A final rule clarifying the definition of independent contractor published Jan. 7 by the Department of Labor covers several issues specific to trucking – but there are questions as to whether it will actually take effect under the incoming Biden administration.
One of the lawsuits challenging California’s controversial ABC test as it applies to the trucking industry, where it will widely disrupt the owner-operator model, suffered a setback in the California Court of Appeals.
California voters approved Proposition 22, agreeing with the gig economy companies that the state’s strict ABC test set forth in last year’s controversial AB5 law should not apply to drivers such as those for Uber and Lyft. What does this mean for trucking?
According to the American Truck Business Services’ (ATBS) Mid-Year Independent Contractor Benchmarks and Trends Report, while some aspects of trucking, such as mpg, have improved since June 2019, revenue has seen an overall drop in the past year.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that aims to clarify who’s an employee and who’s an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which could be good news for some trucking companies using owner-operators.
Oral arguments in front of an appeals court raise concerns that trucking’s challenge to California’s controversial AB5 independent contractor legislation could face an uphill battle.
Season two of the HDT Talks Trucking podcast is now available, covering topics such as California’s AB5 law restricting the use of independent contractors, autonomous trucks, electric trucks, and reducing unscheduled downtime.
Entrepreneurship is intertwined with the American Dream. In trucking, drivers may work as an independent contractor as a stepping stone on the path to running a full-fledged trucking company, or they may just prefer the independence of being an owner-operator.
Business and trucking interests are criticizing a union-backed labor bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Among other things, the bill would rewrite how independent contractors are defined along the same lines as the controversial new AB5 law in California, which would upend trucking’s longstanding use of owner-operators.
While one New Jersey bill that attempted to change the way the state determines who's an independent contractor did not make it through the recently ended special legislative session, the state’s governor has signed several other new laws that “create extreme risk for anyone utilizing independent contractors,” according to one labor attorney.