Work · Checklist · Reviewed July 14, 2026
Employee or independent contractor check
How California's ABC test looks past a 1099 and checks the real working relationship.
The short version
A 1099 is a tax form, not the classification test
Under the ABC test, a worker is usually an employee, so the hiring business has to show all three parts. The worker is free from the business's control. The work is outside the business's usual business. And the worker already runs an independent business doing that kind of work.
What changes the answer: A rule that removes the ABC test often sends the case to another test. It does not make the worker a contractor by itself.
The label can change pay, breaks, sick time, job injury help, tax forms, and where you file. The real work facts matter more than the label.
How it works
Part A checks who controls the work
Part A looks at both the written deal and the daily work. Look at who sets the hours, place, methods, prices, tools, dress, rules, and approval steps. A promise of freedom is not enough when the business still sets the daily rules.
A manager does not need to watch every move. The normal control kept over an employee can be enough. A specialist who sets the schedule, works alone, buys materials, and runs a separate business has facts pointing the other way.
Part B compares the job with what the business sells
Part B asks whether the job is outside the hiring business's usual work. California gives a useful contrast. A retail store hiring an outside plumber for a leak is outside the store's usual business. A bakery regularly hiring cake decorators for cakes it sells is inside the bakery's usual business.
The name on the business is not the whole answer. Look at what its customers buy and what its employees do. Also look at its ads and the product it gives the customer.
Part C looks for a business that already exists
Part C looks for a real business doing the same kind of work. Facts can include forming the business, keeping required licenses, running ads, and regularly offering the same service to the public or other possible customers.
The chance to start a business is not enough. The trade or business should exist in real life. No single license, invoice, website, or second customer decides this part.
An exception changes the test, not the answer
Some jobs and business deals use the Borello test or another rule instead of ABC. Some exceptions work only after added contract, license, or business rules are met. App-based rideshare and delivery work has a separate Proposition 22 path.
Borello weighs many facts. The right to control is a major one. It still starts from employee status, but no one fact gives the answer. Another law or agency may also use a different test for the same work.
Status changes the help a worker can use
Employee status can open wage, overtime, break, sick-leave, expense, unemployment, and workers' compensation paths. A true contractor may have a contract or payment case instead. The Labor Commissioner can decide status during a wage claim.
Save the contract and tax forms. Also save the real work record. Keep schedules, app screens, prices, rules, customer contacts, invoices, costs, other clients, and messages about discipline or ending the work. A worker who may have the wrong label can still apply for unemployment and let EDD decide.
First moves
- 1
Save the contract, 1099, W-2, app terms, invoices, pay records, schedules, texts, and work rules.
- 2
Write down who sets the hours, place, tools, price, steps, work rules, and days off.
- 3
For ABC part A, record how much control and direction the business keeps over the work.
- 4
For part B, compare the work with what the business normally sells or does.
- 5
For part C, record any real independent business doing the same kind of work for other customers.
- 6
Check the occupation and contract for an exception before relying on the ABC result. Some work uses Borello or another rule.
- 7
If the label led to unpaid wages, breaks, sick time, job costs, or final pay, gather wage-claim papers.
- 8
For tax or benefit questions, use EDD's guide or ask EDD about a written answer.
- 9
If many workers have the same problem, check the DIR report page.
Watch for
- 1
A 1099, app label, invoice, or written deal does not decide status by itself.
- 2
Under the ABC test, the hiring business generally has to establish all three parts.
- 3
If one ABC part is not established, the worker is generally treated as an employee for the law using that test. An exception can change which test applies.
- 4
Borello weighs several facts, with the right to control the manner and means of the work as a major one.
- 5
Business-to-business work, licensed work, building trades, trucking, real estate, repossession, public work, volunteers, interns, and app-based rideshare or delivery can have different paths.
- 6
Employee status can affect minimum wage, overtime, breaks, sick leave, unemployment, workers' comp, and retaliation.
- 7
Job costs can be a warning sign. Watch for charges for tools, space, repairs, licenses, or supplies.
- 8
The Labor Commissioner may decide status in a wage claim. True contractors may need a contract claim instead.
- 9
Do not wait if a pay, tax, benefit, injury, or retaliation deadline is close.
Official sources
Where to confirm this
Use the source that matches the step you are on. Current forms, fees, deadlines, and agency decisions can change after this page is reviewed.
Use this as a map. It does not decide your rights, tell you what to file, or say someone broke the law. If a deadline, denial, eviction, firing, injury, tax bill, permit fight, or insurance dispute is on the line, use the official source or a licensed professional.