Gig Workers, Employers Assert Potentially Viable Equal Protection Challenge to AB 5

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the plaintiffs challenging the enforcement of California Assembly Bill 5 plausibly alleged that the legislation violated principles of equal protection and that they should have been allowed to proceed with their claim. In 2018, the California Supreme Court adopted the “ABC test” to categorize workers as employees or independent contractors for the purposes of California wage orders. Under the ABC test, workers are presumed to be employees and may be classified as independent contractors only if the hiring entity demonstrates tha...