ABC Test for Worker Classification
California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey use a strict 3-prong ABC test. A worker is an employee unless the business proves all three prongs. Answer below to see where a role lands.
Is the worker free from the company’s control and direction in performing the work — both under the contract and in fact?
Does the worker perform work that is outside the usual course of the company’s business?
Is the worker customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed?
How the ABC test works
Unlike the federal IRS and DOL tests, which weigh many factors, the ABC test starts from the presumption that the worker is an employee. The business must prove every one of the three prongs to classify the worker as an independent contractor. Prong B — that the work is outside the usual course of the business — is usually the decisive one: a delivery driver for a delivery company, or a writer for a media company, is doing core work and will be an employee even if otherwise independent.
AB 5 codified the Dynamex ABC test. Many occupations and B2B arrangements are exempt and fall back to the multi-factor Borello test.
One of the strictest ABC standards in the country, applied to wage-law claims with a strong presumption of employment.
Uses the ABC test for wage, benefit, and unemployment purposes, with active enforcement and stop-work penalties.
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Frequently asked questions
The ABC test presumes a worker is an employee unless the hiring business proves all three: (A) the worker is free from control, (B) the work is outside the usual course of the business, and (C) the worker is independently established in that trade. Failing any one prong makes the worker an employee.
California (under AB 5/Dynamex), Massachusetts, and New Jersey apply a strict ABC test for wage and benefit purposes. Several other states use an ABC test for specific programs such as unemployment insurance.
The IRS common-law test weighs many factors and balances them. The ABC test requires the business to satisfy all three prongs — Prong B (work outside the usual course of business) is often the hardest, because a worker doing core work is an employee even if they are otherwise independent.
Yes. California exempts a number of occupations and business-to-business arrangements, which are instead evaluated under the older multi-factor Borello test. This tool reflects the general ABC standard, not every statutory exemption.