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Will parents face stiff fines and penalties under a new law called AB-5 if they hire tutors during the Covid-19 shutdown of schools? Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the author of the controversial law, won’t say.
Today Carl DeMaio, Chairman of Reform California, challenged Gonzalez to put the question to bed by tweeting a simple statement “AB 5 Does Not Apply to Parents Hiring Tutors and Teachers.”
“It’s time for Lorena Gonzalez to put up or shut up by saying the magic 10 words every parent in California is looking for – namely ‘AB 5 Does Not Apply to Parents Hiring Tutors and Teachers,’” DeMaio declared. “She knows she cannot make that statement because she knows parents must comply with AB 5,” DeMaio noted.
In a press conference last week, a coalition of parents, teachers, and education advocates led by DeMaio and Reform California issued an alert warning that parents could face stiff fines and penalties if they hire tutors and failed to comply with the complex mandates in AB 5.
DeMaio pointed to guidance issued by the California State Employment Development Department (EDD) that outlined how parents hiring tutors is in fact covered under the AB 5 law and parents must comply with the law’s restrictions.
When initially pressed on this issue, Gonzalez tweeted a denial, but has since mysteriously deleted the tweets. (See screenshot). When further pressed, Gonzalez simply said parents could hire tutors if they complied with state and local law, but stopped short of answering the question at hand – i.e. whether parents have to comply with AB 5 restrictions or face penalties.
“Parents and students across California deserve a straight answer from Lorena Gonzalez, not vague statements and deleted tweets,” DeMaio concluded.
AB 5 was so poorly written that Gonzalez has been forced by her colleagues in Sacramento to introduce bills granting a number of exemptions to the law to favored job categories – but tutors and teachers have not received an exemption in any corrective bills.
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