Worker classification: employees and independent contractors: athletic coaches.

Senator Alvarado-Gil's proposal to modify California's worker classification standards would exempt sports coaches at private schools and local educational agencies from the state's ABC test, applying instead the Borello multifactor test to determine their employment status.

The exemption would apply specifically to coaches who perform only athletic program duties at elementary or secondary private schools, school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and state special schools. Under current law, these workers are subject to the ABC test, which presumes employee status unless the hiring entity proves the worker is free from control, performs work outside the entity's usual business, and maintains an independent business operation. The Borello test, which would apply under the new provision, evaluates multiple factors to determine worker classification.

The bill defines a sports coach as any person paid to coach an athletic program at a qualifying institution. This definition, combined with the requirement that coaches perform no additional services beyond athletic coaching, creates clear boundaries for when the classification exemption applies. The Labor Commissioner would continue to oversee enforcement of worker classification standards, applying the Borello test rather than the ABC test when evaluating these specific coaching relationships.