Federal judge grants preliminary injunction on AB5.

Judge Sides With California Trucking Association, Issues Preliminary Injunction in AB 5 Fight


A federal judge in San Diego on Jan. 16 issued a preliminary injunction against the trucking component of a California law that would restrict how independent workers can be classified by companies. The judge’s ruling means the state of California cannot implement the law as it pertains to the trucking industry.

Judge Roger Benitez of the Southern District Court of California extended indefinitely his order banning implementation of the trucking component in California’s Assembly Bill 5. The legislation, which was set to take effect Jan. 1, potentially would reclassify tens of thousands of independent contractors as employees. He had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the law, which was challenged in court last
In his order the judge wrote, “There is little question that the State of California has encroached on Congress’ territory by eliminating motor carriers’ choice to use independent contractor drivers, a choice at the very heart of interstate trucking. In so doing, California disregards Congress’ intent to deregulate interstate trucking, instead adopting a law that produces the patchwork of state regulations Congress sought to prevent. With AB 5, California runs off the road and into the preemption ditch of the FAAAA. Accordingly, plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction is
The FAAAA is the 1994 Federal Aviation Authorization Act, which was enacted for the purpose of “preventing states from undermining deregulation of interstate transport.”

Critics fear the law would remove opportunities for drivers to own their own businesses and work as
Judge Sides With California Trucking Association, Issues Preliminary Injunction in AB 5 Fight