The California Trucking Association and two independent owner-operators based in the state have filed a lawsuit that seeks to derail the state’s test for determining whether a worker should be classified as a company employee or an independent contractor.
The so-called ABC test, set in place by the California Supreme Court in April 2018 in the Dynamex case and then made state law by the California legislature in September, mostly prohibits carriers from contracting freight to owner-operators, both leased or independent. The Dynamex case prompted a wave of carriers to shy away from the traditional owner-operator-lessee model since last April, while California’s new law, known as A.B. 5, will establish state regulations against use of independent contractors who don’t meet the ABC test requirements.
