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Sikh Coalition files lawsuit over California trucker licenses
The class action lawsuit has been filed by the Sikh coalition against the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 24, Dec 2025
- 03:06 EST
- 17
Representative image / Pexels
The Sikh Coalition filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles on Dec. 23, challenging the CA-DMV’s decision to cancel more than 20,000 non-domiciled commercial drivers’ licenses (CDLs) due minor clerical discrepancies.
The lawsuit has been filed in coordination with the Asian Law Caucus and Weil, Gotshal and Manges LLP as a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of five CDL holders who have been allegedly "deprived of their rights and livelihoods".
In November 2025, the CA-DMV notified about 17,000 holders of non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that their credentials no longer met federal requirements and would expire within about 60 days unless brought into compliance.
ALSO READ: California to reissue licenses for 17k truckers
The notices followed a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration audit that found some licenses did not meet updated federal standards. The issues included cases in which CDL expiration dates extended beyond drivers’ lawful visa approvals. Federal authorities directed the state to correct or revoke the noncompliant licenses.
Highlighting the significance of the lawsuit, the Sikh coalition said in a statement, "The CA-DMV has thus far failed to provide any recourse or means for drivers to correct these issues. By ejecting these drivers from the workforce without allowing for any sort of solution, the CA-DMV is discriminating against them on the basis of their immigration status."
Talking about its lawsuit, Munmeeth Kaur, legal director of the Sikh Coalition added, “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."
Kaur added, “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.”
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