AB 2257: Sweeping Changes To AB 5 Independent Contractor Law

Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5, a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took effect on January 1, 2020. Now, with the passage, executive signature, and immediate enactment of Assembly Bill 2257, businesses must once again adapt to another drastic shift in the employee classification calculus.

On September 4, 2020, AB 2257, which substantially revises and clarifies California's independent contractor laws, went into effect immediately upon receiving California Governor Gavin Newsom's signature.

AB 5, as businesses are all too aware, installed the "ABC Test" as the default standard to determine whether independent contractors should be treated as employees of a hiring entity, and also set forth a labyrinthine list of exemptions from its purview. From its inception, AB 5 has stirred an inordinate amount of controversy-not only have