Worker classification: commercial fishing industry.

Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the "ABC" test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor unless the hiring entity demonstrates that the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, the person performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business, and the person is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business. Existing law charges the Labor Commissioner with the enforcement of labor laws, including worker classification. Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships, as defined, from the application of the ABC test. Existing law, instead, provides that these exempt relationships are governed by the multifactor test previously adopted in the case of S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Department of Industrial Relations (1989) 48 Cal.3d 341 (Borello) . These include an exemption for a commercial fisher working on an American vessel, as defined, until January 1, 2023, unless extended by the Legislature. Existing law makes a commercial fisher working on an American vessel eligible for unemployment insurance benefits upon meeting certain eligibility criteria. Existing law also requires the Employment Development Department to issue an annual report to the Legislature on the use of unemployment insurance in the commercial fishing industry. This bill would extend the timeframe in which the above exemption applies until January 1, 2026.