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SB-1403 • 2026

Employee classification.

Employee classification.

Children Energy Labor Land
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Strickland
Last action
2026-04-21
Official status
April 22 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide detailed criteria for qualifying under the new exemptions.

Employee Classification and Minor Insurance Adjustments

The bill modifies the definition of employment for certain salespeople under unemployment insurance rules and makes minor technical adjustments to automobile insurance regulations.

What This Bill Does

  • Revises the existing exemption in the Unemployment Insurance Code to include individuals engaged in person-to-person sales activities door-to-door, telephonically, or online, as well as those selling on a buy-sell basis.
  • Makes minor technical adjustments to automobile insurance policies for older vehicles.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Salespeople who work door-to-door, over the phone, or online and sell products on a buy-sell basis.
  • Insurance companies that issue collision or comprehensive automobile policies.

Terms To Know

ABC test
A three-part test used to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for labor, unemployment insurance, and wage laws.
Unemployment Insurance Code
Laws that provide benefits to people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the changes will be enforced or monitored.
  • It is unclear what specific criteria must be met for salespeople to qualify under the new exemptions.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-21 California Legislative Information

    April 22 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.

  2. 2026-04-15 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22.

  3. 2026-04-08 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

  4. 2026-03-25 California Legislative Information

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  5. 2026-03-04 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on RLS.

  6. 2026-02-23 California Legislative Information

    Read first time.

  7. 2026-02-23 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.

  8. 2026-02-20 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1403, as amended, Strickland.
Automobile insurance.
Employee classification.
Existing law requires a 3-part test, commonly known as the “ABC” test, to determine if workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code, and the wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Under the ABC test, a person providing labor or services for remuneration is considered an employee rather than an independent contractor 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, 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.
Existing law provides for a system of unemployment insurance providing benefits for persons unemployed through no fault of their own and exempts from the definition of “employment” for that purpose services performed as a real estate, mineral, oil and gas, or cemetery broker or as a real estate, cemetery, or direct sales salesperson, or a yacht broker or salesman, by an individual if certain criteria are met, including that the individual is licensed, as specified, or is engaged in the trade or business of primarily in-person demonstration and sales presentation of consumer products, including services or other intangibles, in the home or sales to any buyer on a buy-sell basis, a deposit-commission basis, or any similar basis, for resale by the buyer or any other person in the home or otherwise than from a retail or wholesale establishment.
Existing law exempts specified occupations and business relationships from the application of the ABC test described above, including an exemption for a direct sales salesperson described in the above-described unemployment insurance exemption.
This bill would revise the above-described unemployment insurance exemption to additionally exempt from the definition of “employment” an individual engaged in the trade or business of primarily person-to-person sales activities door-to-door, telephonically, or online or sales to any buyer on a buy-sell basis, a deposit-commission basis, or any similar basis, for resale by the buyer or any other person in the home or otherwise than from a contractually required retail or wholesale establishment.
Existing law generally regulates classes of insurance, including automobile insurance. Existing law prohibits an insurer that
issues automobile collision or comprehensive automobile policies from refusing to issue a policy solely because of the age of the automobile to be insured, if the market value of that automobile exceeds $2,500.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Download Bill PDF