Revised Referral Agency Exception Effective September 4, 2020, Assembly Bill (AB) 2257 and Labor Code section 2777 broaden the “referral agency” exception to the state’s strict “ABC” definition of independent contractors. A referral agency is a “business that provides clients with referrals for service providers to provide services under a contract,” other than the specific […]
The Referral Agency Exception To California’s Strict Independent Contractor Definition When new Labor Code section 2750.3(g) goes into effect on January 1, 2020 as part of Assembly Bill (AB) 5, certain types of referral agencies may be able to avoid classifying associated service providers as employees under the uber-strict Dynamex ABC standards. See, California’s Independent […]
Federal Appeals Court Rules New Independent Contractor ABC Test Applies Before It Existed Industries and employers throughout California have been grappling since April 2018 with the effect of Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court on their independent contractor relationships. Rejecting a multi-factor standard that had been in place since 1989, the California Supreme Court […]
California Legislature Dealing with Competing Proposals to Kill or Expand New Dynamex Test In 2018, the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex ruling drastically changed the criteria for independent contractor classification to determine entitlement to many employee rights and benefits. See, Independent Contractor Status in California Now Falls Under Radically Different Rules (June, 2018). Rejecting the long-established balancing […]
New Court Decision on Delivery Drivers Shows the Issue Requires Detailed Analysis The dividing line between properly classified employees and independently contracted workers can often be about as clear as mud. The June, 2014 decision from the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp illustrates the perils of a company’s […]
Avoiding Misclassification of Hired Workers in California For possible cost savings and ease in administration, businesses are sometimes tempted to classify people working regularly as “independent contractors” instead of “employee.” In California, as in other states, independent contractors are usually not entitled to most of the benefits that employer must provide employees, including minimum wage, […]