California Governor Signs Law Mandating Penalties for Penalties for Contractor Misclassification
This month, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 459 Penalties for Misclassification as Contractor, preventing California employers from improperly misclassifying workers as independent contractors. Repeat violations carry stiff penalties of up to $25,000 for each violation.
Existing California law prescribes comprehensive requirements relating to minimumwages, overtime compensation, and standards for working conditions forthe protection of employees applicable to an employment relationship.This bill would prohibit willful misclassification, as defined, of individualsas independent contractors. The bill also would prohibit charging individualswho have been mischaracterized as independent contractors a fee or makingdeductions from compensation, as specified, where those acts would haveviolated the law if the individuals had not been mischaracterized.