Trucker Group, California Spar in Worker Status Law Challenge

A national trucker organization seeking to block a California law that makes it harder to classify the group’s members as independent contractors faced tough questions during arguments before a Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Inc. said the statute, known as AB 5, prohibits owner-operators who lease their trucks to motor carriers from operating as independent contractors within California. The group argued that the law—which includes a business-to-business exception that OOIDA says is only available to intrastate truckers—runs afoul of the US Constitution’s dormant commerce clause and equal protection guarantees.

Although the record doesn’t identify any ...