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Courts Block Enforcement of AB 5 as to Truck Drivers and AB 51 Prohibiting Mandatory Arbitration Agreements

On Behalf of | Jan 15, 2021 | Employment Law

On January 8, 2020, a California Superior Court judge entered an order in California v. Cartage Transportation Express stating that the ABC Test set forth in the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision, and the recently enacted Assembly Bill No. 5, run afoul of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 when applied to truck drivers. Judge William Highberger noted that his conclusion was supported by the December 31, 2019 ruling of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in California Trucking Ass’n v. Becerra which had granted a Temporary Restraining Order against the State, prohibiting it from enforcing AB 5 in regard to truck drivers.

On January 10, 2020, Judge Kimberly Mueller of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California extended the temporary restraining order she had entered against Assembly Bill 51 in Chamber of Commerce v. Becerra. AB 51 prohibits employers from requiring applicants and employees to enter into mandatory arbitration agreements regarding discrimination claims under the FEHA and wage claims under the Labor Code as a condition of employment. Pending further briefing by the parties, Judge Mueller found that serious questions existed regarding whether AB 51 was preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.