Uber and Postmates lost a court action to slam the brakes on potential enforcement of a California law that could force the ride-hailing firm to reclassify its drivers as employees.

In a Monday order, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee of the Central District of California rejected a motion for preliminary injunction that Uber and Postmates filed over California’s Assembly Bill 5, which sought to reclassify independent contractors in certain industries to employees in order to provide better wages and benefits while curbing what they considered exploitation of California’s workers. Uber and Postmates insisted that the threat of enforcement by city and state officials required the judge to grant the motion.