The Supreme Court has denied the California Trucking Association’s petition for certiorari in the case regarding California’s AB 5 independent contractor law, putting an end to a years-long legal battle and, likely, the traditional leased owner-operator model in the state.
The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2020, has not applied to trucking due to an injunction issued just before the law took effect. With SCOTUS denying CTA’s request to review the case, the injunction will be lifted, and the law will apply to the trucking industry.
Greg Feary, president of transportation legal firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary, said the injunction will have to be lifted by a trial court, and he expects that to happen in “the next day or two.”
The California Trucking Association said in an email that the decision "will have a negative impact on the state's supply chain," adding that now that the petition has been denied, the injunction will be lifted within seven days.
“In addition to the direct impact on California’s 70,000 owner-operators who have seven days to cease long-standing independent businesses, the impact of taking tens of thousands of truck drivers off the road will have devastating repercussions on an already fragile supply chain, increasing costs and worsening runaway inflation," CTA said. "We are disappointed the Court does not recognize the irrevocable damage eliminating independent truckers will have on interstate commerce and communities across the state. The [California] legislature and [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom Administration must immediately take action to avoid worsening the supply chain crisis and inflation.”
The Western States Trucking Association was also disappointed in the Court's decision.
"Clearly, we along with most everyone else in the trucking industry are disappointed by this rejection," said Joe Rajkovacz, director of governmental affairs and communications for WSTA.
