last updated 9/7/21
California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) extends employee classification status to some consultants for workers compensation. Under AB5, companies must use a three-pronged test to prove workers are independent contractors, not employees. AB5 was designed to regulate companies that hire gig workers in large numbers, such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Assembly_Bill_5_(2019)
Approximately 100 professions were specifically exempted from AB5, including engineers, architects, doctors, dentists, psychologists, insurance agents, stockbrokers, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, travel agents, graphic designers, songwriters, youth sports coaches, and some freelance writers, producers, and cartographers, as they are seen to generally directly work with and set their prices to customers.
Useful postings on California AB 5 about consulting:
2021 News about California AB 5
2020 News resources about California AB 5
- California AB5 Update (Status of Independent Contractors)
- Exempt Job Categories Under California’s AB5 Law – Nolo Press
- Remaining Independent Under California’s New AB5 Law
- California AB5 and Freelancers: What It Means for You
- Uber and Postmates filed a suit at the end of December 2019, challenging that the law denies equal protection due to variance in the types of jobs exempted.
2019 interesting postings
- Assembly Bill 5 is already destroying jobs and opportunities
- Announcement Only: Joint event on Nov. 19, 2019 Consulting in California – The Rules have Changed