Tue, 02/23/2021
Workers’ rights to not be mislabeled as independent contractors by employers was reaffirmed by the California Supreme Court Friday. Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court ruled in Vazquez et al v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, that the Dynamex ABC Test applies retroactively, allowing workers to utilize the ABC Test for cases filed before the test was established. In 2018, the California Supreme Court decided Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court, which established the ABC Test to classify workers as independent contractors. Under the ABC Test, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the company can demonstrate that the worker is free from their control, engaged in a separate line of work and in business for himself or herself.
The California Supreme Court held that applying the ABC Test retroactively did not alter precedent utilizing a multi-factor test because the Court’s decision in Dynamex did not overrule any previous decision, nor did it disapprove any Court of Appeal decision. The Court noted that precedent related to the multi-factor test did not involve a wage order and since the ABC Test, as articulated in Dynamex, includes factors in the multi-factor test that it is not unreasonable to apply the test retroactively.
MSE has recovered backpay and other damages for workers who were improperly categorized as independent contractors and denied overtime as a result. For more information, visit MSE at https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/misclassified-ot-ineligible.
