(CN) — A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel found Wednesday that a federal court was correct in dismissing a lawsuit filed by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association challenging the State’s passage of Assembly Bill 5 and its various amendments.
AB5 took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, limiting the type of work certain freelancers in the state can perform without being considered on-staff employees. Many journalists and photographers cried foul when the bill passed, claiming it would severely limit job opportunities for California-based freelancers, and have a negative impact on their livelihoods. Almost immediately after its passage, numerous companies began adding disclaimers to their freelance job postings for writers and photographers stating that residents of California would not be considered because of the new restrictions.
The bill codified the “ABC test,” first presented in a California Supreme Court case against Dynamex, and now used to determine whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor. To classify someone as a contractor rather than an employee, a company must show that they do not directly control the worker, that the tasks performed by the worker fall outside the company’s primary business and that the worker is “customarily engaged in an independently established trade.” If a business cannot tick all three boxes, they must deem a worker to be an employee.





