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The state of California recently implemented a new employment law, Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), that will affect the gig economy, including more than 70,000 independent truck drivers and other freelance professions.
From 1 January 2020, AB5 requires organisations to qualify a worker as an employee instead of an independent contractor based on the “ABC test”, protecting workers from being misclassified and denied employee benefits.
While a temporary restraining order to exempt independent truck drivers from complying with the requirements is in place, the result is still under consideration. The next hearing is set for 13 January 2020.
In December 2019, the state of New Jersey passed amendments to the S4204 bill that uses the ABC test (with a slight tweak) for a similar effect to California’s AB5.
The supply chain industry in North America occasionally engages independent truck drivers to manage complex deliveries, short-term transportation contracts, and unexpected peaks.
With these new bills, supply chain organisations in the respective states will need to quickly employ enough drivers to maintain their current service levels or review their customer contracts to reduce the number of deliveries.
“Our customers and our employees are key priorities to Toll Group. Therefore, we are committed to fair working conditions to protect our employees who provide a dedicated, consistent and reliable service delivery to our customers”, says Robert Charles, Head of Americas for Toll’s Global Logistics Division.
Operating from multiple sites across North America, the team keeps abreast of regulatory changes and ensures that the organisation stays ahead of the game to provide an efficient, integrated supply chain for America’s household brands.
Find out more about our suite of integrated services in North America here.