The legal community paid close attention to the California Supreme Court’s 2018 Dynamex decision which adopted a strict test to curtail misclassification of workers as independent contractors. Now that the California legislature has codified and signed the Dynamex decision into law as Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), both the national and legal press have sounded
Gig Economy
Out of the Frying Pan: California’s New Contractor Law Answers Some Questions, Creates Many More
Posted in Gig Economy, Independent Contractor
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill that attempts to settle some of the ambiguity that remained surrounding the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex and its “ABC Test.” While the new bill may have resolved some outstanding questions, the uncertainty is far from over.
Press the Brakes: Ninth Circuit Withdraws Opinion and Leaves Dynamex’s Retroactivity Issue to California Supreme Court
By Tao Leung & Ashley King on
Posted in Gig Economy, Independent Contractor
The debate about whether the Dynamex decision applies retroactively is alive again thanks to a reverse course by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As we previously discussed in greater detail here, in April 2018, the California Supreme Court issued a groundbreaking decision in Dynamex that workers would be presumed employees unless they satisfied…
Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board says that Uber Drivers are not Employees
By Michael E. DeLarco & David Mitchell on
In an Opinion Letter released on Tuesday, May 14, the Office of the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel opined that Uber drivers are not legal “employees” for the purposes of federal labor laws. This opinion, written by Associate General Counsel Jayme L. Sophir, comes less than a month after a similar Opinion Letter…
Ninth Circuit Finds California’s Dynamex’s “ABC test” for the Proper Classification of Independent Contractors Applies Retroactively
By Tao Leung & Nick Ladin-Sienne on
In Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc., the Ninth Circuit revived a decade old wage and hour class action and simultaneously dealt a blow to many employers utilizing independent contractors by holding that California Supreme Court’s “ABC test,” as set forth in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles, applies retroactively.…
U.S. Department of Labor Opines: Gig Economy Workers for Virtual Marketplace Company Have “Economic Independence”; Are Not Employees
By Michael E. DeLarco & David J. Baron on
In a lengthy April 29, 2019 Opinion Letter, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) examined the relationship between a virtual marketplace company (“VMC”) and its service providers. Applying a six-factor test derived from U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the DOL opined that the service providers were independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)—not…
Did the California Supreme Court Just Outlaw the Gig Economy?
By Michelle Roberts Gonzales & Tao Leung on
Posted in Gig Economy, Independent Contractor
California is the birthplace of many of the best-known apps credited – or blamed, depending on your point of view – with fueling the gig economy. But the California Supreme Court issued a ruling on April 30, 2018 that will make it extremely difficult for gig entities and others to treat workers as independent contractors.…