The California Trucking Association plans to ask for a rehearing before the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, to challenge its recent ruling that the AB 5 law applies to interstate motor carriers.
It follows the Ninth Circuit’s decision last month to set aside a preliminary injunction that prevented enforcement of AB 5 on interstate trucking.
“The preliminary injunction that has been the focus of this most recent appeal will remain in place as the CTA seeks the en banc rehearing from the 9th Circuit,” Shawn Yadon, CEO of the California Trucking Association, told the Northern California Record by email.
AB 5 took effect in January 2020, but a federal judge for the Southern District of California ruled the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (F4A) exempted motor carriers from the state law. The Ninth Circuit three-judge panel disagreed 2-1 in its April 28 opinion.
Justice Mark J. Bennett noted in his dissent, “The majority’s holding that the district court abused its discretion is especially perplexing given the abundance of opinions by our court and sister circuits holding or strongly suggesting that the F4A preempts ‘all or nothing’ rules like the AB-5.”
An en banc hearing would be held in front of the full Ninth Circuit bench.
“Should that rehearing ultimately be granted, the preliminary injunction will remain in force throughout the 9th Circuit’s consideration,” Yadon said. “This preliminary injunction blocks the State of California from enforcing AB 5 upon independent owner-operators and motor carriers operating in California.”
The CTA maintains that the ABC test in AB 5 would be detrimental to the thousands of owner-operators who have long worked as independent truckers.
“The California Trucking Association will take any and all legal steps necessary to continue this fight on behalf of independent owner-operators and motor carriers operating in California,” Yadon said in a news release.
The rehearing petition is scheduled to be filed by May 26.