The California Trucking Association stood its ground against the U.S. Solicitor General, who filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to deny independent truckers an appeal. California politicians passed a measure called AB5 that effectively prohibits owner-operators the fundamental right to work for themselves.
U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has been on the job for less than one year and is tasked with furthering the policy interests and legal postures of the Biden Administration. Her position requires arguing the government’s case in far-reaching matters. When the high court asked her to weigh in on the trucking case, she urged the justices to deny truckers their day in court.
“Although the circuits have reached differing outcomes with respect to FAAAA preemption of the ABC test as codified under the laws of various states, those case-specific decisions do not create a conflict warranting this Court’s review,” the Solicitor General wrote in its brief. “Moreover, the interlocutory posture of this case and the need to resolve a threshold issue of state law — namely, whether motor carriers and owner-operators may fall within the business-to-business exemption under California law — make this case a poor vehicle in which to address the question presented. Further review is unwarranted.”
But the hard-working women and men who deliver more than 70 percent of America’s goods and materials didn’t blink. The California Truckers Association’s response was as stingingly satirical as it was forceful.
“The government’s brief calls to mind the question famously posed by Chico Marx: ‘Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?’ The government thus postulates that AB5’s requirements are easily avoided; that the law may have no impact at all on carriers or owner-operators; that the decision below simply follows this Court’s (F4A) precedent; and that there is no conflict in the circuits,” California Trucking Association reportedly wrote. “But each of these submissions is head-scratchingly wrong. In fact, AB5 was designed to, and surely will, upend the operation of the trucking industry.”
The full weight and resources of the California government and White House are poised to eliminate owner-operator self-employment, making it something of a Samson versus Goliath battle. But the trucking association is not necessarily alone in this fight. Fellow trucking advocacy organizations such as the Owner-Operator Independent Driver Association (OOIDA) have backed West Coast truckers.
“OOIDA agrees that the provision of AB5, the ABC test, means that owner-operators must either become employee drivers or give up the businesses they have built or give up all business opportunities that might take them to California,” the organization reportedly stated.
California policy hawks have also — head-scratchingly — floated the idea that owner-operators use a so-called “workaround.” Some argue independent truckers should simply sign on as employees and use their own trucks. But that very loss of independence and freedom is precisely what truckers are fighting against.
“This proposed workaround assumes that owner-operators will give up their independent businesses and become employees of carriers. But in fact, a great many owner-operators would not respond to AB5 by becoming employees. That is what owner-operators themselves say; they regard independence and flexibility as far more important than do employee drivers,” the California Trucking Association reportedly stated in its filing. “Even the prospect of AB5 taking effect has led carriers to limit or abandon operations in California. “Review by (the Supreme Court) is urgently needed.”
The California Trucking Association vs Bonita may prove to be a pivotal case that decides the fate of independent truckers across the country. Should the high court deny the appeal or side with the government, laws such as AB5 will likely be adopted in other states, effectively banning truck driver independence.
Sources: supremecourt.gov, ccjdigital.com, truckinginfo.com, landline.com
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