Derek Ishikawa Comments to Daily Journal on Gig Worker Law
Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP’s Derek Ishikawa was quoted in a February 11, 2020 Daily Journal article entitled “Uber, Postmates are denied an injunction of gig worker law.”
The article notes that on Monday, February 10, 2020, a federal judge formally denied Uber and Postmates’ motion to block A.B. 5, the law that aims to crack down on abuses in the gig economy. Olson v. California, 19-VC10956 (C.D. Cal., filed Dec. 30, 2019). A.B. 5 requires that workers be classified as employees unless they pass a three-part “ABC” test to prove independent contractor status.
Noting that Olson v. California is one of multiple lawsuits challenging A.B. 5, the article also mentions California Trucking Association v. Becerra, 18-CV02485 (S.D. Cal., filed Oct. 25, 2018), which bars the state from enforcing A.B.5 on trucking companies and independent owner-operator truck drivers.
In the article, Derek Ishikawa compared the trucking case to Monday’s decision, noting that the argument for a preliminary injunction brought by Uber and Postmates “was always going to be a stretch.” He added that the companies’ argument that A.B. 5 is specifically targeting the gig economy doesn’t hold.
“They’re not the only ones that A.B. 5 focuses on. There are a lot of exemptions in there,” Ishikawa said. “This idea that there’s an animus against the gig economy particularly was always going to be a challenge.”
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Derek Ishikawa is an associate in the Santa Monica office of Hirschfeld Kraemer. He can be reached at dishikawa@hkemploymentlaw.com, or (310) 835-1803.