The California Constitution grants many rights to persons, including the right to speak and write freely, as specified, and to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. Existing statutory law requires that a person providing labor or services for remuneration shall be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor, for specified purposes, 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, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact, 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 of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.

This measure, “The Right to Earn a Living Act,” would require determinations of whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor to be made using a specified multifactor test that differs from the test described above. The measure would also require that any law that limits the entry into or competition in a business or profession to be limited to those that are demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill legitimate public health, safety, or welfare objectives. The measure would also prohibit a law from preventing an employer from agreeing to an employee’s request for a flexible work schedule, as specified.