California Trucker Protest: Worker Classification Feud Explained

Truckers protesting their inclusion under a California worker classification law that made it harder for companies to continue using business models that rely on independent contractors have shut down the state’s third-busiest port for five days.

The 2019 law, Assembly Bill 5, codified a three-prong “ABC test” for whether workers can be considered independent contractors or employees entitled to job benefits and union representation. Protests erupted across California last week after the US Supreme Court declined to review a case challenging the application of A.B. 5 to truckers.

The trucking industry has long fought to be exempt from state worker ...