It looks like the OP is in California. California courts recently ruled that contract workers are presumed to be employees by default of their employing organiz

It looks like the OP is in California. California courts recently ruled that contract workers are presumed to be employees by default of their employing organization, and places the burden of proof on the employing organization to prove they are not [1]. This test is stricter than others previously applied, and among other things, requires the work done by freelancers to be independent of the work normally done by the employing organization. Since OP was doing freelance marketing work for a marketing organization, California now requires him to be an employee of that organization. Upwork is acting to comply with California law here. There are civil and now criminal penalties for failing to comply (ie: people can go to jail, including the company improperly classifying freelancers). [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonymarks/2018/05/29/the-california-supreme-court-deals-a-blow-to-independent-contractors/#45cf255a70a1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonymarks/2018/05/29/the-califo...