The Sikh Coalition and the Asian Law Caucus have filed a lawsuit against California officials after the state announced crackdowns on commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).
“The state of California must help these 20,000 drivers because, at the end of the day, the clerical errors threatening their livelihoods are of the CA-DMV’s own making. If the court does not issue a stay, we will see a devastating wave of unemployment that harms individual families, as well as the destabilization of supply chains on which we all rely,” Munmeeth Kaur, the legal director of the Sikh Coalition, said in a press release. “These drivers have spent years anchoring their lives to these careers, only to now face potential economic ruin through no fault of their own—they deserve better, and California must do better.”
The filing asserts that the “DMV has informed applicants that it is not processing—issuing, renewing, or amending—any nonresident CDL and therefore individuals cannot immediately reapply for a corrected license. The DMV has also not provided any timeline of when—if ever—individuals will be permitted to reapply.”
It adds that the “sudden loss of their ability to work threatens not only their livelihoods but also the stability of our supply chains and services on which the public depends. Neither the individuals nor our communities can sustain the harm that will occur if these drivers lose their licenses, careers, and economic stability.”
Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) admitted to illegally issuing 17,000 non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to foreign drivers endangering Americans. The development comes as Duffy has threatened to revoke California’s ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses if it fails to comply with transportation policies.
