# ABC test

> The ABC test is a worker-classification standard that treats a worker as an employee unless the hiring business proves all three conditions: the worker is free from its control, performs work outside its usual business, and runs an independent trade of the same kind.

The ABC test is a strict standard for deciding whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. It starts from the presumption that the worker is an employee. To rebut that, the hiring business must satisfy every one of three prongs, not just the balance of them.

The three prongs are: (A) the worker is free from the company's control in doing the work; (B) the work sits outside the company's usual course of business; and (C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independent trade or business of the same nature. Fail any single prong and the worker is an employee.

Because prong B is hard to meet when a worker does the company's core work, the ABC test classifies many people as employees who would pass looser tests. Several US states use it, and California made it the default through Assembly Bill 5.

## What are the three prongs of the ABC test?

Prong A asks whether the worker is free from the hiring company's control and direction. Prong B asks whether the work falls outside the company's usual course of business. Prong C asks whether the worker independently runs a trade or business of the same kind. The company must satisfy all three.

## Why is the ABC test harder to pass than other tests?

Most classification tests weigh many factors and let a strong showing on some offset a weak showing on others. The ABC test does not. All three prongs must be met, and prong B, in particular, is difficult when the worker performs the company's core service, so more workers end up classified as employees.

## Where does the ABC test apply?

The ABC test is a US state-level standard rather than a single national rule. Several states apply a version of it, most prominently California, where Assembly Bill 5 codified it in 2019. Some states use it only for specific purposes, such as unemployment insurance, while others apply it more broadly.

## Key facts

- **California codified the ABC test:** California Assembly Bill 5, signed 18 September 2019, made the ABC test the default classification standard (Source: California Legislative Information, verified 2026-07-28)
  AB5 codified the test adopted by the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court (2018) and extended it across the Labor Code and wage orders.
- **All three prongs required:** A hiring entity must prove prongs A, B and C; failing any one means the worker is an employee (Source: California Legislative Information, verified 2026-07-28)
  Codified in California at Labor Code section 2775. Prong B, requiring the work to be outside the company's usual business, is the most commonly failed.

## ABC test vs a multi-factor test

|  | ABC test | Multi-factor test (e.g. common-law) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starting point | Worker presumed an employee | No presumption |
| How factors combine | All three prongs must be met | Factors weighed together, none decisive |
| Effect on classification | More workers are employees | More flexibility for contractor status |

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the ABC test apply across the whole United States?

No. There is no single federal ABC test. It is a state-level standard, and the states that use it apply it in different ways and for different purposes. California, Massachusetts and New Jersey are among the states with a strict version. Federal wage-and-hour law uses a separate economic reality test instead.

### What is prong B and why does it matter so much?

Prong B asks whether the worker's task falls outside the hiring company's usual course of business. It matters because a worker doing the company's core service, for example a driver for a delivery company, cannot meet it. That single prong reclassifies many contractors as employees.

### Is the ABC test the same as AB5?

Not quite. The ABC test is the legal standard. AB5 is the 2019 California law that adopted that standard as the state's default rule and wrote it into the Labor Code. The test existed in the 2018 Dynamex ruling before AB5 gave it statutory force.

### How can a business avoid ABC-test misclassification when hiring?

Run a classification check against the specific test in the relevant state before engaging anyone. Where the work is central to your business or you need ongoing direction, employing the person, directly or through an employer of record, is usually safer than a contractor arrangement.

## Sources

- [AB-5 Worker status: employees and independent contractors](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB5), California Legislative Information
- [Landmark Legislation AB5 Codifies Dynamex ABC Test](https://www.manatt.com/insights/newsletters/employment-law/landmark-legislation-ab5-codifies-dynamex-abc-test), Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

_Last updated 2026-07-28. Reviewed by Teamed's in-house employment-law team. Source: https://www.teamed.global/glossary/abc-test_