Labor & Employment Law Blog

On Friday, May 29, 2020, the California Department of Public Health approved Los Angeles County’s variance request to move further into Stage Two of the California Resiliency Roadmap, allowing Los Angeles County restaurants to provide in-person dining service and hair salons and barbershops to reopen.

On May 19, 2020, the United States District Court for the Central District of California rejected a challenge to a provision of Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”) applicable to construction trucking companies. (Western States Trucking Ass’n v. Becerra, et al., 5:19-CV-02447-CAS (KKx) (5-18-2020)).

California has begun to reopen some non-essential businesses.  Many counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo (just to name some), have issued orders to enter the State’s initial Phase 2 plan.  In addition, Santa Clara County has issued an order that will be effective on May 22, 2020 that also allows some non-essential businesses to reopen.  In the initial Phase 2 plan, certain specified businesses may open, such as retail businesses (for curbside pickup only), subject to compliance with state and local directives for safety.  This often includes the implementation of written protocols, which vary jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction and industry-to-industry.  Over the weekend, the CDC also issued industry-specific guidelines for consideration in the reopening process, which may be accessed here at Appendix F. 

On January 8, a trial court judge in Los Angeles issued an order finding the ABC Test—now used to determine independent contractor status in California—could not be applied to independent contractor truck drivers (“owner-operators”) due to federal pre-emption concerns.  While the decision represents a major victory for trucking companies, it will be subject to challenge.