WASHINGTON — Thousands of truck driver jobs have been saved – temporarily – after a federal court granted the Trump administration’s request to hold the CDL-restriction lawsuit in abeyance.
The abeyance, issued on Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, effectively reinforces the court’s prior order from last month that temporarily halted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s interim final rule (IFR) cracking down on non-domiciled CDL and commercial learner’s permit holders.
FMCSA sought the abeyance – which was unopposed by the petitioners filing the lawsuit – so that the agency could review the 8,000 comments filed on the IFR and potentially make changes before issuing a final rule.
The abeyance provides some stability for the trucking industry – FMCSA estimated that close to 200,000 trucking jobs would be eliminated by the IFR – because under the stay issued by the appeals court in November, drivers challenging the rule remained protected under the less-restrictive standards that existed before September 29.
While FMCSA can continue efforts to implement the new restrictions, state driver’s licensing agencies are generally permitted to resume issuing and renewing non-domiciled CDLs.
The lawsuit challenging FMCSA’s IFR was filed in October by Public Citizen Litigation Group, American Federation of Teachers, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, on behalf of truck driver Jorge Rivera Lujan, a long-time CDL holder.
According to the lawsuit, Lujan reportedly lived in the U.S. since age two and has held a commercial driver’s license for over a decade. His lawsuit claims he was unable to renew his CDL on September 30 due to the IFR.
Depending on the details of FMCSA’s final rule, Lujan – along with thousands of other truck drivers – is at risk of losing his trucking business despite having complied with all legal and licensing requirements prior to the rule change.
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