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.
A U.S. Southern District Court on Jan. 16 granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting California state officials from enforcing a controversial new law against motor carriers that makes it virtually impossible to contract with owner-operators in the state.
Trucking companies using owner-operators in California can breathe a sigh of relief for now, as a judge has extended a temporary restraining order keeping officials from enforcing the onerous terms of its AB5 independent contractor law against motor carriers.
Another court decision, this time at the state level, has reinforced the trucking industry’s contention that California’s stringent new ABC test restricting independent contractor use is preempted by federal law.
Trucking got a temporary reprieve from California’s AB5, a controversial new law in effect Jan. 1 severely limiting the ability to use independent contractors.
As a controversial new law targeting the use of independent contractors goes into effect Jan. 1 in California, there’s still immense uncertainty about how it will be enforced and even how long it will remain law in its current form.
After scouring through our website analytics of news items of the past 12 months, HDT came up with the top 19 stories of 2019, giving you a look back on some of the important moments from this past year.
The Western States Trucking Association filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging a construction-trucking-specific provision of California’s already controversial Assembly Bill 5, which severely restricts the use of independent contractors in the state.