Insight & Commentary on California Workplace Law Issues & Developments
Castellanos v. State of California centered on the constitutionality of Proposition 22, the “Protect App-Based Drivers and Services Act,” which allowed app-based rideshare and delivery companies to hire drivers as independent contractors if certain conditions were met.
In its recent decision, the California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Proposition 22, affirming the Court of…
Since the passage of California Assembly Bill (AB) 5 in 2019, there have been subsequent legal challenges and revised legislation that continues to shape the status of independent contractors and related employment law issues in California. Keeping track of all the cases and exemptions related to AB 5 is almost as difficult as determining who…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reviewed a challenge to California’s “ABC Test,” also referred to as Assembly Bill (AB) 5, which is California’s test for whether a worker can be classified as an independent contractor. In Mobilize the Message, LLC v. Bonta, the plaintiffs appealed the district court’s denial of…
In April 2021, the 9th Circuit panel held that the application of California Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) to motor carriers is not preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA). Under AB 5, the test for whether a worker is appropriately classified as an independent contractor became more stringent, creating…
At the end of 2020, it seemed the legislature, the courts, and even California voters wanted to move away from the independent contractor test codified in Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5). However, during 2021, the pendulum seems to have swung back in favor of AB 5 and its guidelines on classifying workers as employees versus…
In Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International (Vazquez), the California Supreme Court answered “Yes” to the Ninth Circuit’s question, “Does your independent contractor ABC test in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (Dynamex) apply retroactively?”
In 2018, the Dynamex Court concluded that under California wage orders, anyone who performs work for a business is presumed…
One of the first employment-related bills signed by Governor Newsom this legislative session was Assembly Bill (“AB”) 2257, which recasts, clarifies, and expands exemptions to AB 5, last year’s bill relating to independent contractors.
In September 2019, Governor Newsom signed into law AB 5, which codified the “ABC Test” adopted by the California…
