Ninth Circuit Rules That California’s Restrictive “ABC” Test for Determining Independent Contractor Status Applies Retroactively

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held recently that the restrictive “ABC test” for determining independent contractor status under California wage orders that was adopted by the state’s Supreme Court in 2018 applies retroactively.

In Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., the question before the appeals court was whether a “unit franchisee,” who provided commercial cleaning services, was an employee or independent contractor. In finding that the person was an employee, the Ninth Circuit held that the ABC test applied retroactively because the California Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling did not create a new rule but was instead faithful to the purposes of California’s wage orders and precedent.

A copy of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Vazquez is available here.

Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.