246 (2020) - Summary: A compensation plan based solely on commissions, with recoverable advances on future commissions, does not qualify as “salary” for purposes of...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
The legal landscape surrounding independent contractor relationships in California continues to evolve swiftly....more
Introduction: The PRO Act Overall - Early last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act,” H.R.2474 (“PRO Act”), which would fundamentally shift various important...more
As we have written here, the day before California’s controversial AB 5 was set to go into effect, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Benitez issued a temporary restraining order to block enforcement of the law as to...more
For decades, the trucking industry has used owner-operators to provide the transportation of property in interstate commerce. Assembly Bill 5, which went into effect Jan. 1, as set out in Labor Code Section 2750.3, threatens...more
In California Trucking Association, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, et al.,1 U.S. District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez issued a preliminary injunction on Jan. 16, 2020, enjoining the State of California from enforcing the ABC test...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal court has granted a preliminary injunction blocking the State of California from enforcing AB 5 against motor carriers. The court provided a fulsome analysis demonstrating that the Federal...more
A highly anticipated decision granting a preliminary injunction preventing California from applying its new independent contractor test to motor carriers was issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez on January...more
The federal court that had granted a temporary restraining order on New Year’s Eve blocking California’s misclassification law from taking effect against the trucking industry just extended that ruling by granting a...more