ABC Test States: Worker Classification Tests by State (2026)

The full ABC test is the single most common approach, with 21 jurisdictions, but it is not a majority. Add the 6 A and C states and the 7 one-prong states, and most of the country uses at least part of the test.

Prong A, freedom from control, is the most widely used piece at 33 jurisdictions. Prong B is the rarest at 21, and it is often the hardest one for a freelancer to meet, because it asks whether your work is part of the client's normal business.

Worker classification tests compared

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws 2023, Chapter 1: Coverage (Table 1-4); California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Frequently Asked Questions on AB 5; Internal Revenue Service, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee?; U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (Federal Register), Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA (Proposed Rule). Download as image

Worker classification test for unemployment insurance (state law as of January 1, 2023) by state

• 21Full ABC test (A, B and C)
• 6A and C prongs only
• 7One ABC prong only (some also use other tests)
• 17No ABC prong (IRS, common-law or other test)

What is the ABC test, in plain terms?

Most tests weigh a pile of factors and let a judge decide which way the scale tips. The ABC test works differently. You are an employee unless the hiring business proves all three of these:

• A: You are free from the company's control and direction, both under the contract and in practice.
• B: The work is outside the usual course of the company's business, or (in some states) done away from all of its places of business.
• C: You are customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or business of the same kind.

Which states use the ABC test?

For unemployment insurance, 21 jurisdictions use all three prongs, according to our count of the U.S. Department of Labor's state law comparison, which reflects law as of January 1, 2023. That group includes California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Vermont, among others. Florida, Indiana, Nebraska and West Virginia mark all three prongs but also list other tests, so treat those four with a little more caution.

Another 6 states, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota and Utah, apply only the A and C prongs. That matters because without prong B, a client can bring in a contractor to do core work, as long as that person is not controlled and runs a real business.

The remaining 17 jurisdictions use no ABC prong. Texas relies on the common law. Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia point to the IRS test. New York and DC use a contract of hire approach.

One caution: these tests are scoped. A state can use the ABC test for unemployment claims and a looser test for income tax or workers' compensation. California is the big exception that went further, which is the next question.

How is California different under AB 5?

California's AB 5 took effect on January 1, 2020. It wrote the ABC test into the Labor Code, the Unemployment Insurance Code and the state's wage orders, which together cover minimum wage, overtime, meal breaks and expense reimbursement. The rules now sit in Labor Code sections 2775-2787.

Those sections also list exemptions, and many working freelancers fall into one. Some professional services, certain business to business arrangements and referral agencies can be judged under an older multi-factor test instead. The catch is that each exemption comes with its own conditions, often about who sets the rate, whether you have your own business location and whether you can work for other clients. Your contract can quietly break those conditions.

Picture a designer in Los Angeles who works only for one agency, uses its laptop, attends its daily standups and bills by the hour on its timesheet system. Her contract says independent contractor on page one. Under AB 5, the rest of the arrangement says something else.

Why is prong B the hardest part to pass?

Prongs A and C are mostly within your control. You can work on your own schedule, use your own equipment, market yourself and take other clients. Prong B is different, because it depends on what the client does, not on what you do.

Take a freelance copywriter. If she writes product pages for a furniture maker, the work sits outside the maker's usual business, and prong B is easy. If she writes articles for a content marketing agency, writing is the agency's business. Same skills, same rate, very different answer.

This is why full ABC states hit some industries harder than others. Agencies that resell freelance work, media companies and staffing style setups feel it most. A client in one of those fields who operates in a full ABC state may simply not be able to hire you as a contractor for core work, however carefully the contract is written.

If you see a client suddenly ask you to form an LLC, go through a third party payroll firm or sign a new agreement, this is often why. Ask them directly which state's test they are worried about.

How does the ABC test compare to the IRS and federal tests?

The IRS uses a common-law test that sorts evidence into 3 categories: behavioral control, financial control and the relationship of the parties. No single factor wins. That flexibility is why the same freelancer can be a contractor for federal tax purposes and an employee for a state unemployment claim.

Federal wage and hour law uses yet another approach, the economic reality test under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2024 rule is still in force. The Labor Department proposed on February 27, 2026 to rescind it and return to the 2021 analysis with changes, and comments closed April 28, 2026. As of our last check, no final rule had been published.

The practical takeaway: when a client says you are a contractor, ask which test they mean. The strictest one that applies to your work is the one that counts.

What should freelancers and businesses do about it?

Start with where the work happens and where the worker lives. Then match the contract to reality, because every one of these tests looks at how the work is done, not just what the paper calls it.

• Freelancers: keep proof of your own business, such as a website, other clients, your own tools and your own insurance. That is the heart of prong C.
• Freelancers: push back on clauses that let the client set your hours, require daily check-ins or bar you from other clients. Those hurt prong A and prong C at once.
• Businesses: if a contractor does the same work your employees do, prong B is hard to pass in a full ABC state. Consider a staffing agency or a payroll hire instead.
• Businesses: make sure the contract says the contractor controls the method, timing and location of the work, and then actually let them.
• Both sides: check the state entry on this page against the current statute. The federal data reflects law as of January 1, 2023, and states have changed rules since.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 51 of 51 state entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws 2023, Chapter 1: Coverage (Table 1-4) (2023 edition (state law as of January 1, 2023); most recent edition listed on oui.doleta.gov as of 2026-10-18)
2. California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Frequently Asked Questions on AB 5 (Undated web page, accessed 2026-10-18)
3. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Independent Contractors (My Work Rights) (Undated web page, accessed 2026-10-18)
4. Internal Revenue Service, Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? (Last reviewed or updated May 19, 2026)
5. U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (Federal Register), Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA (Proposed Rule) (February 27, 2026)