“California cannot simply eliminate that business model and force truck drivers to be employees. This is a win for trucking companies and independent truckers nationwide.”
Applying the restrictions of AB5 in California to the trucking industry runs afoul of federal law, according to a court case just handed down.
That may read exactly like a story from last week. But it’s a new development.
On a day that saw New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo call for AB5-like legislation in New York and New Jersey punt the issue on legislation in that state, on Wednesday a California state court, rather than a federal jurisdiction, said California’s attempt to have AB5 apply to trucking violates federal law.
Last week, Federal District Court Judge Roger Benitez handed down a temporary injunction blocking enforcement of AB5 in the trucking industry, saying it was likely that AB5 conflicted with federal regulations found in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) from the early ’90s. That ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the California Trucking Association. Its next day in court is Monday.
On Wednesday, in a ruling handed down two years to the day when the original lawsuit was first filed, Judge William Highberger of the Superior Court in Los Angeles said much the same thing: The FAAAA preempts California imposing AB5 on the trucking sector.
Whereas it was a trucking organization that was the plaintiff in the federal case, filing suit against the state, the decision handed down Wednesday came in an action filed by California on Jan. 8, 2018, against Cal Cartage Transportation Express LLC, a drayage operator in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port area and a subsidiary of NFI Industries. The suit was filed by California over what it said was the misclassification of drivers by Cal Cartage.
Since the suit was first filed, the California Supreme Court handed down the Dynamex decision, creating the ABC test on the distinction between an independent contractor and an employee, and AB5 was passed and signed into law, codifying much of the heart of Dynamex.
Once again, as it was in the CTA case, it was the B prong of the ABC test that was the biggest issue. The B prong, to describe it simply, defines an employee as a person hired by a company to perform a task that is at the heart of the company’s activity. A clothing manufacturer hiring stay-at-home seamstresses to put together clothes, getting paid by the piece, would probably run afoul of the B prong in both Dynamex and AB5; a clothing manufacturer hiring an accounting firm to handle the company’s books would not.
“Under this test, it is plain that a motor carrier’s core transportation-related services cannot be performed by independent contractors,” Judge Highberger wrote in his decision. “Thus, absent some applicable exception, the ABC Test prohibits motor carriers from using independent owner-operator truck drivers.”
But what both the CTA and Cal Cartage’s lawyers argued was that FAAAA preempted the state regulation of the trucking company’s activities. In spelling out what the FAAAA mandates, Judge Highberger cited an earlier precedent that said the act prevents “a state’s direct substitution of its own governmental commands for competitive market forces in determining (to a significant degree) the services that motor carriers will provide.”
“The question remains whether such a prohibition (the ABC test) has sufficient direct or indirect effects on motor carrier prices, routes and services and is therefore preempted by the FAAAA,” Highberger wrote. “This court, like many others before it, concludes that it does.”
After reviewing several precedents to back up his conclusion that FAAAA puts significant restrictions on California from enforcing a law or regulation like AB5 in the trucking sector, Highberger said “the record … confirms the common-sense conclusion that AB5 would have a substantial impact on trucking prices, routes and services, as motor carriers in California revamp their business models either to utilize only employee drivers or attempt to satisfy the business-to-business exception.” The latter is an exemption from AB5 for certain forms of contractual relationships.
NFI and Cal Cartage were represented by the law firm of Gibson Dunn. In a release heralding the decision, the firm called it “the first ruling to reach a final decision on the validity of AB5.”
The statement quoted Gibson Dunn partner Joshua Lipshutz as saying the ruling “confirms that California cannot simply eliminate that business model and force truck drivers to be employees. This is a win for trucking companies and independent truckers nationwide.”
Noble1
This is the main issue :
Quote :
OOIDA an outlier on A.B. 5’s implications
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, despite the warnings of other trade groups and attorneys about the law’s implications, has spun A.B. 5 as some what of a positive, or at least a neutral, development.
In a statement to Overdrive, OOIDA says that carriers in California have been wrongfully classifying drivers “for decades.” The group supported the legislation’s passage.
“Lease-purchase schemes have plagued the industry for a long time, and there are plenty of carriers that take advantage of traditional lease agreements as well,” the group said. “However, there are equally as many truck drivers that truly are independent and we’re concerned that codifying a complex court decision [Dynamex] might go too far.
Our hope is that this legislation will force motor carriers in California to rethink the way they treat drivers and either hire them as employees or restructure traditional lease agreements to give owner-operators real independence.”
End quote .
Noble1
You may have won a battle , but you haven’t won the war , LOL ! In my humble opinion ……….
January 8 2020
Quote :
Trucker classification effort ripe for national expansion
Regardless of whether worker classification legislation in California known as Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) takes effect after a temporary restraining order expires, the shipping industry should expect more states to join California and New Jersey in weighing in on truck driver classification.
Even if a permanent exemption is granted for the California trucking industry, trucking veterans say they expect more legislative attempts to define whether a driver is an employee or an independent contractor in the Golden State. That’s because the revenue-hungry California state legislature may still go after the freight brokerage model for taxes — even if independent owner-operators slip out of their grasp via an AB5 carveout for the trucking industry.
That’s a possibility for independent operators and the companies that contract them after US District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez’s temporary restraining order exempted trucks from AB5 on Dec. 3, following a lawsuit filed by the California Trucking Association (CTA). On Jan. 13, the court will hear CTA’s argument that Congress has the sole power to legislate interstate commerce under the Federal Aviation and Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA).
But whatever the court decides, legislative efforts aimed at the reclassification of independent contract workers as employees are already spreading. New Jersey legislators, for example, are considering legislation similar to AB5, and another bill was introduced in September in New York but has since stalled. Growing public attention to the downsides of the so-called gig economy and economic inequality is focusing legislators’ attention to how workers are classified, Michael Belzer, who teaches industrial organization and transportation economics at Wayne State University in Michigan, told JOC com
Through trucking deregulation, the owner-operator model has been allowed to flourish, providing new opportunities for work, proponents argue. But Belzer says it also limits the bargaining power of so-called contractors because they can’t tap workers’ compensation, unemployment, and unionization opportunities. The likes of Uber and Lyft have been lawmakers’ primary targets, but that hasn’t prevented a variety of professions from freelance journalists to truckers from getting swept up in the broader legislative zeitgeist.
The states are weighing in part because there’s been little action on the federal level. The Trump administration has shown no appetite for taking on classification, having scaled back Obama-era legislation expanding overtime pay and having signaled its view of workers as “independent contractors” rather than employees in a May opinion letter regarding an unidentified “smart-phone based” company. Congress hasn’t delved much into the issue either, with none of the four bills introduced by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, aimed at making the gig economy fairer making it out of the finance committee.
“If nothing changes nationally, you are going to see more fractured efforts,” Belzer said. He said states with Democrat-leaning state legislatures that have common freight nodes — e.g. those with a major port or inland freight hubs — are poised to become the next battlegrounds for classification legislative efforts.
However they take shape, the trucking industry will adapt. Cargo owners will eventually see their rates rise as a result of classification legislation, but trucking veterans and shippers say the impact will be manageable and not enough to spur routings through other ports to avoid higher drayage costs.
New Jersey classification legislation won’t push up drayage costs significantly, according to Tom Heimgartner, owner of Best Transportation in Newark, which has a driver workforce consisting entirely of employees. “I compete every day as an employee-based company with independent contractor-based companies,” Heimgartner said at the JOC Port Performance North America (PPNA) conference in early December, noting that his employees get benefits such as a 401k matching contribution and paid holidays. “It’s a little more expensive to do it our way. But I don’t think it’s going to be the end of the world.”
Robert Fredman, director of global logistics for Big Lots stores, says he isn’t hitting the panic button, either. “All the trucking companies that I have spoken to have plans [for what to do if AB5 is enacted]. And no one has said, ‘This is it, as soon as this bill takes effect, I am closing up shop,’” he said at PPNA.
In California, trucking companies are already channeling more freight through their brokerage divisions as a hedge against the possibility that AB5 will withstand legal challenges. Some owner-operator drivers are taking it a step further, establishing themselves as licensed motor carriers and receiving freight from those brokerage arms. The market will find a way, but Belzer laments that the simplest, most straightforward solution — paying drivers more — is also the most unlikely.
“The low road is not always the best road,” he said. “If the industry accepted higher wages, it would stabilize the labor market, eliminate ‘driver shortage,’ return better profits to companies and improved service. It would allow the industry to escape this zero-sum game by reducing [driver] search costs and cut crash costs.” In lieu of that, expect more state legislatures to weigh in on the classification debate.”
End quote .
Ernie Moon
Nobody is going to read War and Peace in a comment section. If you can’t make your point in a few sentences then you don’t have a good one.
CA Trucker
🙂
John Jr.
How long have you been a union truck driver?
Noble1
Reply to John jr ,
Why do you “assume” ? You should simply ask a straight question .
Answer : never . If I were pro union rather than pro uniting , I wouldn’t drive a truck ,I’d be only interested in creating ETHICAL tactics and strategies for the union , LOL ! (wink) . I don’t agree with “strikes” per se . I’d want to “change” their primitive ways . They haven’t evolved . It’s the same tactics since yesteryear . I guess it suits them , just like you want to be “free” and be lease ons because it suits you.
Although in 2016 I approached the Teamsters and recommended that a wage structure in the trucking industry should be based on a similar structure like the one in the construction trade for employees . He replied that it was a great concept but that it probably wouldn’t occur during his lifetime , LOL ! Within our conversation he said that I was the type of character that they want and need though . Further in the conversation I said let’s get with the program and recruit drivers like wild fire at truck stops . He replied that was his job . LOL ! Though I haven’t seen them recruiting at truck stops back then . They did a couple years later . Anyways , we were obviously not quite on the same page . So I ended it there . Lots of politics involved , TONS !
The construction industry certainly isn’t perfect , however , it’s a lot better organized than the trucking industry is from my perspective . Apprenticeship , wages ,benefits , etc etc . You should look at their wage structure and compare the EMPLOYEE wage that a truck driver earns per hour in that trade compared to on the road in the trucking industry . While on the road there’s a heck of a lot more risks involved .
Anyways , que sera sera , what ever will be will be .
IMHO !
2lazy2p
They say that money “Talks” .. wrong, .. “Money Screams” .. Seems we have the golden rule in effect. The guy with the gold makes the rules. It just makes sense to figure that if the big guys (employers) are for a plan that benefits them, then the little guys get not so much.
This is not rocket science … It is Truck Driver 101…
Noble1
Quote:
Trump-voting truckers turn on the president after their taxes skyrocket $8,000 while Wall Street gets lavished
Quote:
April 2019
Twice as many companies paying zero taxes under Trump tax plan
“Taxpayers are scrambling to make last-minute payments due to the Internal Revenue Service in just four days, but many of the country’s largest publicly-held corporations are doing better: They’ve reported they owe absolutely nothing on the billions of dollars in profits they earned last year.”
Among them are household names like technology giant Amazon.com Inc. and entertainment streaming service Netflix Inc., in addition to global oil giant Chevron Corp., pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co., and farming and commercial equipment manufacturer Deere & Co.
The identified companies were “able to zero out their federal income taxes on $79 billion in U.S. pretax income,” according to the ITEP report, which was released today. “Instead of paying $16.4 billion in taxes, as the new 21 percent corporate tax rate requires, these companies enjoyed a net corporate tax rebate of $4.3 billion, blowing a $20.7 billion hole in the federal budget last year.”
End quote
Apart from encouraging driver misclassifying , what has Amazon caused the trucking industry with their tax incentives ?
Quote:
April 2019
Amazon Tries to Take on the Entire Trucking Industry
“To compete, both trucking companies and brokerages will likely have to cut their rates. That could allow Amazon to eventually realize a profit in this business without charging more. More importantly, lowering overall prices for freight will help the online leader reduce its own expenses in that important area.
No matter how this plays out, Amazon wins. The company can raise its brokerage prices during the peak holiday season and still be cheaper than its rivals”
End quote .
CORPORATE WELFARE AT THE EXPENSE OF TRUCK DRIVERS AGAIN ! And you try to abolish AB5 which is trying to put more money in your pocket through proper classification ??? WOW ! Misclassified truckers must be getting AMAZING RATES to keep on clinging to such a DEPENDANT position while giving up a piece of the pie to middlemen that cheat them out of fair wages and benefits .
In my humble opinion …………
Noble1
Congress we have a problem . You need to ratify the FAAAA(Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act ) .
It’s ambiguous ,misinterpreted , and being used as an abusive carte blanche to screw you out of taxes through misclassifications in the gig economy .
You’ve ratified the sixteenth amendment . Time to do the same with the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act !
YOU need those INCOME TAXES due to that alarming debt of yours , LOL !
You may want to use the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision on January 29, 2019 as a reference of good interpretation .
It’s your call . Do you want your fair share of income taxes or are you going to further allow silly transportation corporations to dupe you too ? LOL !
RATIFY FAAAA , it’s a no brainer !
In my humble opinion ……….
Noble1
Lean to the left , lean to the left !
You leaned to the right and you got duped and were wronged ! Lean to the left and you’ll be right !
How the past resembles the present .
Quote :
“Between 1909 and 1913, several conditions favored passage of the Sixteenth Amendment. Inflation was high and many blamed federal tariffs for the rising prices.
The Republican Party was divided and weakened by the loss of Roosevelt and the Insurgents who joined the Progressive Party, a problem that blunted opposition even in the Northeast.
In 1912, the Democrats won the presidency and control of both houses of Congress. The country was generally in a left-leaning mood, with the Socialist Party winning a seat in the House in 1910 and polling six percent of the popular presidential vote in 1912.
Three advocates for a federal income tax ran in the presidential election of 1912.
On February 25, 1913, Secretary of State Philander Knox proclaimed that the amendment had been ratified by three-fourths of the states and so had become part of the Constitution. The Revenue Act of 1913, which greatly lowered tariffs and implemented a federal income tax, was enacted shortly after the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified”
LEAN LEFT ! ADVOCATE FOR the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act RATIFICATION !
No more TRUMP ! NO MORE TARIFFS ,
REQUOTE :
“the Democrats won the presidency and control of both houses of Congress.” AND WIN THEY MUST AGAIN !
Quote August 2019
“Truckers voted for Trump in droves. Now they say his trade war is ‘killing’ their ability to make a living.”
Quote June 2019
“Trump promised to put ‘American truckers first.’ Drivers say he hasn’t delivered.”
IT WAS ALL PROPAGANDA ! Then he fed the 1% through tax incentives which further increased CEO INCOME ,
When YOU think TRUMP , THINK ELD MANDATE ! That’s what truckers got while TRUMP was in office !
ARE YOU GOING TO VOTE FOR HIM AGAIN ? He’s entertaining ,but he’s no good for your wallet !
Remember the saying : FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU , FOOL ME TWICE SHAME ON ME !
Don’t be fooled by these republicans again ! LEAN LEFT ! LEAN LEFT !!!
DO THE “NOBLE” THING , LEAN LEFT !
In my humble opinion …………
Jeremy Fritz
No I will not lean to the left o have a brain and think for my self Trump 2020
Noble1
TRUMP ripped truck drivers off , LOL !
Good luck with that so called “brain” of yours , LOL !
You’ve been duped and don’t even realize it !!!
Gotta love truckers , LOL !
IMHO
Ernie Moon
LOL Stop It. You sound like a union hack. You’re foaming at the mouth. That means your argument isn’t very strong.
Noble1
I’m playing with you guys . LOL !
I know how to get ya to react . I couldn’t careless what Trump does . I find him entertaining though .
Organized labour unions ? Some are good , some not so much . I’m not pro union per se . I’m pro uniting though , LOL !
I Sound ? Buddy , ya hearing things now ? LOL ! Or do you mean “I appear to be” ?
BTW , I don’t play by “your” rules . However , if you lean far enough to the left , you just may end back on the right , LOL !
Dave
AB5 = “Absolute Bullsh*t….5th Attempt” 🙂
Noble1
This goes to show you just how “broken” the system is .
The one’s that these O/O’s so desperately want to cling to are their competition and take a huge piece of their pie ,and are eventually going to replace them with autonomous trucks . They cry for independence when in reality they aren’t independent , they’re “DEPENDANT” under the guise of independence ! They’re screwing themselves . Now how warped is that ?
A true O/O(independent contractor) cuts out the middleman !
IMHO
My Own Boss!
Noble1: You’re response to the so called competition is to give them the whole pie?
Litigators want autonomous trucks.
Shippers may think they want autonomous trucks until they figure out we bring a whole lot more value to them then steering plus they don’t want to front the risk above.
Big fleets don’t want autonomous trucks for risk above plus they become even more of an unnecessary middleman in the equation… When capacity is no longer an issue no one gets paid. Wake up!
Noble1
Buddy wake up !
They’re already using them in mining pits and terminals . Where have you been ???
Quote:
“Noble1: You’re response to the so called competition is to give them the whole pie? ”
What are you referring to ??? Where did you get that misinterpretation from ???
THE VALUE THAT YOU BRING IS THROUGH YOUR ELD DATA that will be used to replace YOU !
Where have you been ??? Do you not realize that truck driver collisions are at all time highs ???
You want to talk about “RISKS” ??? LOL ! YOU ARE A COSTLY ONE ! Insurance premiums are going through the roof !
Truck drivers are getting squeezed with regulations, inflation, and over capacity galore ! Enjoy those pennies while you can cause they won’t last long .
In contrast to what you’re leading yourself to believe , I WANT YOU TO GET THE WHOLE PIE & MORE !
Best of luck !
IMHO
ThaGearJammer25/8
Gives a guy some faith in the institutions. Hope ny Is listening. Progress is good the job industry has changed. Most ppl have one job to cover insurance and a gig or part time side hu$$le. The job market is shifting. Education costs are overvalued. CEO pay isn’t proportional. Shifting industry overseas bad. Lots going on. 30 years or so.
Noble1
Misclassification isn’t progress . Abuse isn’t progress . Accepting to get screwed isn’t progress .Fighting to allow to screw and get screwed isn’t progress .
Progress is AB5 ! Progress is removing the ability to screw another . Progress is being fair and classifying employees correctly while paying them fully .
These people have lost their minds with their FAAAA preempt twisted interpretation . This has become beyond absurd .
The Third Circuit Court got it right .
Quote :
“Third Circuit Rules That FAAAA Does Not Preempt New Jersey’s ABC Test for Determining Independent Contractor Status”
ELD’s , Tolls , etc etc weigh a heck of a lot more on prices, routes, and services . But god forbid classifying an employee correctly and protecting their rights along with fair treatment while paying them right . That’s a big no no . This court is saying the FAAAA allows you to screw them and the government too . WOW !
Even the freaking courts can align themselves ! One says white and the other says black , ROTFLMAO !
The system is totally screwed up !
IMHO
Noble1
Typo ,
Even the freaking courts >>>”can’t”<<< align themselves !
Ernie Moon
The vast majority of independent contractors prefer this model. It suits them. They’re making money. Do NOT take away their freedom — I know it’s something liberals relish. But it’s not happening here.
Noble1
Trump already took care of that(taking truck driver money) . AB5 is doing the contrary and trying to put more money in your pocket through proper classification .
Carriers couldn’t careless about you . They’re USING YOU !
WAKE UP !
IMHO
Richard Upton
To bad California can’t screw the truckers anymore and I’m sure they won’t stop as it is their job to do anything possible to stop any progress the working people try. Good luck to the people who still remain in the infested liberal wasteland.
Ernie Moon
I’m not a drive or trucker but I’m close to the situation. Vast majority of owner-operators prefer the model. One local company in Long Beach has a hybrid model of company owned equipment + independent contractors. Independent contractors were given an opportunity to work for the company and be employees… Guess what? 80% of them said “no”. They didn’t want to be an employee. They wanted the freedom to work as they saw fit. So now you’re telling them they shouldn’t have that choice? WAKE UP!!!!
John Jr.
How do you figure that the President took money from truck drivers?
Noble1
Reply to John Jr,
Trump-voting truckers turn on the president after their taxes skyrocket $8,000 while Wall Street gets lavished
Steven J
In my case, as an Independent Owner Operator I was able to take substantial time off, months at a time to help take care of my parents as they prepared for their trip to Heaven. I know I couldn’t do that as a company driver, because I tried. Two separate companies, even though I told them, after 30 days off they made me “re-apply” I was told it was only formal paperwork that had to be redone every time I was gone for 30 days or more. I didn’t have to do that once I got my own truck. As an IOO I can sit the truck for months at a time and just jump in the truck to make a few dollars, then back to my parents bedside. Try doing that as a company driver.
Each person is an individual, let each one make their own decisions for their lives.
Deciding every one should live life the same, is no different than making broad statements about a race of people. This is just imposing a belief on all of the human race, believing we all are the same and want the same from life.
Ernie Moon
Sorry STEVEN — NOBLE1 wants to steal your freedom because he knows better. According to him, your an idiot.
Noble1
Ernie Moon is trying really hard to twist things around and manipulate you . These are the type of ignoramuses that you need to be prudent about . In my humble opinion .
This is the main issue :
Quote :
OOIDA an outlier on A.B. 5’s implications
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, despite the warnings of other trade groups and attorneys about the law’s implications, has spun A.B. 5 as some what of a positive, or at least a neutral, development.
In a statement to Overdrive, OOIDA says that carriers in California have been wrongfully classifying drivers “for decades.” The group supported the legislation’s passage.
“Lease-purchase schemes have plagued the industry for a long time, and there are plenty of carriers that take advantage of traditional lease agreements as well,” the group said. “However, there are equally as many truck drivers that truly are independent and we’re concerned that codifying a complex court decision [Dynamex] might go too far.
Our hope is that this legislation will force motor carriers in California to rethink the way they treat drivers and either hire them as employees or restructure traditional lease agreements to give owner-operators real independence.”
End quote ..
Now wise alec Mr.Moon , Since you’re against AB5 , give a suggestion to IMPROVE it which would PREVENT the ABUSE that’s occurring as explained in the part of the article I quoted above .
My Own Boss!
Noble1. Are you suggesting the independent contractor model is responsible for all of the “driver abuse” you speak of?
A properly run business is led by a competent business person and there are tens of thousands of successful examples of that making their living as IC’s in the trucking industry. A savvy IC aligns with a business OR businesses where they are reasonably compensated for the work they perform, can pay their bills, make a decent wage and put away a little something so they can reinvest in their business… If the contract you sign doesn’t allow for that, move on. You have the freedom to do business with whoever you choose. And in today’s digital marketplace it has never been easier for us little guys to find our niche. UberFreight, Convoy, CHR, Hunt360 and 1000 more load boards to choose from. I can do something new every day if I want. The fact that one may choose to work for a single entity under their operating authority and insurance plan versus several is not the only test. There are countless examples of even large businesses that are set up independently and serve a single customer. Without question we have risk of loss and opportunity for profit based on the choices we make in our own business no matter the size. Do you have any idea how many mid to large trucking companies got their start because the owner had a dream but only enough money to buy a single truck? I’d venture to say most of them… And you’d like to see that opportunity stripped away from those of us who can and will make it work? No thanks!
Also if you own your own business you can choose to pay yourself however you want… by the mile, by the hour… why not by the minute… who cares… OT, vacation time, bonuses… structure your pay any way you want, with the understanding that your revenue, minus your costs will ultimately decide what you can actually pay. That’s decided by a marketplace and the partners you choose. It’s called capitalism and I for one would hate to see my opportunities limited by those of you who want to put us all in the same bucket.
Sounds more like your lobbying to do away with small business tax concessions than anything else. Those deductions are LEGIT under the law and necessary to promote risk and investment in business in every sector, not just trucking, so why do you want that done away with in the trucking industry?
Here’s my theory, IMHO… You either already own a large trucking entity and would like to see your toughest competitor… Me… the little guy who can operate with a whole lot less overhead and be a whole lot more nimble be eliminated to make your life easier OR… you are a pro-labor union rep looking to make your life even easier by having us all report to a handful of Employers to make your scavenging easier. I sense the latter in your tone but don’t care enough to know either way.
I for one am happy to see some semblance of common sense prevail. To tell me that I have to find another industry if I want to be an entrepreneur and make my own mark is not freedom. Sounds more like China…
Noble1
You are FREE to contract with and perform work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business . Unless you set yourself up differently .
You will even generate MORE REVENUE that way !
Nobody wants to remove your “freedom” ! I’m not Werner nor the FMCSA who pushed ELD’s on you .
If you want to talk about independence then walk your talk and BE INDEPENDANT !
Furthermore , you’re no competition when it comes to major carriers . Major carriers have CAPACITY etc,, you don’t in comparison ! That being said , carriers that you lease onto should verify that you don’t hire a misclassified driver as an “independent contractor” . They should be deemed responsible if you do since you’re under their responsibility .
For the record , I truly wish you could earn minimum at least double what you’re currently earning .
Best of luck !
In my humble opinion ………..
Joseph
Thanks, that means I would make 480K. No, I’m fine with what I make. I’m not willing to jump into another tax bracket. I’m not interested in paying anymore in taxes than I’m paying now.
Noble1
Joseph , That’s fine . If you want to cap your earnings , you have the freedom to do so , LOL !
CA Trucker
Amen “Boss”. Couldn’t have said it any better
Joseph hardin
Im a owner operator that drives for a southern California moving company. Grossing over 350 k a year with clearing 150 k after taxes and expenses. AB5 puts me out of business. Ab5 forces me in to getting a huge pay cut so basically bankrupting me. Let the free market of being independent be. If one cant decide his own true value then being independent isnt for them and needs to pick a different career path. Dont punish the ones that has a great gig just because of a small number of degenerates that has failed to make it in the independent market
Noble1
Degenerates ??? It’s the other way around . It’s degenerates that take advantage of people and screw them into going bust .
Why would you get a huge pay cut ? Did you look into the two check pay system ? You lease your truck to the “carrier”(check 1) ,who then hires you to drive the truck that you leased to them which includes wage with benefits(check 2) through the two check pay system . You get the best of both worlds .
IMHO .
My Own Boss!
How much are your union dues?
Noble1
Reply to My Own Boss ,
Enough collectively to lobby you out of business , LOL !
I too can be a “smart-alec”
However, seriously , I have no clue . Look it up on the web . and publicity generated .
I had stated in one of my comments on the AB5 subject that I found it was a little harsh . I read somewhere that they expected to adjust(ratify) it further down the road . They certainly got their point across with all the commotion it caused .
I’m a fair person . There needs to be a balance between misclassification and true independence . That’s the real issue here . Too much competition and cutting corners lead to abuse . The insanity has to stop .
As far as I’m concerned true independence is an O/O finding their own clients and cutting out the middleman . You shouldn’t even deal through a freight broker . However , you’re free to do as you please apparently , LOL !
I’m not the legislators though . They need to find a way to grant you your freedom without it unfairly affecting those that need to be protected from being taken advantage of and obtaining fair treatment and fair wages in the process . They need to prevent employers from using a loophole which gives them an unfair competitive advantage through misclassifications .
In doing so they figured the B prong would prevent those issues .
Now we have courts saying the FAAAA doesn’t preempt the ABC Test , and we have courts that say it does ??? They can’t even agree with each other even though there’s jurisprudence on the matter . So it will be quite interesting to see how this disagreement will be clarified and where it will settle .
I personally believe the FAAAA doesn’t preempt it, without leaning on one side or the other based on the opinion I have concerning true independence as the one I gave above .
Best of luck !
IMHO
Mataniah
Bro you are not making 350k a year stop the lies, stop the lies my man