Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification.
Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously adopted in the case of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341. Existing exemptions include persons providing professional services under specified circumstances, including services provided by still photographers, photojournalists, freelance writers, editors, and newspaper cartoonists who do not license or provide, as applicable, content submissions more than 35 times annually to a putative employer.
This bill would additionally exempt certain occupations in connection with creating, marketing, promoting, or distributing sound recordings or musical compositions.
This bill would also additionally exempt a musician or musical group for the purpose of a single-engagement live performance event, unless one of certain conditions applies. The bill would define terms for the purpose of this exemption.
This bill would delete the existing professional services exemptions for services provided by still photographers, photojournalists, freelance writers, editors, and newspaper cartoonists. The bill would, instead, establish an exemption for services provided by a still photographer, photojournalist, videographer, or photo editor, as defined, who works under a contract that specifies certain terms in advance, as long as the individual providing the services is not replacing an employee performing the same work at the same volume, the individual does not primarily perform the work at the hiring entity's business location, and the individual is not restricted from working for more than one hiring entity. The bill would establish an exemption for services provided to a digital content aggregator, as defined, by a still photographer, photojournalist, videographer, or photo editor. The bill would establish an exemption for services provided by a freelance writer, editor, illustrator, or newspaper cartoonist who works under a contract that specifies certain terms in advance, as long as the individual providing the services is not replacing an employee performing the same work at the same volume, the individual does not primarily perform the work at the hiring entity's business location, and the individual is not restricted from working for more than one hiring entity.

Statutes affected:
AB 2257: 17941 RTC
02/13/20 - Introduced: 17941 RTC
05/04/20 - Amended Assembly: 2750.3 LAB, 17941 RTC
05/06/20 - Amended Assembly: 2750.3 LAB, 2750.3 LAB
AB2257: 17941 RTC