Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Dynamex: California’s ABC Test for Wage-Order Worker Classification

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published April 15, 2026

Dynamex changed the starting point for wage-order classification disputes by replacing a multifactor balancing approach with a presumption of employment and a three-part test.

Delivery drivers challenged their classification

Dynamex converted its delivery drivers from employees to independent contractors. Drivers brought a class action alleging that the classification violated wage-order protections and California statutes. The dispute reached the Supreme Court through review of the order certifying a class.

The hiring entity must prove all three parts

Under the ABC test, the hiring entity must establish that the worker is free from its control and direction in performing the work; performs work outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature. Failure on any one part supports employee status for wage-order purposes.

Why the Court chose a simpler test

The Court tied the wage orders’ broad definition of employment to their protective purpose and concluded that workers ordinarily should be treated as employees unless the hiring entity proves otherwise. The test seeks predictable application and reduces incentives to shift business costs onto workers and compliant competitors through misclassification.

Disposition and later statutory developments

The Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s judgment approving use of the wage-order definition and remanded for proceedings consistent with the ABC framework. Later legislation, including Assembly Bill 5 and its exemptions, affects classification questions beyond the precise wage-order holding and must be considered separately.

Key takeaways

• The ABC test presumes employee status for covered wage-order claims.
• The hiring entity bears the burden on every prong.
• Work inside the hiring entity’s usual course of business is a central classification issue.
• Statutory exemptions and later authority must be evaluated before applying the test.