PROFESSOR PRINCE PRESENTS HER RESEARCH AT NATIONAL BUSINESS LAW SCHOLARS CONFERENCE (VIA ZOOM)
June 2020 — Professor Samantha Prince presented her current research on California’s controversial AB5 worker classification law to colleagues at the National Business Law Scholar Conference that was held via Zoom. Her presentation explained why classifying workers is important and discussed how California’s new law was created with the intention of covering more workers under the state’s wage and labor laws. Prof. Prince explained that many workers in the United States are misclassified as independent contractors and as a result are not entitled to overtime, minimum wage, workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation. Nearly all platform gig workers have been considered, and treated as, independent contractors. California’s new law was designed to change gig workers’ classification from independent contractor to employee so that gig workers would be entitled to the benefits that employees are entitled. Prince’s current research takes a hard look at AB5 and how workers have reacted to its enactment.
Professor Samantha Prince is an Associate Professor of Lawyering Skills and Entrepreneurship at Penn State Dickinson Law. She has a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, and was a partner in a regional law firm where she handled transactional matters that ranged from an initial public offering to regular representation of a publicly-traded company. Most of her clients were small to medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs, including start-ups. An expert in entrepreneurship law, she established the Penn State Dickinson Law entrepreneurship program, is an advisor for the Entrepreneurship Law Certificate that is available to students, and is the founder and moderator of the Inside Entrepreneurship Law blog.