The State of California has been in the news lately for two major changes. The first has to do with the issues of Employees versus Contractors. AB5 effective in January of 2020 codifies a recent Supreme Court Case that impacts the “gig” economy. The law puts in place an “ABC” test.
Under the ABC test a worker is presumed an employee—not an independent contractor—unless they meet all 3 of the following criteria:
- (A) The worker is free from control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both in contract and in fact.
- (B) The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business.
- (C) The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.
This can be confusing so we urge you to contact your employment attorney or talk to us and we can help you determine if you are impacted by this new law.
Next up is the new California privacy law. The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. According to the law, consumers will be able to opt out of the sale of their personal information. If a company fails to implement reasonable security practices and consumers’ personal information is breached, they’ll be allowed to sue those companies. You may have been noticing a lot of emails in your inbox from companies as they update their privacy notifications.