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California AB 5 & Contract Drafting

archi_dude

Was curious if anyone starting a small firm in California had digested the implications of AB 5 and had implemented some strategies to deal with it. For people not wanting to decimate their life savings, therefore starting out by moonlighting and slowly stepping away from their job, I think contract drafters are a necessity to make that possible. From what I'm reading I don't see how anyone could be classified as a contract worker unless you are in one of the excluded professions. Engineers made the cut but Architects appear to not have. From what I'm reading, you need to meet ALL of these in order to classify as a contract worker:

1) the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact.....So you'd need to be a contract worker that doesn't need to complete the assignment? 

2) the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business....well s$%t

3) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity...This seems to be the only possible one to achieve unfortunately you need to satisfy the first two impossible ones.




 
Sep 29, 19 12:31 pm
Janosh

I think it is generally a good law knowing how much independent contractor status has been abused by our industry. But to your point (and unless I am reading it wrong) it appears that the workaround is to hire outside drafting services that are not on your premises, offer work to others, and have a business license.

Sep 29, 19 4:32 pm  · 
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archi_dude

The old law did a good job of defining what wasn't a contractor. Firms just ignored it. I'm trying to figure out how you legally get some extra drafting help in California after this thing passed. Or maybe I'm not understa ding the law correctly. That is a good point though to hire a a drafting company that would probably do it.

Sep 29, 19 4:51 pm  · 
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archi_dude

Just thought of another question. I've been trying to set up my finances and live more humbly where I can partly retire earlier while doing contract work part time for the end of my career.  Is this no longer an option? I'd have to go find a inflexible job for part time work. 

Sep 29, 19 4:54 pm  · 
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atelier nobody

2750.3(b)(3) excludes licensed architects, but It's not clear (to me anyway) whether this applies to the contractor or the contracting firm.

(c)(1) seems like it ought to apply, except that the list in (c)(2)(B) does not include "drafting."

(e)(1) seems (to me) like it would definitely apply.

Sep 29, 19 9:21 pm  · 
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archi_dude

Was doing some more research today. I cant find the language but apparently architects did make the exemption list as well

Sep 29, 19 11:18 pm  · 
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archi_dude

As a very long list of freelance type positions. Seems like it was really aimed at ending large companies exploiting the 1099, which I'm totally down with.

Sep 29, 19 11:20 pm  · 
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