Effective January 1, 2020, a portion of Assembly Bill (AB) 5 — new Labor Code section 2750.3(e) — exempts bona fide business-to-business contracting relationships from the ultra-strict Dynamex “ABC” test for independent contractor classification.
California’s “Professional Services” Exemption To Strict Independent Contractor Definition Licensed Beauticians Among the Eligible The product of Sacramento politics, specific “professional services” occupations will be exempted from the rigid “Dynamex ABC” standard for classifying independent contractors, California Labor Code 2750.3, effective January 1, 2020 (part of Assembly Bill (AB) 5). See, Dodging the Bullet (October […]
The Industries and Professions Not Subject to California’s New Independent Contractor Restrictions Effective January 1, 2020, Assembly Bill (AB) 5 will dramatically extend the ultra-strict Dynamex “ABC” test for independent contractor classification. See, California’s Independent Contractors, Endangered Species? (October, 2019). However, a portion of AB-5, to become Labor Code section 2750.3(b), exempts several specific industries/licensed […]
An Endangered Species by Newly Enacted “AB 5” Until April 2018, the 11-factor balancing test in S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (California Supreme Court) had long applied to classifying workers as employees or independent contractors. That court then dramatically changed the rules in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior […]
Protections for People Needing Assistive Animals A recent settlement extends California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) disabilities protection to rental applicants seeking to move in with emotional support pets. In a complaint filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) against Adams West Associates, Ltd. and Bedford Group of Companies, LLC, a […]
EMPLOYMENT ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION FORM I-9 EXPIRES AUGUST 31, 2019 The federal government requires all U.S. employers to verify identity and work authorization for each employee hired within the U.S., including citizens and non-citizens, using “Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification” (the I-9 Form or Form). The I-9 Form directs the employee to present specified documents evidencing […]
California’s Threshold for Required Heat Illness Safeguards An employer’s obligations to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses starts at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (that’s 26.7 degrees Celsius to be precise). So say California’s Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) regulations. The regulations incorporate common sense rules for keeping workers safe: Have free, fresh, and “suitably […]
Woman showing ankle, 1908 A California appellate court recently addressed whether BJ’s Restaurants (BJ’s) improperly failed to reimburse its employees for the purchase of slip-resistant shoes. Server Krista Townley sued on behalf of herself and other similarly-affected hourly co-workers alleging BJ’s Restaurants (BJ’s) required them to wear black, slip-resistant, close-toed shoes for safety reasons without […]
Workers, 1901 Advertising and recruiting of desired applicants are the first steps in the hiring process. Such outreach must not discriminate against members of any “protected class,” characteristics shielded by federal and state employment discrimination laws. In California, these include race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, […]
New California Law Takes Effect January 1, 2020 California law has long-prohibited workplace racial discrimination against employees and applicants. The state is now the first to link natural hairstyles to race, thus protecting their wearers from disparate treatment. The Legislature based passage of revised Government Code 12926 on a finding that workplace dress and grooming […]