In April of 2018, the California Supreme Court outlined a new test to determine independent contractors in
Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v Superrior Court.
The Supreme Court determined that, in order to be classified as an independent contractor, an individual must meet the "ABC" test of three factors. Both employers and employees can be impacted by the misclassification of a worker as an independent contractor.
This decision stated that, most importantly, an independent contractor must be perform work which is not in the hiring entity's usual business. This decision impacted a significant number of industries, including most on-demand services, such as ride-share services, insurance agents, physicians, and instructors.
Realizing the impact this decision will have on both businesses and individuals who intentionally perform this type of work, the "I'm Independent" coalition was formed to lobby the California State legislature for a reversal or clarification of this decision. The goal of this coalition is to find a legislative solution to best serve all of those impacted by this Supreme Court decision.
One compromise suggested by the coalition is to, at the least, delay the implementation of this policy for a year in order for the legislature to have a chance to look into the impact. These efforts will be continued into the next legislative session through the Coalition. The coalition hopes to see legislation proposed as the new session opens up.
