Tag: Joe Rajkovacz

Business

New California laws require smog check for trucks, accelerate move away from diesel trucks

Two bills signed into law last week by California Gov. Gavin Newsom will further crack down on heavy-duty diesel trucks in the state. One law establishes “smog checks” for trucks to register and/or operate in the state, while the other is designed to accelerate the move away from diesel-powered trucks to zero emissions vehicles.

September 23, 2019

Business

Owner-operators face tough choices in California in wake of new contractor law

The California legislature last week stamped approval on a sweeping legislative package that could dramatically alter the landscape for leased and independent owner-operators in the state, likely leaving such truckers who work in California with tough decisions about the future of their operation.

September 18, 2019

Channel 19

California court battles over independent contractor ‘ABC test’: One case stayed while another proceeds

The California Trucking Association’s case against use of the problematic “ABC test” in determining appropriate independent contractor classification, has been stayed as of last week, pending the outcome of a similar case already at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

August 12, 2019

Business

The California independent contractor crisis: Undermining the owner-operator

The next battle in what some view as a West Coast war on owner-operators has nothing to do with truck emissions. Instead, California’s labor law developments, predatory lease-purchase practices and aggressive union organizing are stirring a legal stew for the independent contractor model in trucking.

February 4, 2019

Business

Federal judge’s opinion presents a twist in California’s independent-contractor status conflict

A new judgement in a federal district court interprets the strict ABC employee/contractor test as pre-empted by federal law when it comes to truck transportation, bucking an April ruling by the California Supreme Court.

December 18, 2018

Business

Calif. lawmakers could act on ruling that threatens owner-operators — but it may not be positive

One bill in the California General Assembly would offer relief to fleets and owner-operators by nullifying an April ruling by the California Supreme Court. The other, however, would make the court decision state law — a potentially damaging development for owner-operators in California.

December 12, 2018

Business

Owner-operator status in question in California, carriers try to find work-arounds

The fix? Have previously single-truck operators leased to carriers obtain their own authority and  become independent owner-operators and have carriers separate their trucking arms and brokerage arms.

November 29, 2018

Business

Case to protect owner-operator status in California heads to court

Earlier this month, a federal court in California heard oral arguments in the Western State Trucking Association’s lawsuit against a California Supreme Court ruling that WSTA says could effectively block owner-operators from operating in the state.

November 28, 2018

Business

Results of the Minnesota fatigue checklist blowback

Since Minnesota's fatigue checklist was deemed a violation of truckers' Fourth Amendment rights, enforcement of regulation 392.3 remains low compared to 2011.

November 12, 2018

Business

As more states move toward legalizing marijuana, it remains off limits for truckers

In one of the first laws of its kind, Maine has enacted rules that forbid the state’s employers from firing employees or refusing job applicants for testing positive for marijuana use. Do these laws and broader marijuana legalization efforts have any bearing on trucking’s driver drug screening policies?

January 16, 2018

Business

Bill would expand California lemon law to cover commercial trucks

SB 713 would modify the current California lemon law to newly apply to trucks heavier than 10,000 lbs. and under the operation of a business, without size exclusions, up to 18 months from the date of delivery or 100,000 miles of operation, whichever comes first.

April 20, 2017

Business

Alert to DOT: Industry shows unity against safety-rating change in light of CSA’s problems

A recent letter, urging DOT to scrap the Safety Fitness Determination rulemaking as premature, brings in a large variety of state and private industry associations as signatories, including ATA, OOIDA, NASTC and WSTA. The broad nature of the coalition should “indicate how seriously everyone views this issue.”

February 20, 2017