OOIDA requests preliminary injunction against AB5

Saying it violates the Commerce Clause, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is requesting a preliminary injunction against enforcement of California’s AB5 on the trucking industry.

OOIDA filed the motion against the state’s controversial worker classification law on Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The law codified the ABC Test, which makes it more difficult for a worker to be considered an independent contractor.

“(OOIDA) seeks a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of Assembly Bill 5 as to those motor carriers who operate in interstate commerce or, in the alternative as to motor carriers whose drivers are not based in California and spend less than 50% of their working time in California,” the Association wrote in the motion.

The state must file its response in March, and a hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for May.

OOIDA, which was allowed by the court to serve as an intervenor in the case, will be representing the rights of small-business truckers who travel in and out of California. The California Trucking Association, which originally filed the lawsuit in October 2018, also claims that AB5 violates the constitution.

The Commerce Clause protects the right to engage in interstate commerce free of undue burdens and discrimination by state governments.

OOIDA presented members Marc McElroy, Stacy R. Williams and Albert Hemerson as examples of owner-operators who are concerned that AB5 will cause injury “by forcing them to give up their business opportunities that put them on roads in California or to change their business model to become employees to continue to take that business.”

As part of OOIDA President Todd Spencer’s declaration to the court, he outlined some of the concerns truck drivers will face under AB5.

“To keep hauling loads to California, they would be forced to give up the businesses they have worked to build and become employees instead of business owners,” Spencer wrote. “They would have to forgo the opportunity to maximize their income through their own effort and hard work. They would likely have to give up the truck they have invested in, customized and maintained as their home to serve their work and personal needs. They would give up business relationships they have cultivated to make their business successful. They would give up the discretion they enjoyed setting their own schedules and lose the ability they have as owner-operators to make their own decisions about their operations that gave them a sense of control over their own success.”

Los Angeles reaches AB5 settlement with trucking companies

Last week, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer announced a settlement with several trucking companies that were accused of misclassifying drivers as independent contractors.

The settlement involves CMI Transportation, K&R Transportation California, Cal Cartage Transportation Express and three now-defunct motor carriers.

“Truck drivers are the backbone of our nation’s economy,” Feuer wrote on Twitter. “When they work for others, they are entitled to basic employment protections.”

As part of the settlement, the companies must pay $525,000 in penalties and not hire owner-operator drivers without their own authority for four years.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2018. LL