Assembly committee advances bill to stop misclassification of social service workers as commercial drivers

Assemblymember Lorena Ortega’s AB 8 15 was advanced out of the Assembly Committee on Insurance to the Committee on Appropriations after advocates described what they called wrongful commercial auto classifications that raise premiums and lead to denied claims.

The bill would clarify that social service workers who use personal vehicles while caring for clients with mental, physical or behavioral health conditions are not commercial or for‑hire drivers under personal auto insurance policies. Supporters said insurance companies have been classifying direct support professionals as commercial drivers, producing higher premiums and, in some cases, claim denials.

AB 8 15’s author, Assemblymember Lorena Ortega, told the committee that misclassification produces unaffordable premiums and forces workers to cancel coverage, forego driving while a claim is litigated, turn down clients who need transportation, or leave the field. “This leads to workers having to either cancel their auto insurance coverage, forego their use of their car for up to 18 months while fighting a claim, turn down clients in dire need of services, or leave the industry altogether,” Ortega said in her presentation.

Nonprofit providers and direct service professionals testified in support. Miriam Padilla Burke, director of programs for Options for All, said the agency serves more than 1,800 clients and employs over 400 direct service professionals who rely on personal vehicles to take clients to work, volunteer sites, school and medical appointments. Erin/Evelyn (transcript shows both spellings) Chabard, government affairs director for the California Disability Services Association, relayed the account of a direct support worker identified in testimony as Delia, who said her insurer denied a claim after a minor collision on the grounds she was driving for commercial purposes.

Supporters said the Department of Developmental Services is facing workforce shortages affecting roughly 458,000 Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and that punitive insurance treatment of workers exacerbates staffing problems. Several disability service organizations and regional centers registered support.

Committee discussion and the roll call followed. The committee voted to pass AB 8 15 to the Appropriations Committee; later floor/committee reporting in the hearing log recorded the bill as “out 17 to 0.”

Advocates asked that the committee hold the bill open for technical amendments; the chair agreed to hold the item open before the vote. The bill’s text and the committee analysis (not included in the transcript) will specify the statutory language that would prevent misclassification.