AB 2257 Effective Immediately
By Jeff Aran, CSA Legal Counsel • September 19, 2020
GGovernor Newsom last week signed into law AB 2257, effective immediately, which provides further exemptions to California’s worker classification ABC test pertaining to independent contractors. Graphic artists and construction workers are already exempt, but the law continues to be refined. Read more for key points under the updated legislation, which dramatically affects the gig economy.
The bill exempts certain additional occupations from being deemed employees.
The new law now exempts from the ABC test certain musicians and performance artists, photographers and photojournalists, as well as services provided by a fine artist, freelance writer, translator, editor, content contributor, advisor, narrator, cartographer, producer, copy editor, illustrator, or newspaper cartoonist who works under a written contract that specifies certain terms.
The law also exempts people who provide underwriting inspections and other services for the insurance industry, a manufactured housing salesperson, subject to certain obligations, people engaged by an international exchange visitor program, as specified, consulting services, animal services, and competition judges with specialized skills, as specified, including referees and umpires. Exceptions also now exist for licensed landscape architects, specialized performers teaching master classes, registered professional foresters, real estate appraisers and home inspectors, and feedback aggregators.
The law also revises the conditions by which business service providers providing services pursuant to contract to another business are exempt. The new law further creates an exemption for business-to-business relationships between two or more sole proprietors, as specified. The law now provides that a hiring entity need only satisfy all of the conditions of one of the exemption provisions to qualify for the exemption from the ABC Test.
Full text can be found here.
There is currently litigation pending against the state to have the entire law declared unconstitutional. There is also a ballot proposition on it this year (Prop 22) intended, in particular, to allow Lyft and Uber drivers to remain independent.
Sign law expert serving the sign industry and its customers for over 25 years, providing legal and consulting services to sign users, installers and manufacturers. Based in Sacramento, Practice Areas include Zoning; Land Use; Real Estate; Constitutional Law; Employment; & Business. Admitted to the Bar in 1989. Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Aran 1-888-SIGNLAW.