State Attorney General Xavier Becerra Friday filed an amicus brief supporting workers and the California Labor Commissioner’s efforts to ensure that trucking companies do not deny their employees the protections they are entitled to under state law.

In the case, Ramirez v. XPO Cartage Inc., filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, a trucking company is trying to deny employee benefits by asserting that federal regulations in the trucking industry exempt employers from California laws, according to Becerra.

The state laws require businesses to reimburse their employees for certain expenses incurred during the course of their employment. The particular expenses in the case include insurance, fuel, truck registration fees and maintenance costs. In the brief, Becerra argues that the state of California has the sovereign right to adopt and enforce employment and labor laws, which are areas of traditional state police power.

“American families and businesses rely on truck drivers every day,” Becerra said. “It is shameful to think that companies would try to take advantage of these workers by denying them the reimbursements they are owed for costs incurred on behalf of their employer.”

The AG said that the state “has a strong and legitimate interest in enforcing its labor laws that protect workers, and at the California Department of Justice, we are committed to doing our part to make sure employers follow the law.”

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