Watch this post for news stories and developments about this new law in California.
These infographics provide the basics on AB 5...
Here is where I will post the most recent articles and links I find regarding AB 5:
UPDATE 5.17.21
Op-Ed on AB 5 from The Daily Breeze
Excerpt: "(In) 2018, the California Trucking Association filed suit to stop AB 5’s application to the state’s truck drivers....
....In 2020, a superior court judge issued a preliminary injunction stopping the state from enforcing the law against truck drivers. But the 9th Circuit court’s three-judge panel, on a 2-1 vote, ruled that the state law doesn’t violate federal law. Now the trucking association is appealing the decision in a matter that could end up at the U.S. Supreme Court.
AB 5 tried to force companies to hire contractors as permanent employees, but it instead destroyed job opportunities. The law affected hundreds of thousands of California workers in many professions (musicians, writers, freelance photographers, sign-language interpreters, etc.).
The Legislature ameliorated some of these problems by exempting more than 100 industries from AB 5’s nefarious provisions. Voters in November overwhelmingly approved Proposition 22, which provided a carve-out for drivers at companies such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash.
After that, most observers figured that AB 5 was largely a dead letter, but the latest ruling (shows that the law continues to cause untold harm. It’s long past time for its repeal.
UPDATE 9.16.20:
AB 5 Fix (New Exceptions added to the law)
Excerpt from article:
'105
Exemptions for CA AB5 indie contractor law! This update via legal service I
use, Counsel for Creators. Excerpt: "AB 2257 recast the statutory scheme
and added over fifty more exemptions from the ABC Test into the California
Labor Code. In addition, the new statute authorizes a district attorney to
prosecute an action for injunctive relief.
Last
year’s AB 5 had created 57 statutory exemptions from the “ABC Test.” The new
referral agency code section as added by AB 2257 includes all workers, but
excludes specified ones. In AB 5, this referral agency section listed only
certain types of workers who were exempt under this particular exemption. Now,
AB 2257 includes all of those workers, except it does not list house cleaning,
and then the bill added 5 new types of workers.
Overall,
this year’s AB 2257 added 53 new exemptions, for a total of 109 exemptions from
the Dynamex decision and its ABC Test. The following are the statutory
exemptions contained in AB 2257, set forth in the order in which they appear in
the relevant sections of the Labor Code (along with a notation for those that
were previously listed in last year’s AB 5): (see list in the article)
UPDATE 4.21.20
AB5 puts pressure on theatre groups
LA Times article by Makeda Easter
UPDATE 3.28.20
COVID-19 adds new complications to AB 5.
LA Times article by Johana Bhuiyan
UPDATE 3.7.20
San Diego article about cash-strapped schools likely to let go of part time teachers due to AB 5 requirements, since schools can't afford to pay full time for these positions
Voice of San Diego. Article by Will Huntsbury. 3.6.2020
UPDATE 3.2.20
Graphic Artists Guild Facebook post had link to t his Jan 2020 summary on their website:
UPDATE 2.29.20
LA Times article "Capitol to weigh dozens of AB5 bills," by John Myers. February 29, 2020.https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-28/proposals-change-ab5-independent-contractors-labor-law-california
UPDATE 2.18.20
LA Times article "The AB 5 Backlash..." by Makeda Easter
UPDATE 2.16.20
LA Times article "New state law is changing how businesses treat workers" by Margot Roosevelt.
Nor cal article about AB5 impact on health-related services like sign-language interpreters.
UPDATE 1.3.20
This link goes to article with perspective on AB 5 from IP/Indie Art life law firm I use.
UPDATE 1.8.20
Uber tweaking App to push back against AB5
UPDATE 1.10.20
AB5 doesn't apply to truck drivers
AB5 -- federal judge rules freelance journalists and photographers are NOT exempt
UPDATE 1.15.20
AB 5 Primer in Washington Post
"Can California rein in tech's gig platforms? A primer on the bold state law that will try" by Eli Rosenberg
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This post appeared previously on the blog on 12.31.19.
Text of blog post from 12.31.19....
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NY Times "California Wanted to Protect Uber Drivers. Now it May Hurt Freelancers." by Nellie Bowles and Noam Scheiber 12.31.19
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/technology/california-freelance-gig-workers.html?
Quotes:
"Vanessa McGrady, a writer in Los Angeles who runs a feminist clothing brand, planned to volunteer for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign next year. But then Ms. Warren endorsed A.B. 5. Now Ms. McGrady, who is anxious about how the law will affect her career, is conflicted.
“I feel so strongly that workers need protection,” Ms. McGrady said. “But this bill is killing cockroaches with a cannon.”....
Steve Smith, a spokesman for the California Labor Federation, which advised lawmakers on A.B. 5, conceded that the law was somewhat ambiguous in this area and that the State Legislature should clarify issues like this in the coming years.
“There are going to be unintended consequences with a law like this,” he said. “We want to do everything we can to make sure we’re addressing the right problems and not having any adverse effects on workers.”
LA Times "Uber, Postmaster Sue Over Gig Worker Law" by Johana Bhuiyan and Suhauna Hussain
https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2019-12-30/uber-postmates-call-ab5-unconstitutional-new-lawsuit
Quotes:
"The allegation of equal protection violation arises from the large number of occupations exempted from AB 5 under heavy lobbying. The “laundry list of exemptions,” is proof of its “irrationality,” argue the plaintiffs.
In fact, they note, the bulk of the statute’s language is devoted to enumerating the types of jobs it doesn’t apply to, a list that includes direct salespeople, travel agents, grant writers, construction truck drivers and commercial fisherman. “There is no rhyme or reason to these nonsensical exemptions, and some are so ill-defined or entirely undefined that it is impossible to discern what they include or exclude,” reads the complaint. If the connection between a statute’s means and its goals is insufficiently straightforward, it can be invalidated on the grounds that it lacks “rational basis.”
Previous posts about AB5 here on the blog:
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2019/12/california-freelancer-law-ab5-summary.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2019/12/freelancer-law-ca-ab5-update.html
http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2019/10/freelance-workers-in-ca-impacted-by-ab.html
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