End of owner-operators in California?
posted in Alerts by Brian Gray
End of owner-operators in California?
Posted: 04 Jan, 2019 by Pat Pitz by DAT Solutions
A decision by the California supreme court could have a chilling effect on the owner-operator model in that state, and if appeals fail to reverse the decision, other states could go down the same path. So says Joe Rajkovacz, director of governmental affairs and communications for the Western States Trucking Association (WSTA).
In the spring of 2018, the California supreme court issued a final decision in the case of Dynamex vs. Superior Court of L.A. County. In that decision, the court held that owner-operators driving for Dynamex were misclassified as independent contractors and should have been considered employees of the company.
But some carriers have found a workaround. Their leased-on owner-operators are getting their own DOT authority. Then the carriers establish brokerage divisions to provide loads to those newly independent truckers.
