LOS ANGELES — California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, author of the controversial AB5 bill which uses new standards to classify California workers as either employees or independent contractors, is working on a new bill, AB1850, which is expected to include language that would clarify the employment status of adult industry performers, such as cam models, who utilize video streaming platforms.
The AB5 standards, known as the ABC Test and the Borello Test, have caused confusion among California-based adult webcam models as to whether AB5 would reclassify them as employees.
Recently, Adult Performers Actors Guild (APAG) President Alana Evans met with Assemblywoman Gonzalez in an attempt to clarify the bill's language.
The legislator's office is working to create "professional exemptions" for a field that includes content distribution providers such as iStock and Getty Images, explained Evans in a statement following that meeting.
"Because these platforms are used to distribute the content created by individuals, they do not fall under AB5 jurisdiction. When we asked if this would also pertain to [adult] content websites such as Onlyfans, Clips4Sale, and such, we were informed this would be correct. We were pleased to confirm this."
However, a follow-up statement issued to XBIZ from the office of Assemblywoman Gonzalez was vague.
"We are still in the early stages of conversations with a variety of stakeholders," spokesperson Samantha Gallegos said. "We expect to address the issue of hosting platforms in this legislation, but at this time, no amendments have been finalized."
Enter AB2389
Last week, California Assemblywoman Christina Garcia introduced Bill AB2389, which was written with APAG's mother union, the International Entertainment Adult Union (IEAU). AB2389 specifically classified all adult workers as employees under AB5. Assemblywoman Gonzalez attached her name to the bill.
As reported by XBIZ, several adult industry organizations, including APAG and the Free Speech Coalition, vocally criticized AB2389. Eventually, Gonzalez announced she would pull her name from the legislation, and IEAU issued a formal apology for its participation in its drafting.
Gonzalez's office has clarified its position on how the new AB1850 would affect streaming platforms.
"We are continuing to work on clarifications [to AB5] through AB1850 this year," Gallegos told XBIZ. "We have not confirmed any language on webcam performers, as we are in the early stages of conversations with stakeholders. But we have talked about clarifying language for platforms that stream videos. We expect for the bill to address the issues of hosting platforms."
