A federal judge has taken under advisement the California Trucking Association’s request for a preliminary injunction enjoining California’s enforcement of its new AB 5 statute for determining independent contractor status. After a widely anticipated hearing in San Diego on January 13, 2020, U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez, while not issuing a ruling, did extend the temporary restraining order he issued on December 31, 2019. The order stopped the state’s planned implementation of the law, which had been set to go into effect on January 1, 2020, and seemed to show a leaning toward the argument by the CTA that AB 5 is preempted by federal law.
Ron Leibman, who heads McCarter’s Transportation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management practice, is frequently quoted in the press, including the recent Law360 article All Eyes on Fed. Court after Trucking Cos.’ Classification Win. He regularly authors thought leadership materials in his field, such as his recent alert Motor Carriers Granted Temporary Relief by California Federal Court from Stringent Independent Contractor Classifications.