An Injunction was recently upheld by a federal appeals court regarding California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) independent contractor law.

The court denied an effort to temporarily lift a preliminary injunction issued in January against the trucking component of a California law that would restrict how independent workers can be classified by companies.

The law could potentially remove opportunities for drivers to own their own businesses and work as independent owner-operators in the state, as it would reclassify independent contractors as employees.

The order, filed on March 30 in the U.S. Court of Appeals, denied a motion filed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that sought a stay of the lower court’s injunction, and also said it will fast-track oral arguments on a request for review of that decision filed by the Teamsters and California Democratic Attorney General Xavier Becerra.

The ruling ties back to a lawsuit filed by the California Trucking Association (CTA) that challenges AB 5, and now opens the doors for the appeals court to hear oral arguments as soon as early July, according to lawyers representing the CTA.

In January, a San Diego judge issued a preliminary injunction against the trucking component in California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). The legislation would have reclassified tens of thousands of independent contractors as employees. The same judge had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the law, which was challenged by the CTA last year.

For more information about the appeals court denial, please click here.