Don’t Take California’s Independent Contractor Crackdown National

California truckers last month temporarily shut down the Port of Oakland protesting California’s refusal to let them remain independent contractors. Tens of thousands of independent truckers are now subject to California’s Assembly Bill 5, “AB5,” which punishes businesses that hire independent contractors to perform similar work as the business performs. This means trucking companies can’t hire self-employed truckers, newspapers can’t hire freelance writers, and software companies can’t hire independent contract programmers.

These independent truckers face a choice: become trucking company employees, leave California, or quit driving altogether. California’s government claims the truckers need protection from companies that “misclassify” self-employed truckers as “independent contractors.” So now 70,000+ California owner-operators (truckers who own their own rigs and drive for multiple companies) won’t be able to contract with trucking companies to deliver necessities across the country. The only winners are union bosses looking for more members, bureaucrats looking for more ways to crack down on businesses, and trial lawyers who hope to get rich suing businesses that hire independent workers to meet customer demands.

Read the full commentary on The Center Square