The U.S. Solicitor General has recommended that the U.S. Supreme Court deny review of an important case impacting the application of AB5 to California’s trucking industry.  In it’s Supreme Court brief, the Solicitor General urged that the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit “correctly determined that petitioners were unlikely to succeed” in their claim that the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) preempts applying the so-called ABC test to owner-operators to determine whether they are employees under California law.

If the Supreme Court denies review of the 9^th Circuit ruling, AB5 will immediately impact the trucking industry, which will have a detrimental impact on the owner-operator model in California.  AB5 is already in effect for other industries in California, but the trucking industry was carved out on the ground that California’s law was preempted by federal law.

The Supreme Court is not bound to follow the recommendation of the Solicitor General.  Given that the Solicitor General was appointed by President Biden, the conservative court will likely reach its own conclusion premised upon its own analysis.