The trucking industry might have found a way to navigate around California’s Assembly Bill 5. A state court judge ruled Wednesday that federal law preempted the statute seeking to install a tighter test for employee classification. Although some attorneys argue the ruling won’t have any bearing on gig economy companies’ challenges to AB5, others say the decision shows that the law’s wheels are about to come off.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Highberger ruled in The People v. Cal Cartage Transportation Express that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) preempts AB5 when applied to motor carriers and their drivers. The FAAA installed a rule endorsing the independent contractor model for trucking to keep freight costs low and stimulate competition. The trucking company’s Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher attorneys successfully argued that Prong B of the state law’s ABC test “effectively prohibits motor carriers from utilizing independent owner-operator truck drivers,” according to the opinion.

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