Employee or Independent Contractor in California?

Member since 2021 · 3 posts · 0 votes

If I hire someone to do work on my rental property in California, and that person (either licensed or unlicensed) does not have their own worker's compensation insurance on themselves, must I provide it if they are an Independent Contractor - and how exactly does one determine if such a person is an employee or independent contractor? The law seems extremely vague on this.

There is an "ABC test", as follows:

Under the ABC test, a worker is considered an employee and not an independent contractor, unless the hiring entity satisfies all three of the following conditions:

a - The worker 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;
b - The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and
c - The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as that involved in the work performed.
But under B, my business is renting residences, which includes sometimes fixing a broken doorknob. If I hire a handyman to fix a broken doorknob for $100, is he an employee because sometimes fixing doorknobs is not "outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business"????
If I am required to get workers comp insurance to protect myself in case he trips over his own feet and breaks his neck while fixing a doorknob, I would pay the handyman $100, and pay State Fund for workers comp insurance $3,450. No one can seem to explain exactly who is an employee and who is an independent contractor when it comes to landlording and hiring anyone to do minor repairs, cleaning, hauling junk, etc. Where can I get answers on this?

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