The CA Law Has Changed – Freelancers Now Have Legal Protection — Even If Agencies Don’t Know It Yet

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October 2025

This year alone, I’ve had three separate court reporting agencies fail to pay for completed work within 30 days — all while openly admitting they didn’t know about California’s new Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA). Even more alarming, several agency owners commented on my recent StenoImperium article saying they had never heard of it.

That ends today.

What SB 988 (the Freelance Worker Protection Act) Actually Says

Effective January 1, 2025, California’s FWPA requires that:

  • Freelancers must be paid within 30 days of submitting an invoice unless a written contract specifies otherwise.
  • The hiring party must provide a written contract detailing the scope, rate, and payment terms for any job over $250.
  • Freelancers have the right to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner for nonpayment or retaliation.
  • Most importantly — retaliation is illegal.
    Agencies cannot penalize, blacklist, or withhold future work from a freelancer who asks to be paid or asserts their rights under the Act.

This is not optional. It’s law.

What’s Happening in the Field

In just the past few months, I’ve seen agencies:

  • Delay payment for transcript copies for months or years.
  • Threaten to “remove a reporter from the rotation” for following up on unpaid work.
  • Claim ignorance of the law entirely.

The ignorance defense doesn’t hold up. Courts and regulators have repeatedly affirmed: “Ignorance of the law excuses no one.”

But this is where we — the reporters — can make the biggest difference: through education, documentation, and diligence.

How Reporters Can Protect Themselves

1. Update Your Rate Sheet and Contracts

Add a one-line clause referencing SB 988 to every job confirmation or invoice:

“Pursuant to California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988), payment is due within 30 days of invoice date. Retaliation for lawful collection efforts is prohibited.”

Include your payment methods, late-fee terms, and your CSR number.

2. Revise Your Email Signature

Example:

Protected by California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988) — timely payment required, retaliation prohibited.

This reinforces professionalism while signaling that you know your rights.

3. Send Job Confirmations in Writing

Every assignment confirmation should reference your payment terms and the FWPA clause. This creates a written record of notice — crucial if you ever need to file a complaint.

4. Track Collections Proactively

Keep a spreadsheet or use accounting software (like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or Wave) to log:

  • Date invoiced
  • Agency contact
  • Amount due
  • Follow-up reminders sent
  • Payment received date

If payment exceeds 30 days, send a polite but firm reminder referencing SB 988.

5. Escalate Professionally

If no response after two follow-ups:

  • Send a formal demand letter (you can adapt the sample from StenoImperium’s resources section – below).
  • CC the agency’s accounting and management.
  • State that failure to pay constitutes a violation of the FWPA.
  • If still unpaid, file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner’s Office or Small Claims Court.

Educate the Agencies — Don’t Just Shame Them

Many smaller or out-of-state firms genuinely don’t know about this new law. That’s why including it on our documentation is so important. Every email signature, rate sheet, and confirmation becomes an opportunity to teach.

By citing the statute clearly and consistently, we normalize compliance — just as we’ve done for per-page rates, notary verification, and transcript certification standards.

What the Profession Can Do Collectively

  • Share this article with agency owners, scopists, and colleagues.
  • Add a “Know Your Rights” section to reporting school curricula and mentorship programs.
  • Encourage associations (NCRA, CCRA, DRA) to publish FWPA awareness bulletins.
  • Push for enforcement clarity at CRB and the Department of Industrial Relations.

If agencies want to operate in California, they must follow California law — including paying their reporters promptly and without retaliation.

Closing Thought

For years, freelancers have operated on trust — hoping our invoices would be honored and our professionalism respected. The Freelance Worker Protection Act gives us something more tangible: legal backing.

It’s time to use it.
Let’s hold agencies accountable, educate with integrity, and stand together as the guardians of the record — and now, of our own livelihoods.

~ R E S O U R C E S ~

Downloadable Tools or Templates

  • 🧾 Download Collection Letter Generator
Collection Letter Template – SB 988
  • 📧 Download Email Signature Template
Email-Signature-Template-SB988
  • 📄 Download Sample Rate Sheet with SB 988 Clause
Sample Rate Sheet with SB 988 Clause
  • 📄 Download Sample Freelance Service Agreement
Download Sample Freelance Service Agreement

StenoImperium
Court Reporting. Unfiltered. Unafraid.

Disclaimer

This article reflects my perspective and analysis as a court reporter and eyewitness. It is not legal advice, nor is it intended to substitute for the advice of an attorney.

This article includes analysis and commentary based on observed events, public records, and legal statutes.

The content of this post is intended for informational and discussion purposes only. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are based on publicly available information, industry standards, and good-faith concerns about nonprofit governance and professional ethics. No part of this article is intended to defame, accuse, or misrepresent any individual or organization. Readers are encouraged to verify facts independently and to engage constructively in dialogue about leadership, transparency, and accountability in the court reporting profession.

  • The content on this blog represents the personal opinions, observations, and commentary of the author. It is intended for editorial and journalistic purposes and is protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
  • Nothing here constitutes legal advice. Readers are encouraged to review the facts and form independent conclusions.

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Published by stenoimperium

We exist to facilitate the fortifying of the Stenography profession and ensure its survival for the next hundred years! As court reporters, we've handed the relationship role with our customers, or attorneys, over to the agencies and their sales reps.  This has done a lot of damage to our industry.  It has taken away our ability to have those relationships, the ability to be humanized and valued.  We've become a replaceable commodity. Merely saying we are the “Gold Standard” tells them that we’re the best, but there are alternatives.  Who we are though, is much, much more powerful than that!  We are the Responsible Charge.  “Responsible Charge” means responsibility for the direction, control, supervision, and possession of stenographic & transcription work, as the case may be, to assure that the work product has been critically examined and evaluated for compliance with appropriate professional standards by a licensee in the profession, and by sealing and signing the documents, the professional stenographer accepts responsibility for the stenographic or transcription work, respectively, represented by the documents and that applicable stenographic and professional standards have been met.  This designation exists in other professions, such as engineering, land surveying, public water works, landscape architects, land surveyors, fire preventionists, geologists, architects, and more.  In the case of professional engineers, the engineering association adopted a Responsible Charge position statement that says, “A professional engineer is only considered to be in responsible charge of an engineering work if the professional engineer makes independent professional decisions regarding the engineering work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional engineer’s physical presence at the location where the engineering work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the engineering work.” If we were to adopt a Responsible Charge position statement for our industry, we could start with a draft that looks something like this: "A professional court reporter, or stenographer, is only considered to be in responsible charge of court reporting work if the professional court reporter makes independent professional decisions regarding the court reporting work without requiring instruction or approval from another authority and maintains control over those decisions by the professional court reporter’s physical presence at the location where the court reporting work is performed or by electronic communication with the individual executing the court reporting work.” Shared purpose The cornerstone of a strategic narrative is a shared purpose. This shared purpose is the outcome that you and your customer are working toward together. It’s more than a value proposition of what you deliver to them. Or a mission of what you do for the world. It’s the journey that you are on with them. By having a shared purpose, the relationship shifts from consumer to co-creator. In court reporting, our mission is “to bring justice to every litigant in the U.S.”  That purpose is shared by all involved in the litigation process – judges, attorneys, everyone.  Who we are is the Responsible Charge.  How we do that is by Protecting the Record.

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