California Mandates Employment Classification For Many Workers, Codifying Dynamex's ABC Test

Takeaways

On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill making it risky for employers (regardless of size) to classify many types of workers as independent contractors.

As employees, these workers will be subject to and protected by California’s workplace rules, including overtime, meal and rest breaks, paid sick leave, paid family leave, payroll withholdings, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, and other local and municipal regulations.

Contingent-workforce industries, founded in the Silicon Valley, were unsuccessful in their attempt to thwart the legislation, which is the most aggressive in classifying workers as employees in the country.