California is suing the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for withholding $33 million in a dispute over the enforcement of English language proficiency (ELP) standards of truck drivers.
“There is no federal requirement that English language proficiency be established through roadside inspections,” California wrote in its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Northern California on Dec. 12.
California said that its ELP policies comply with current federal regulations and that FMCSA approved its Commercial Vehicle Safety Plan, which includes an outline of its commercial driver’s licensing program, earlier in 2025.
The lawsuit over the federal funding was filed hours after DOT Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom over the state’s ELP enforcement at a press conference where he also threatened enforcement action against New York for its non-domiciled CDL policy.
In April, Duffy rescinded Obama administration guidance instructing inspectors that they were not required to place truck drivers out of service for ELP violations. Several weeks later, he issued new guidance to enforce ELP requirements, and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance announced its board of directors voted to add ELP to its out-of-service criteria. Despite these actions, California said the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has not yet been amended to reflect any changes.
California said that every applicant’s commercial vehicle road test is conducted in English, and an examiner assesses language proficiency at that time. It also noted that federal regulations provide a grace period of up to three years for states to adopt laws, regulations, or standards that reflect new federal requirements.
Duffy first warned California in August that it could lose funding over ELP enforcement. He said between late June and August, there was only one ELP violation out of 34,000 inspections resulting in at least one reported violation, and that at least 23 drivers with ELP out-of-service violations in other states were later inspected in California and allowed to continue operating.
In an October letter to California confirming that funding would be withheld unless the state came into compliance, FMCSA Chief Counsel Jesse Ellison wrote that English language proficiency is not a new standard and that the obligation to comply has always existed. He rejected any suggestion of delaying compliance for this reason.
The lawsuit comes three weeks after California, under pressure from DOT, revoked more than 17,000 CDLs issued to immigrants after determining they should never have been granted under state law. Besides DOT and FMCSA, Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs are named as defendants in the case, which was filed by California Attorney General Rob Banta.
Separately, the Texas Trucking Association confirmed in a social media alert that the Texas Department of Public Safety is actively conducting ELP reviews during roadside inspections, and that drivers who do not meet the standard “may be placed out of service immediately, regardless of whether they are operating across state lines or solely within Texas.”
