Chris Spear, President of the American Trucking Associations, recently penned a letter to Senate leaders expressing worry over potential Labor Secretary nominee Julie Su’s stance on independent contractor rights for truck drivers. This news has stirred up debate among those invested in protecting workers’ freedoms within this industry.
“California’s AB 5, which Ms. Su helped pass and implement as Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, essentially outlaws their business model,” Spear wrote in a letter to Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.). The letter was copied to members of the committee.
“AB 5 is designed to strip independent drivers of their choice and right to operate as contractors for motor carriers, in essence forcing them to become company employee drivers,” Spear added. “It is wreaking havoc on thousands of self-employed, small business owners by forcing them into legal limbo and placing administrative, compliance, legal and other unsustainable costs on the industry.”
Currently, Su serves as deputy secretary of Labor and has been nominated to become Labor Secretary by President Joe Biden.
Spear has expressed the “grave concern” of the ATA over a new proposal from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division; this proposed regulation could have similar consequences to that seen in California with their controversial AB 5 law.
“Without the hundreds of thousands of independent owner-operators in our industry today, the supply chain would grind to an immediate halt, and a way of life of hundreds of thousands of small businessmen and women could be eradicated,” Spear wrote. “Ms. Su has significant authority over the rulemaking process as deputy secretary of Labor and will have almost complete authority to write the final rule should she be confirmed as Labor secretary.”
Spear suggested that committee members pose the following questions of Su during the confirmation process:
- Do you consider AB 5 a policy success generally, and specifically as it relates to trucking?
- What is your message to self-employed truckers who were forced by AB 5 to leave California to save their business, income, lifestyle and freedom to earn a living on their own terms?
- Many independent contractors choose to operate independently so they can determine their own schedules, grow their earning potential, and achieve their desired level of work-life balance. Why should they be denied that right to choose their own career path?
- Do you believe that the department of Labor should consider contractual safety requirements between a motor carrier and an independent contractor as evidence of misclassification and a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act?
After a two-year delay due to an ongoing federal lawsuit, the landmark AB 5 law governing worker classification in California has officially gone into effect following its rejection by the United States Supreme Court. The California Trucking Association initially brought forth their opposition with CTA continuing efforts for resolution as they now seek out a preliminary injunction from a U.S. District court judge before any definitive changes become permanent across the state.
Companies are facing the new law that could force them to consider their independent contractors as employees using the recently established “ABC Test.” The three-pronged test requires motor carriers to classify their workers as employees unless they demonstrate that the worker is free from the control of the hiring entity, performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and is customarily engaged in an independent trade or occupation.
Throughout the legal battle, CTA contended that the ‘B-prong’ of the test renders it close to impossible for owner-operators to be considered as motor carrier employees. This landmark case could change how independent and company drivers are categorized in California going forward.
Source: ttnews
