Judge’s Injunction Covers Repossession Agencies On Calif. AB-5
California Assembly Bill 5 (AB-5), a law geared to classifying most workers as employees rather than independent contractors, went into effect Jan. 1, 2020. However, the day before the law took effect, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez of the Southern District of California granted the application of the California Trucking Association (CTA) for a temporary restraining order enjoining enforcement of AB-5 against any motor carrier operating in California. (California Trucking Association et al. v. Attorney General Xavier Becerra et al., Case No.: 3:18-cv-02458-BEN-BLM, Dkt. No. 77.) The TRO is in effect at least through Jan. 13, 2020, when the court is set to hear CTA’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
This injunction also includes repossession agencies. An article in Stars and Stripes said the following:
In a nice bit of irony, even auto repossession agencies are excluded. Thus we can imagine the scene: if one of those formerly independent Uber drivers or truckers should miss a couple of payments, the guy who comes to tow the vehicle away remains not an employee but a contractor. Why? Because the company that sends him has lobbying clout that the trucking companies lack.
Dave Branch