AB5 Upheld Again by Appeals Court

Another effort to strike down California’s worker reclassification law has been struck down. 

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which makes it more difficult to classify workers as independent contractors in the state, in a June 10 decision.  

The lawsuit before the court was filed by Lydia Olson and Miguel Perez, who drove for Uber and Postmates, with both claiming that AB5 violates the Equal Protection Clause. 

“AB5 does not directly classify any particular workers as employees or independent contractors,” reads Judge Jacqueline Nguyen’s opinion. “Rather, under AB5, as amended, arrangements between workers and referral agencies that provide delivery or transportation services are automatically subject to the ABC test adopted by the California Supreme Court” to determine their employment status. 

In March, a California judge denied a preliminary injunction against AB5 in a case filed by the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the California Trucking Association. In April, the two groups appealed the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.