California Freelancers Lose Bid to Avoid Employee Status Law (Corrected)

Freelance journalists and photographers in California are still bound, for now, by a state law that makes it harder for employers to classify workers as independent contractors.

A federal judge on Friday granted California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association to block enforcement of Assembly Bill 5 against freelancers. The judge also denied the groups’ bid for a preliminary injunction against the law, which they say hinders their free speech rights.

The groups have until April 17 to file an amended complaint. ...