Initial Success For Challenges To California Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5) Codification Of Dynamex Ruling

(January 2020) -  On January 8, 2020, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Highberger ruled that newly enacted statute AB-5 does not apply to motor carriers or independent owner-operator truck drivers, a notable success for the transportation industry in the first court ruling on the statute's validity. Judge Highberger found that AB-5 is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) because it would ban motor carriers from using independent contractors to provide transportation services. Judge Highberger found that owner-operators should not be reclassified as employees under AB-5. The state court ruling in State of California v. Cal Cartage Transp. Express (Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC689320) involves actions filed by the City of Los Angeles against several trucking companies for alleged worker misclassification of truck drivers under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL).