republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20212022/ab-1561.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, legislature, session, identifier, citation, classification, subjects, status, primary_sponsors, version_count, action_count, vote_count, first_action, last_action, source, source_identifier, source_url, source_hash, vintage, source_snapshot, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	legislature	session	identifier	citation	classification	subjects	status	primary_sponsors	version_count	action_count	vote_count	first_action	last_action	source	source_identifier	source_url	source_hash	vintage	source_snapshot	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
Bill	Worker classification: employees and independent contractors.	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.	us/states/ca	California Legislature	20212022	AB 1561	California AB 1561 (20212022)	bill	Worker classification: employees and independent contractors.	enacted	Committee on Labor and Employment	6	22	6	2021-02-25	2021-09-30	openstates	ocd-bill/e23f64c3-9373-43b0-9d75-c88448eb03f7	http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1561	efbce3e95527ce50ef6d328b220c13ac3a32a7654a05f8a3315a0efbdd8ee1a2	2026-07-01	https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump	2026-07-06	reported	legislation bill us-ca

California AB 1561 (20212022) — Worker classification: employees and independent contractors.

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.

Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. 02/25/21 - Introduced (filed) — source
2. 05/20/21 - Amended Assembly (committee substitute) — source
3. 09/03/21 - Amended Senate (committee substitute) — source
4. 09/30/21 - Chaptered (committee substitute) — source
5. AB1561 (committee substitute) — source
6. 09/14/21 - Enrolled (enrolled) — source

Votes

• Do pass as amended. To Consent Calendar. — 15–0 (pass) · lower
• Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — 7–0 (pass) · lower
• 3rd Reading AB1561 L. & E. (Kalra) By Cortese — 38–0 (pass) · upper
• AB 1561 L. & E. Concurrence in Senate Amendments By KALRA — 78–0 (pass) · lower
• AB 1561 L. & E. Consent Calendar Second Day — 75–0 (pass) · lower
• Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — 5–0 (pass) · upper

Sponsors

• Committee on Labor and Employment — primary (person)

Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

• 2021-02-25 Read first time. To print. reading-1
• 2021-02-26 From printer. May be heard in committee March 28.
• 2021-03-11 Referred to Com. on L. & E. referral-committee
• 2021-04-08 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee
• 2021-04-21 In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
• 2021-05-19 From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 19). amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage
• 2021-05-20 Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2
• 2021-05-24 Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. reading-1, reading-2
• 2021-05-27 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 1659.) passage, reading-1, reading-3
• 2021-05-28 In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. reading-1
• 2021-06-09 Referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R. referral-committee
• 2021-07-13 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (July 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee
• 2021-08-16 From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. committee-passage, reading-2
• 2021-08-17 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
• 2021-09-03 Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-3
• 2021-09-07 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
• 2021-09-08 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 2504.). passage, reading-1, reading-3
• 2021-09-08 In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
• 2021-09-09 Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 3038.). amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable
• 2021-09-20 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
• 2021-09-30 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
• 2021-09-30 Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 422, Statutes of 2021. became-law

Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/e23f64c3-9373-43b0-9d75-c88448eb03f7. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).