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A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a lower court’s preliminary injunction that blocked the immediate implementation of California’s Assembly Bill 5 law, which motor carriers have claimed would make use of independent contractors next to impossible.

The California Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit Feb. 3 that sought to overturn a ballot measure that makes app-based ride-hailing and delivery drivers independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections.

A group of ride-hail and delivery drivers are suing to invalidate the California ballot measure approved in November that declared them independent contractors, the latest volley in the state’s yearslong struggle over whether gig workers are employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Jan. 6 issued a final rule revising its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act that it said will “promote certainty for stakeholders, reduce litigation and encourage innovation in the economy.”

The California Court of Appeals has issued an opinion declaring motor carriers are not exempt from a state law aimed at reclassifying owner-operators as employees.

Although the next occupant of the White House remained unclear the day after the election, certain transportation-related issues were definitively settled at the state level Nov. 3.

Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. face the gravest threat yet to their business models after an appeals court ruled they must treat their drivers in California as employees instead of independent contractors.

Uber, Lyft and other app-based companies are in danger of coming up short with voters on a ballot measure that would allow them to again classify their workers as independent contractors, a new statewide poll shows.

Uber and Lyft were spared from having to rapidly convert their California drivers to employees after an appeals court agreed they can keep their business models in place while challenging a judge’s order to comply with a state labor law.

Uber Technologies Inc. joined Lyft Inc. in asking an appeals court for an extended reprieve on converting California drivers to employees after both companies warned that a rapid overhaul of their business models may force them to suspend operations in their home state.