Calling Someone A Contractor Does Not Make Them One
A common assumption among small business owners: if a worker signs an independent contractor agreement and sets their own hours, the classification is settled.
Recent litigation involving spa and salon workers at a hospitality business shows how that assumption fails in practice. The workers alleged they were required to work scheduled shifts, stay on-site during hours with no clients booked, and handle cleaning, laundry, and inventory alongside their specialty work. A court allowed the misclassification claims to proceed.
Those facts matter because California’s default worker-classification standard, the ABC test codified at Lab. Code § 2775 following Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, requires the hiring business to prove the worker’s role falls outside the company’s usual course of business. A required shift schedule and non-specialty duties both cut against that showing.
Getting this wrong is not a paperwork problem. Misclassification carries civil penalties under Lab. Code § 226.8 on top of back wages, missed overtime, and unpaid payroll taxes, and the exposure compounds with every worker classified the same way.
The fix starts with the actual working relationship, not the offer letter someone signed. Does the person control their own schedule. Does their work sit outside your core business. Do they operate their own independent enterprise. Dynamex asks all three questions, and a shift schedule alone can answer the first one for you.
If the people you call contractors work set shifts, stay on-site when there is no client to serve, or handle cleaning and inventory alongside their specialty, your classifications may not survive a closer look. That is worth walking through before you decide what to do next.
Contact Michael Trust Law, APC for a no-charge initial consultation. The facts determine what needs to be addressed – and how much of a conversation that takes.
This post shares general information based on common patterns I see in California workplaces. It is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and outcomes depend on specific facts – no lawyer can guarantee a result. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. AI may have been used to create this post. All content reviewed by a CA attorney before publication.