California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Julie Su recently announced the launch of the agency’s new website that houses resources and information for workers and employers on Assembly Bill (AB) 5. The website also serves as a portal for information on the ABC test, and answers to frequently asked questions regarding AB 5 and other resources to assist workers and businesses seeking additional information about misclassification, employee protections, and employer obligations.
As previously stated in Spotlight, the California legislature has passed AB 5, which codifies and expands on the “ABC” test for determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor.
The ABC test was adopted by the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision in 2018. In Dynamex, the California Supreme Court held that under this ABC test, workers are presumed to be employees unless all three of the following conditions are met:
(A) The individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under his contract for the performance of service and in fact; and
(B) The service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer; and
(C) The individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed.
Under AB 5, the ABC Test is applied to all the provisions of the Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code as well. And while the new law creates several exemptions for certain classes of workers, agriculture is not included.