Progress for California Workers' Rights

Some important developments that have occurred in the world of workers' compensation in 2019, in this case legislation that will be beneficial to California workers for years to come. The biggest news was the passage of Assembly Bill 5, recently signed into law by California Governor Newson. AB5 essentially states that beginning on January 1, 2020, a person who provides labor on services for a company such as Uber is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor(unless the hiring company can demonstrate that certain conditions are satisfied). These conditions are determinant on whether the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in relation to the work itself, the work performed is outside the scope of the hiring company’s business, and the worker is engaged in an independent trade or business.

This is a huge victory for California workers who are not currently protected by workers’ compensation laws, wage and hour laws, and unemployment and disability laws, based on their status as independent contractors. With rising labor costs for the companies targeted by the bill (due to Medicare, Social Security, unemployment, overtime, rest breaks, etc.) there has been pushback from companies hoping to be exempted from the new bill.

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