California’s Assembly Bill (“AB”) 979 is set to make waves both within the state and across the country as a groundbreaking new law that would require companies to diversify their boards and reserve seats for directors from “underrepresented communities.”. The bill defines a director from an “underrepresented community” as “an individual who self-identifies as Black, African …
 · AB 97, Committee on Budget. Health care services. (1) Existing law creates the Health y Families Program, administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, to arrange for the provision of health, vision, and dental benefits to children less than 19 years of age who meet certain criteria, including having a limited household income.
 · What California’s New AB 5 Law Means for Employers. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 18 signed into law Assembly Bill 5, landmark legislation which codifies, and …
But a lawyer may advance, guarantee, or acquiesce in the payment of: (1) Expenses reasonably incurred by a witness in attending or testifying. (2) Reasonable compensation to a witness for …
18 signed into law Assembly Bill 5, landmark legislation which codifies, and significantly expands, the reach of the California Supreme Court’s restrictive “ABC” test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.
The exemptions cover, among others, those performing work under a contract for “professional services,” including law, accounting, marketing (provided the work is “original and creative” in character, and “depends primarily on invention, imagination, or talent”), human resources administrators (provided that, among other factors, the work is “predominantly intellectual and varied in character”), graphic designers, and freelance writers.
What AB 5 Means for Businesses. AB 5 adopts and integrates the ABC test into California’s Labor Code and Unemployment Insurance Code. As a result, the ABC test now applies to many more laws—not merely those covered by the state wage orders that were the subject of the Dynamex decision—that protect employees in the workplace.
However, for practical purposes, the ABC test, and its applicability to claims by or on behalf of misclassified contractors for minimum wage, overtime and meal/rest violations, has been the law of the land for nearly 18 months through the Dynamex decision.
Lastly, with this incorporation of the ABC test into the Labor Code, if a business fails the test and lacks sufficient capital to satisfy a misclassification judgment or award, both the government and private litigants now have a more direct basis to pursue Labor Code monetary penalties arising out of such misclassification from officers and directors personally.
AB 5 adopts the restrictive test for independent contractor status imposed by the California Supreme Court in its April 2018 Dynamex decision.
Thus, even if a work er is exempt under AB 5, the business must still establish that the worker is a contractor, al beit under the more flexible Borello test. Lastly, AB 5 makes clear that it does not diminish the flexibility of employees to (1) work part-time; (2) work on intermittent schedules; or to (3) work for multiple employers.
Following a California Supreme Court decision last year, more California workers are entitled to benefits and protections, such as compensation for injuries sustained because of their work, sick leave and minimum wage.
Lawmakers granted carve-outs to some professions under the legislation, many of which lobbied for a reprieve from the new rules.
Some companies argue they will be forced cut back on services or raise prices, although labor groups have disputed those arguments.
AB 5 makes a 2018 California Supreme Court decision called “Dynamex” part of state law. Justices ruled that a worker should be classified as an employee and entitled to corresponding benefits unless they meet the requirements under a three-part test:
Many interest groups are still pushing for additional professions to be excluded from the new worker classification rules, including the therapist groups.
AB 1950: Guide to New Probation Reform in California. For many people, prohibition is seen as a way to serve time without actually having to go to jail or prison after a conviction for a misdemeanor or felony offense. While this may be seen as a positive way for a person to complete their sentence, the reality is that the burdens ...
The provisions of AB 1950 will not apply if someone is convicted of a violent felony (regularly referred to as a strike offense). Any person who pled guilty to residential burglary, threats, or robbery will not qualify under the new law.
While the overriding argument for adjusting probation laws in this state was to address these rights violations, the reality is that California was spending billions of dollars in supervising and housing prisoners simply due to probation violations or lengthy probation periods.
1-year probation cap for most misdemeanor offenses in California
However, the maximum allowable time a person can be sentenced to probation has changed in the state of California as a result of Assembly Bill 1950 (AB 1950).
When do the changes take effect? The language of AB 1950 specifically says that the new one- and two-year probation caps become effective on January 1, 2021. As a result of this legislation, any relevant crimes committed on or after that date are subject to this new law.
This new law, which was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 30, 2020, completely reforms the amount of time that a person can be required to spend on probation.
AB 5 addressed “referral agencies,” and when they were exempt from the ABC Test, in section 2750.3 (g). AB 2257 amended the referral agency exemption and codified it in section 2777.
That’s because the law swept broadly to include a number of freelancers and independent contractors that apparently did not want to be “helped” by the Legislature.
The scope of AB 2257 remains the same as it did in AB 5. That is, the ABC Test and definitions formerly contained in Labor Code 2750.3 (a) are now going to be contained in Labor Code section 2775 here. But AB 2257 contains new exceptions and modifies some of the old ones. Here are the main ones.
One of the biggest criticisms of AB 5 was that it could result in “employment relationships” between two unrelated persons or businesses showing up to perform services at a one-day event, if the other ABC Factors could not be satisfied. For example, a caterer might hire a DJ at a wedding, each of whom had a separate business. But AB 5 might create an employment relationship even though an independent contractor relationship was clearly intended. So, the Legislature added section 2779 to address this issue:
After AB 5’s enactment, litigation ensued. A couple of courts enjoined the new law as it applied to certain interstate trucker independent contractors, because the law was preempted. Appeals are pending. Other legal challenges initially failed, such as by certain freelance journalists, although appeals may be pending as well. But most of the law took effect. And Uber and Lyft recently were enjoined from continuing to operate under an independent contractor model. They have appealed and the injunctions have been temporarily stayed.
The ABC Test is so tough in part because each element (A B and C) must be proven or the worker is an employee, not a contractor. Under Borello, on the other hand, it’s a “totality of the circumstances,” multi-factor analysis.
Insofar as the application of Sections 2776 to Section 2784 would relieve an employer from liability, those sections shall apply retroactively to existing claims and actions to the maximum extent permitted by law.