An injunction related to California’s Assembly Bill (AB) 5, which classified independent contractors as employees, ended when a federal judge formally dissolved the three-year injunction filed by the California Trucking Association (CTA).
Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ended the injunction on the 2019 law, which trucking organizations said would force the end of the owner-operator model in the state.
The California Trucking Association v. Bonta case received a preliminary injunction from the district court shortly after AB 5 was law. The trucking group contended that AB 5 was preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act, which prevents states from enforcing a law related to the price, route or service of motor carriers. The district court agreed, and in 2021, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, calling AB 5 a “generally applicable labor law.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal and sent the matter back to the district court. CTA has until Oct. 11 to file a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction.
