· California passed a law known as AB5 back in 2018 to make it more difficult for companies to classify workers as independent contractors and instead have workers be labeled as employees. The idea is to ensure that employees can receive benefits including minimum wage, overtime, and sick pay as well as workers’ compensation. However, a federal court of appeals recent decision ruled that this law in fact applies to about 70,000 truckers in the state.
· As a result, there has been ongoing protests that started July 18, 2002, that forced the shutdown of terminal operations at the Port of Oakland. Many feel this law creates an issue for independent drivers that own their own trucks and set their own hours, as they are now being forced to be considered employees.
· The port through executive director Danny Wan provided a statement to say that “we understand the frustration expressed by the protestors at California ports” but they also advised in this statement that “prolonged stoppage of port operations in California for any reason will damage all the business operations at the ports”. Additionally adding that this may cause market share loss.
Friday July 22, 2022
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