There has been some recent activity with regard to a variety of
important California laws impacting employers. As outlined
below, the areas affected are: a slight loosening of recent
laws concerning independent contractors; expansion of family leave
obligations; expansion of workers' compensation coverage for
COVID-19 illness, and expansion from 1 to 3 years of the time for
submitting discrimination and related claims.
Revisions to California's Law on Independent
Contractors
California's Assembly Bill 5, that became law on January 1,
2020, principally as California Labor Code § 2750.3,
significantly narrowed the range of working relationships that
could be treated as independent contractor – as opposed to
employment – relationships. The statute provided that a
true independent contractor relationship had to satisfy all three
of the following: (A) the worker must operate free of control by
the hiring entity; (B) the work being performed must be outside
