Bill Text: NY A05228 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Exempts service as a farm laborer where such service is an internship granting college course credit from the definition of employee and employment for the purposes of certain workers' compensation benefits.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to labor [A05228 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A05228-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5228

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      March 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. WILLIAMS -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Labor

        AN  ACT to amend the workers' compensation law, in relation to exempting
          farm laborer internships earning college credit from the definition of
          employee and employment

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 2 of the
     2  workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter  503  of  the  laws  of
     3  2016, is amended to read as follows:
     4    "Employee" means a person engaged in one of the occupations enumerated
     5  in section three of this article or who is in the service of an employer
     6  whose  principal business is that of carrying on or conducting a hazard-
     7  ous employment upon the premises or at the plant, or in  the  course  of
     8  his  or  her  employment  away  from  the  plant of his or her employer;
     9  "employee" shall also mean for the purposes of this chapter any individ-
    10  ual performing services in construction for a contractor  who  does  not
    11  overcome  the  presumption of employment as provided under section eight
    12  hundred sixty-one-c of the labor law; "employee" shall also mean for the
    13  purposes of this chapter  any  individual  performing  services  in  the
    14  commercial  goods  transportation industry for a commercial goods trans-
    15  portation contractor who does not overcome the presumption of employment
    16  as provided under section eight hundred sixty-two-b of  the  labor  law;
    17  "employee"  shall  also  mean  for  the  purposes  of this chapter civil
    18  defense volunteers who are personnel of volunteer agencies sponsored  or
    19  authorized  by  a  local  office  under regulations of the civil defense
    20  commission, to the extent of the  provisions  of  groups  seventeen  and
    21  nineteen;  "employee"  shall  at the election of a municipal corporation
    22  made pursuant to local law duly enacted also mean a member of an  auxil-
    23  iary  police  organization authorized by local law; and for the purposes
    24  of this chapter only a newspaper carrier under the age of eighteen years

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08675-01-3

        A. 5228                             2

     1  as defined in section thirty-two hundred twenty-eight of  the  education
     2  law,  but  shall  not include delivery of newspapers or shopping news to
     3  the consumer (including any services directly related to such  trade  or
     4  business) by a person who is not performing commercial goods transporta-
     5  tion  services  for  a commercial goods transportation contractor within
     6  the meaning of article twenty-five-C of the labor  law,  and  shall  not
     7  include  domestic  servants  except as provided in section three of this
     8  chapter, and except where the employer has elected to bring such employ-
     9  ees under the law by securing compensation in accordance with the  terms
    10  of  section fifty of this chapter. The term "employee" shall not include
    11  persons who are members of a supervised amateur athletic activity  oper-
    12  ated  on  a  non-profit  basis,  provided that said members are not also
    13  otherwise engaged or employed by any person, firm or corporation partic-
    14  ipating in said athletic activity, nor shall it include  the  spouse  or
    15  minor  child  of an employer who is a farmer unless the services of such
    16  spouse or minor child shall be engaged by said employer under an express
    17  contract of hire nor shall it include an executive officer of  a  corpo-
    18  ration  who  at  all  times  during  the period involved owns all of the
    19  issued and outstanding stock of the corporation and  holds  all  of  the
    20  offices  pursuant  to  paragraph (e) of section seven hundred fifteen of
    21  the business corporation law or two executive officers of a  corporation
    22  who  at all times during the period involved between them own all of the
    23  issued and outstanding stock of  such  corporation  and  hold  all  such
    24  offices  except  as provided in subdivision six of section fifty-four of
    25  this chapter provided, however, that where there are two executive offi-
    26  cers of a corporation each officer must own at least one share of stock,
    27  nor shall it include a self-employed person or a partner of  a  partner-
    28  ship as defined in section ten of the partnership law who is not covered
    29  under  a  compensation insurance contract or a certificate of self-insu-
    30  rance as provided in subdivision eight of  section  fifty-four  of  this
    31  chapter,  nor shall it include farm laborers except as provided in group
    32  fourteen-b of subdivision one of section three of  this  chapter.  If  a
    33  farm  labor  contractor recruits or supplies farm laborers for work on a
    34  farm, such farm laborers shall for  the  purposes  of  this  chapter  be
    35  deemed  to  be  employees of the owner or lessee of such farm.  The term
    36  "employee" shall  not  include  interns  receiving  college  credit  for
    37  service  as  farm  laborers.  The term "employee" shall not include baby
    38  sitters as defined in subdivision three of section one  hundred  thirty-
    39  one and subdivision three of section one hundred thirty-two of the labor
    40  law or minors fourteen years of age or over engaged in casual employment
    41  consisting  of  yard work and household chores in and about a one family
    42  owner-occupied residence or the premises of a non-profit, non-commercial
    43  organization, not involving the use of power-driven machinery. The  term
    44  "employee"  shall  not  include  persons  engaged by the owner in casual
    45  employment consisting of yard work, household chores and making  repairs
    46  to  or  painting in and about a one-family owner-occupied residence. The
    47  term "employee" shall not include the services of a licensed real estate
    48  broker or sales associate if it be proven that (a) substantially all  of
    49  the  remuneration  (whether  or  not  paid  in  cash)  for  the services
    50  performed by such broker or sales associate is directly related to sales
    51  or other output (including the performance of services) rather  than  to
    52  the  number of hours worked; (b) the services performed by the broker or
    53  sales associate are performed pursuant to a  written  contract  executed
    54  between  such  broker  or  sales  associate  and the person for whom the
    55  services are performed within the past twelve to fifteen months; and (c)

        A. 5228                             3

     1  the written contract provided for in paragraph (b) of  this  subdivision
     2  was not executed under duress and contains the following provisions:
     3    §  2. The opening paragraph of paragraph A of subdivision 6 of section
     4  201 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 105  of  the
     5  laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     6    "Employment"  means  employment  in  any trade, business or occupation
     7  carried on by an employer, except that the following shall not be deemed
     8  employment under this article:  services  performed  for  the  state,  a
     9  municipal corporation, local governmental agency, other political subdi-
    10  vision  or  public authority; employment subject to the federal railroad
    11  unemployment insurance act; service performed on or  as  an  officer  or
    12  member  of  the  crew  of  a vessel on the navigable water of the United
    13  States or outside the United States; casual  employment  and  the  first
    14  forty-five  days  of  extra  employment  of  employees  not regularly in
    15  employment as otherwise defined herein; service as golf caddies; service
    16  as a farm laborer where such service is an internship  granting  college
    17  course  credit; and service during all or any part of the school year or
    18  regular vacation periods as a part-time worker of any person actually in
    19  regular attendance during the day time as a student in an elementary  or
    20  secondary  school.  The  term  "employment"  shall  include  domestic or
    21  personal work in a private home. The term "employment" shall not include
    22  the services of a licensed real estate broker or sales associate  if  it
    23  be proven that (a) substantially all of the remuneration (whether or not
    24  paid in cash) for the services performed by such broker or sales associ-
    25  ate is directly related to sales or other output (including the perform-
    26  ance  of  services)  rather  than to the number of hours worked; (b) the
    27  services performed by the broker or sales associate are performed pursu-
    28  ant to a written contract executed between such broker or sales  associ-
    29  ate  and  the person for whom the services are performed within the past
    30  twelve to fifteen months; and (c) the written contract provided  for  in
    31  subparagraph  (b)  of  this  paragraph was not executed under duress and
    32  contains the following provisions:
    33    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    34  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
feedback