AB 5 language will cause unexpected disruption

Whether or not Assembly Bill 5 was really aimed only at the "gig economy," its absurdly broad language will cause widespread and unexpected disruption of non-business dealings. [Ron Zambrano, "AB 5: Time to get Uber it and move on," Sept. 24]. Want to hire the teenager next door to babysit your child for an evening? AB 5 turns such teens into "employees" as a matter of law. The parties cannot show that the parent has "no ability to control" the babysitter, because the parent, not the babysitter, sets the rules for the child's TV watching and bedtime, the babysitter's refrigerator raiding, and everything else. Because the "no ability to control" prong of the three-prong test cannot be satisfied -- and probably not the other two prongs either -- the teenager next door becomes an "employee." As the article states, "employment benefits now encompass not just wage/hour but a host of other rights under the Labor Code, including workers compensation insurance, wage statement accuracy, time-keeping, work-related expenses," and much more. A "host" of other burdens is putting it lightly.

Similar analysis applies to hiring the kid next door for lawn mowing, leaf raking, plant watering, painting the fence, running an occasional errand, and virtually any other indoor or outdoor task. I'm sure Daily Journal readers can come up with 50 more examples.

Did AB 5 really "do everyone a service by providing ... much-needed common sense to the classification scheme," as Mr. Zambrano claims? I beg to differ.

-- David Amkraut

Los Angeles