EDD audits hit San Diego’s contractor-heavy economy harder than almost any other enforcement program: construction trades, salons, gyms, restaurants, and the county’s large gig and delivery workforce all run on the exact worker arrangements the ABC test was written to reclassify.
The trigger is usually mundane — one former worker files an unemployment claim, the EDD sees a 1099, and a classification audit opens over three years of your labor spend. From our San Diego practice, the local patterns are consistent: framing and finishing subs on county projects who fail prong B; beach-town hospitality staff paid as contractors between seasons; studio and wellness businesses whose instructors look independent until the schedule and pricing control says otherwise; and B2B relationships that would qualify for the statutory exemption if the paperwork had ever been built — which can sometimes still be fixed.
The San Diego employer’s sequence
If the audit is open: control the interviews and the scope before the auditor extrapolates two workers into your whole roster. If the Notice of Assessment arrived: the 30-day CUIAB petition is the only deadline that matters this week. If the business cannot pay: CUIC § 1735 personal assessments against owners follow, and they are contestable. And throughout, remember EDD findings travel — to the IRS, to workers’ comp, and occasionally to criminal referral where the facts look willful.
We defend these from Del Mar Heights for employers across the county — audits, CUIAB hearings, settlements, and the personal-liability fights that follow. Fees quoted before you sign; the first 15-minute call is free.
How engagements work
Many matters like this one run as a monthly flat-fee engagement: one number, agreed up front, that covers the work — agency contact, deadlines, document responses, strategy — until the matter resolves. Shorter, well-defined projects are often a one-time flat fee instead, and some matters genuinely fit hourly billing better. We will tell you which you are looking at on the first call, before you commit to anything. If you want the details first, see how we price our work.
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Statewide depth: California payroll tax attorney · EDD audit defense · all San Diego practice areas.
By Sam Brotman, JD, LLM, MBA — managing attorney, Brotman Law. CA Bar No. 274966. Last updated August 29, 2026.
