The new law creates a different work landscape for freelancers in California.
LOS ANGELES, January 30, 2020 (Newswire.com) - California's Assembly Bill 5 is one of the more significant laws affecting business and employment in recent years. It went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and it is primarily aimed at addressing "gig" workers and the misclassification of workers by companies. Belal Hamideh, a leading workers' compensation attorney in Long Beach, believes this will have a significant impact on workers' compensation in California going forward.
Tech companies Uber, Lyft, and Postmates are said to be the most affected by the new law. Each stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars if a significant number of their drivers, largely classified as independent contractors, are re-classified as full-time employees.
On January 9, both Postmates and Lyft have filed lawsuits against the state of California contending that the new law is unconstitutional.
Speculation abounds as to what this will mean for workers in California.
“There are going to be a lot of workers' compensation and wage and work hour cases filed by Lyft and Uber drivers,” according to Hamideh.
The law mandates that workers who meet a three-pronged "ABC test" be classified as employees of a company. If the worker qualifies, they will be eligible to receive benefits from the said company that include hourly wage protection, workers' compensation benefits, paid sick leave, paid family leave, vacation, unemployment insurance, and short-term disability benefits.
Hamideh said that many of the gig workers in this field should make sure they are correctly classified so that they are not deprived of their benefits.
For more information on how the law affects workers' compensation and other employee protections in California, or to make a media inquiry, please contact Belal Hamideh Law, 111 W. Ocean Blvd. #424 Long Beach, CA, 90802, (888) 277-6122.
Source: Belah Hamideh Law
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