YOUR UBER DRIVER IS HERE, BUT THEIR BENEFITS ARE NOT: THE ABC TEST, ASSEMBLY BILL 5, AND REGULATING GIG ECONOMY EMPLOYERS

In September 2019, California passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) which adopts the ABC test as the standard for determining whether an individual worker is an employee or an independent contractor. This legislation is aimed at gig economy employers, such as Uber, whose workers are arguably misclassified as independent contractors, ultimately denying them access to benefits and the ability to unionize. This Note will discuss AB 5 by identifying the successes and pitfalls of the legislation. While AB 5 is a step in the right direction, the bill still needs to be refined to avoid gaps in enforcement. Further, this Note will advocate for the ABC test to be adopted on the federal level to avoid further misclassification of individual workers and to increase regulations for the gig economy