From the Common Carrier Journal (CCJ), Jill Dunn reports that the California Trucking Association has filed a lawsuit contesting the the application of the ABC test which was recently adopted by the California Supreme Court. Jill writes:
The California Trucking Association and two owner-operators are suing California over the state’s enforcement of its recently adopted test to determine whether a driver is an employee or an independent contractor. The so-called ABC test sets a steep standard for classifying drivers as independent contractors and could threaten the use of owner-operators in California.
The Oct. 25 lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief in San Diego’s federal district court against the test, which places the burden on the employer to prove a worker is a contractor and not an employee. In April, the California Supreme Court applied the measure, the so-called ABC test, in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, for classifying employment under the state’s wage order for transportation workers.
That unanimous ruling departed from the multi-factor or economic realities test the state had used for truckers since 1989. Classification as an independent contractor now requires that a worker satisfy the three-prong test, including that his services are outside the usual course of business of the hiring company.
Read the full story at CTA sues California over employee vs. independent contractor
