Independent Contractors

2021 brings a slew of new employment laws, which will affect nearly every California employer, regardless of size or industry. Below is a roundup of the main legal changes that will impact most employers. Some of these laws took effect immediately upon the governor’s signing on September 30th, and most others will go into effect on January 1, 2021. Given the expansive scope of these laws, employers should have their policies and procedures updated and in place ready to go by January 1, 2021.

2020 brings a slew of new employment laws, some of which make significant changes to existing law, and others which make minor updates but which nonetheless require employers’ attention. Below is a roundup of the main legal changes and key takeaways.

On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB-5, sweeping legislation that will affect the proper employment classification of over a million California workers who currently work as independent contractors. AB-5 codifies and expands the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, 4 Cal.5th 903 (2018), which adopted the “ABC test” in holding that a company classifying an individual as an independent contractor bears the burden of justifying that individual’s independent contractor classification.