Supreme Court to Determine Federal Preemption of Driver Misclassification Action

On August 10, 2011, the California Supreme Court granted review in People ex rel. Harris v. Pac Anchor Transportation, Inc. This is the issue on review:

Is an action under the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) that is based on a trucking company's alleged violation of state labor and insurance laws "related to the price, route, or service" of the company and, therefore, preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (49 U.S.C. § 14501)?

The Court of Appeal held that the federal statute, popularly known as the FAAAA, did not preempt such an action. Discussed here.

The Supreme Court's web page on the case is here. It is Case No. S194388. Go here to sign up for automatic email notifications about developments in the case.