Preview: Court Redefines Indy Contractor

What separates an independent contractor from an employee? The question has been raised more than a few times in California – particularly in the context of the “gig,” or freelance, economy – but a high-profile decision by the state Supreme Court has attempted to put the subject to rest. The April 30 ruling in Dynamex Operations West Inc. vs. Superior Court of Los Angeles laid out a three-part test that may make it harder for companies to classify workers as freelancers. While points A and C have to do with constraints on the worker, point B is an assessment of whether she or he performs a task in keeping with the company’s main line of business. For instance, if the company’s business is to deliver packages, those who are doing the delivering should be classified as employees even if they are able to set their own hours. “If the worker is doing the business that the company exists to do, that worker is an employee, not a contractor,” Karen Gabler, partner at employment law firm LightGabler in Camarillo, told the Business Journal. Read the full story in the May 14 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.