Is Foresight 2020? Employers Confront New Laws Taking Effect in the New Year

From Littler, James A. Paretti, Jr. and Michael J. Lotito provide an outstanding overview of the laws affecting employers in 2020. The following are several relating to independent contractors. James and Michael write:

California
Law
Main Topic
Summary
Effective Date
AB 5
and
AB 170
Worker Classification:
Test for Determining Independent Contractor Status
Adopts as law the ABC test from the Dynamex v. Superior Court¹ case as a way to classify whether workers are employees or independent contractors, based on whether the hiring entity controls the work, if the worker does tasks outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and whether the worker performs similar work for other customers. Applies the ABC test to the wage orders, labor code, unemployment insurance code, and, effective 7/01/2020, workers’ compensation laws. Creates seven broad categories of exceptions – occupations and industries for which the ABC test is not applied. A related measure, AB 170, exempts newspaper distributors from these new requirements, but only until 2021.
1/01/2020,
in general
7/01/2020,
for purposes of workers’ comp
Colorado
Law
Main Topic
Summary
Effective Date
HB 1267
Wage & Hour: Classification of Employees, Wage Theft Penalties
Amends key definitions, enhances criminal penalties for wage theft, and clarifies how to classify workers as employees or independent contractors.
1/01/2020
New York
Law
Main Topic
Summary
Effective Date
New York City (Int. 136-A-2018)
Human Rights: Contingent Workforce
Clarifies that employers with four or more employees are covered by the city’s human rights law, and includes freelance workers and independent contractors.
1/11/202
Tennessee
Law
Main Topic
Summary
Effective Date
HB 539
Worker Classification
Codifies the IRS 20-factor worker classification test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under certain state statutes
1/01/202
Washington
Law
Main Topic
Summary
Effective Date
HB 1450
Noncompete Agreements
Voids noncompete covenants against employees earning less than $100,000 per year and independent contractors earning less than $250,000 per year from the party seeking enforcement. Requires employers to disclose terms of the noncompete in writing, presumes as unenforceable any restrictive period longer than 18 months, and requires employers to pay the employee’s base salary for the term of noncompete enforcement, among other provisions.
1/01/20