Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Truckers Fall Under California Gig Economy Law, Court Says
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
April 29, 2021

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s gig economy law applies to some 70,000 truck drivers who can be classified as employees of companies that hire them instead of independent contractors, giving them a right to overtime, sick pay, or other benefits, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned a ruling last year by a federal judge that said federal interstate transportation law pre-empted 2019’s Assembly Bill 5.

Truckers to Be Classified as Employees, Given Benefits

In overturning that decision, the appellate court’s 2-1 decision found that AB5 doesn’t conflict with federal law because it is “a generally applicable labor law that affects a motor carrier’s relationship with its workforce and does not bind, compel, or otherwise freeze into place the prices, routes, or services.”

The ruling is “a massive victory for California’s truck drivers, who for far too long have faced exploitation and misclassification at the hands of trucking companies that place corporate profit ahead of drivers’ safety and well-being,” the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement.

California Trucking Association to Fight for Independent Drivers

But the California Trucking Association, which sued over the law, said it would take “whatever legal steps are necessary to continue this fight on behalf of independent owner-operators and motor carriers operating in California.”

The association had argued the law could make it harder for independent drivers who own their own trucks and operate on their own hours to make a living by forcing them to be classified as employees.

The case could wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court, especially since in 2016 the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that a similar Massachusetts law did conflict with federal law.

AB5 expanded a California Supreme Court ruling that limited businesses from classifying certain workers as independent contractors. The law is one of the strictest in the country for determining when a company must treat its workers as employees with benefits such as minimum wage, overtime, and sick days.

Last year, California voters passed Proposition 22, which exempted app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from AB5. The measure was the most expensive in state history with Uber, Lyft, and other services pouring $200 million in support of it.

A federal lawsuit by a labor union and some drivers is challenging the proposition.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

11 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

11 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

11 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

12 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

12 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

12 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

12 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

13 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

13 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

13 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

10 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

10 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

11 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
11 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

11 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

12 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
12 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend