When the Supreme Court denied hearing the appeal of California AB5, the lower court lifted the stay, and it was assumed that the law would go into effect. AB5 is a 2020 California Law meant to reclassify independent contractors into employees.

However, the California Trucking Association's (CTA) argument that the Federal Administrations Authorization Act (F4A) preempts AB5 has neither gone to trial nor have oral arguments been heard.

In 2019 the lower court agreed that such an argument would prevail and issued a temporary injunction against AB5, which eventually became a preliminary injunction. The state and the Teamsters successfully appealed the injunction. However, the injunction remained in place until the Supreme Court declined to review the case.

The CTA's strategy is to have their day in court, essentially moving this whole issue back to where it was before the temporary injunction.

Both sides are dug in, and nothing is expected to happen until December.

In the meantime, NNR USA is surveying truckers they work with to see if they are implementing strategies to mitigate AB5's impact.

See our related post: California’s AB5 Law and its Impact on Trucking and Supply Chain Logistics