California AB5 Update (Status of Independent Contractors) | [Video]

Reclassifying Independent Contractors as Employees: An Update on California’s AB5

In this episode of Coffee with Carl, attorney Carl Zoellner covers a big-picture overview of California’s recent legislation reclassifying independent contractors as employees, AB5.

Updated December 1, 2020

California’s AB5 is a piece of recently-passed legislation that reclassifies many “gig workers” for companies such as Lyft, DoorDash, and Uber. Instead of being treated as independent contractors, AB5 classifies these workers as employees, entitling them to additional benefits and protections.

Several updates and exemptions to this have been released since AB5 was passed. The most recent update was announced on September 4, 2020, and added a long list of exemptions for different types of jobs. Notable, however, is that “gig economy” workers for companies such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash are not exempt.

Proposition 22 is a piece of current legislation that attempts to broaden what workers are exempt from AB5, including “gig economy” drivers. It has not yet …