(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday rejected a bid by Uber ( UBER ) and subsidiary Postmates to revive a challenge to a California law that could force the companies to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors who are typically less expensive.

An 11-judge en banc panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that said Uber ( UBER ) failed to show that the 2020 state law unfairly singled out app-based transportation companies while exempting other industries.

(Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington, D.C.)