Under AB 5, a worker is considered an employee unless they meet all three criteria. Which of the following is one criterion?

Under AB 5, a worker is considered an employee unless they meet all three criteria. Which of the following is one criterion?

• A. The worker lacks an independently established trade.
• B. The worker is paid hourly wage.
• C. The worker is free from control and direction in the performance of services.
• D. The worker works for the hiring company in its regular business.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is the ABC test used by AB 5 to distinguish independent contractors from employees. To be considered an independent contractor, a worker must satisfy all three criteria: they perform the work free from control and direction by the hiring entity, the work is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and the worker is independently established in a trade or business. The statement that the worker is free from control and direction in the performance of services is the exact criterion about independence from the employer’s control. If the employer dictates how, when, or where the work is done, that indicates employee status; proving there is no such control supports contractor status. The other options don’t fit the ABC test as stated: being paid hourly is not part of the three criteria, working for the hiring company in its regular business suggests the work is within the company’s usual course (which would fail the second criterion), and lacking an independently established trade would imply not meeting the third criterion rather than being a standalone criterion itself.

The main idea is the ABC test used by AB 5 to distinguish independent contractors from employees. To be considered an independent contractor, a worker must satisfy all three criteria: they perform the work free from control and direction by the hiring entity, the work is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business, and the worker is independently established in a trade or business.

The statement that the worker is free from control and direction in the performance of services is the exact criterion about independence from the employer’s control. If the employer dictates how, when, or where the work is done, that indicates employee status; proving there is no such control supports contractor status.

The other options don’t fit the ABC test as stated: being paid hourly is not part of the three criteria, working for the hiring company in its regular business suggests the work is within the company’s usual course (which would fail the second criterion), and lacking an independently established trade would imply not meeting the third criterion rather than being a standalone criterion itself.