Connecticut 2019 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00955 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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2	2
3	3	LCO No. 4843 1 of 6
4	4
5	5	General Assembly Raised Bill No. 955
6	6	January Session, 2019
7	7	LCO No. 4843
8	8
9	9
10	10	Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
11	11
12	12
13	13	Introduced by:
14	14	(LAB)
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17	17
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19	19	AN ACT CLARIFYING EXISTING LAW REGARDING DIRECT SEL LERS
20	20	AND INDEPENDENT CONT RACTORS.
21	21	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
22	22	Assembly convened:
23	23
24	24	Section 1. Subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section 31-222 of the 1
25	25	general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2
26	26	thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 3
27	27	(5) No provision of this chapter, except section 31-254, shall apply to 4
28	28	any of the following types of service or employment, except when 5
29	29	voluntarily assumed, as provided in section 31-223: 6
30	30	(A) Service performed by an individual in the employ of such 7
31	31	individual's son, daughter or spouse, and service performed by a child 8
32	32	under the age of eighteen in the employ of such child's father or 9
33	33	mother; 10
34	34	(B) Service performed in the employ of the United States 11
35	35	government, any other state, any town or city of any other state, or any 12
36	36	political subdivision or instrumentality of any of them; except that, to 13
37	37	the extent that the Congress of the United States permits states to 14
38	38	require any instrumentalities of the United States to make 15 Raised Bill No. 955
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40	40
41	41
42	42	LCO No. 4843 2 of 6
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44	44	contributions to an unemployment fund under a state unemployment 16
45	45	compensation law, all of the provisions of this chapter shall be 17
46	46	applicable to such instrumentalities and to services performed for such 18
47	47	instrumentalities; provided, if this state is not certified for any year by 19
48	48	the Secretary of Labor under Section 3304 of the Federal Internal 20
49	49	Revenue Code, the contributions required of such instrumentalities 21
50	50	with respect to such year shall be refunded by the administrator from 22
51	51	the fund in the same manner and within the same period as is 23
52	52	provided in sections 31-269, 31-270 and 31-271 with respect to 24
53	53	contributions erroneously collected; 25
54	54	(C) Service with respect to which unemployment compensation is 26
55	55	payable under an unemployment compensation plan established by an 27
56	56	Act of Congress, provided the administrator is authorized to enter into 28
57	57	agreements with the proper agencies under such Act of Congress, to 29
58	58	provide reciprocal treatment to individuals who have, after acquiring 30
59	59	potential rights to benefits under this chapter, acquired rights to 31
60	60	unemployment compensation under such Act of Congress, or who 32
61	61	have, after acquiring potential rights to unemployment compensation 33
62	62	under such Act of Congress, acquired rights to benefits under this 34
63	63	chapter, and provided further, in computing benefits the administrator 35
64	64	shall disregard all wages paid by employers who fall within the 36
65	65	definition of "employer" in Section 1(a) of the Federal Railroad 37
66	66	Unemployment Insurance Act; 38
67	67	(D) Service performed in this state or elsewhere with respect to 39
68	68	which contributions are required and paid under an unemployment 40
69	69	compensation law of any other state; 41
70	70	(E) Service not in the course of the employer's trade or business 42
71	71	performed in any calendar quarter by an employee, unless the cash 43
72	72	remuneration paid for such service is fifty dollars or more and such 44
73	73	service is performed by an individual who is regularly employed by 45
74	74	such employer to perform such service. For purposes of this 46
75	75	subparagraph, an individual shall be deemed to be regularly 47
76	76	employed by an employer during a calendar quarter only if (i) on each 48 Raised Bill No. 955
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79	79
80	80	LCO No. 4843 3 of 6
81	81
82	82	of some twenty-four days during such quarter such individual 49
83	83	performs for such employer for some portion of the day service not in 50
84	84	the course of the employer's trade or business; or (ii) such individual 51
85	85	was so employed by such employer in the performance of such service 52
86	86	during the preceding calendar quarter; 53
87	87	(F) Service performed in any calendar quarter in the employ of any 54
88	88	organization exempt from income tax under Section 501(a) of the 55
89	89	Internal Revenue Code or under Section 521 of said code excluding 56
90	90	any organization described in Section 401(a) of said code, if the 57
91	91	remuneration for such service is less than fifty dollars; 58
92	92	(G) Service performed in the employ of a school, college, or 59
93	93	university if such service is performed (i) by a student who is enrolled 60
94	94	and is regularly attending classes at such school, college or university, 61
95	95	or (ii) by the spouse of such a student, if such spouse is advised at the 62
96	96	time such spouse commences to perform such service, that (I) the 63
97	97	employment of such spouse to perform such service is provided under 64
98	98	a program to provide financial assistance to such student by such 65
99	99	school, college or university, and (II) such employment will not be 66
100	100	covered by any program of unemployment insurance; 67
101	101	(H) Service performed as a student nurse in the employ of a hospital 68
102	102	or a nurses' training school chartered pursuant to state law by an 69
103	103	individual who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in such 70
104	104	nurses' training school, and service performed as an intern in the 71
105	105	employ of a hospital by an individual who has completed a four years' 72
106	106	course in a medical school chartered or approved pursuant to state 73
107	107	law; 74
108	108	(I) Service performed by an individual under the age of eighteen in 75
109	109	the delivery or distribution of newspapers or shopping news, not 76
110	110	including delivery or distribution to any point for subsequent delivery 77
111	111	or distribution; 78
112	112	(J) Service performed by an individual who is enrolled, at a 79
113	113	nonprofit or public educational institution which normally maintains a 80 Raised Bill No. 955
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115	115
116	116
117	117	LCO No. 4843 4 of 6
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119	119	regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly organized 81
120	120	body of students in attendance at the place where its educational 82
121	121	activities are carried on, as a student in a full-time program, taken for 83
122	122	credit at such institution, which combines academic instruction with 84
123	123	work experience, if such service is an integral part of such program, 85
124	124	and such institution has so certified to the employer, except that this 86
125	125	subparagraph shall not apply to service performed in a program 87
126	126	established for or on behalf of an employer or group of employers; 88
127	127	(K) Service performed by an individual as an insurance agent, other 89
128	128	than an industrial life insurance agent, and service performed by an 90
129	129	individual as a real estate salesperson, if all such service is performed 91
130	130	for remuneration solely by way of commission; 92
131	131	(L) Service performed in the employ of a hospital, if such service is 93
132	132	performed by a patient of the hospital, as defined in subsection (h) of 94
133	133	this section; 95
134	134	(M) Service performed by an individual in the employ of any town, 96
135	135	city or other political subdivision, provided such service is performed 97
136	136	in lieu of payment of any delinquent tax payable to such town, city or 98
137	137	other political subdivision; 99
138	138	(N) Service performed by an individual as an outside sales 100
139	139	representative of a for-profit travel agency if substantially all of such 101
140	140	service is performed outside of any travel agency premises, and all 102
141	141	such service is performed for remuneration solely by way of 103
142	142	commission. For purposes of this subparagraph, an "outside sales 104
143	143	representative" means an individual whose services to a for-profit 105
144	144	travel agency are performed under such travel agency's Airlines 106
145	145	Reporting Corporation accreditation, or the International Airlines 107
146	146	Travel Agent Network endorsement; 108
147	147	(O) Service performed by the operator of an escort motor vehicle, 109
148	148	for an oversize vehicle, overweight vehicle or a vehicle with a load 110
149	149	traveling upon any Connecticut highway pursuant to a permit 111
150	150	required by section 14-270, and the regulations adopted pursuant to 112 Raised Bill No. 955
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153	153
154	154	LCO No. 4843 5 of 6
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156	156	said section, provided the following conditions are met: 113
157	157	(i) The service is provided by an individual operator who is 114
158	158	engaged in the business or trade of providing such escort motor 115
159	159	vehicle; 116
160	160	(ii) The operator is, and has been, free from control and direction by 117
161	161	any other business or other person in connection with the actual 118
162	162	performance of such services; 119
163	163	(iii) The operator owns his or her own vehicle, and statutorily 120
164	164	required equipment, and exclusively employs this equipment in 121
165	165	providing such services; and 122
166	166	(iv) The operator is treated as an independent contractor for all 123
167	167	purposes, including, but not limited to, federal and state taxation, 124
168	168	workers' compensation, choice of hours worked and choice to accept 125
169	169	referrals from multiple entities without consequence; [and] 126
170	170	(P) Service performed by the operator of a motor vehicle 127
171	171	transporting property or capable of carrying eight passengers or more, 128
172	172	including the driver, for compensation pursuant to an agreement with 129
173	173	a contracting party, provided the following conditions are met: 130
174	174	(i) The motor vehicle has a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 131
175	175	ten thousand pounds or six thousand pounds for passenger transport; 132
176	176	(ii) The operator owns such motor vehicle or holds it under a bona 133
177	177	fide lease arrangement, provided any lease arrangement, loan or loan 134
178	178	guarantee is commercially reasonable and is not with the contracting 135
179	179	party or any related entity. For purposes of this subparagraph, a lease 136
180	180	arrangement, loan or loan guarantee shall be commercially reasonable 137
181	181	if it is on terms equal to terms available in a trucking equipment 138
182	182	purchase or lease in customary and usual retail transactions generally 139
183	183	available in the state; 140
184	184	(iii) The operator's compensation is based on factors, which may 141
185	185	include, but not be limited to, mileage-based rates, a percentage of any 142 Raised Bill No. 955
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188	188
189	189	LCO No. 4843 6 of 6
190	190
191	191	schedule of rates or by the hours or time expended in relation to actual 143
192	192	performance of the service contracted for or an agreed upon flat fee; 144
193	193	(iv) The operator may refuse to work without consequence and may 145
194	194	accept work from multiple contracting entities in compliance with 146
195	195	statutory and regulatory limitations without consequence. The service 147
196	196	performed by the operator shall satisfy the requirements of 148
197	197	subparagraph (B)(ii) of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, 149
198	198	except that the administrator shall not find that the operator is an 150
199	199	employee of the contracting party solely because such operator 151
200	200	chooses to perform services only for such contracting party; and 152
201	201	(v) The provisions of this subparagraph shall not affect the 153
202	202	applicability of any provision of chapter 229; and 154
203	203	(Q) Services performed by a direct seller, as defined in subdivision 155
204	204	(2) of subsection (b) of section 3508 of the Internal Revenue Code of 156
205	205	1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue code of the 157
206	206	United States, as amended from time to time. 158
207	207	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
208	208	sections:
209	209
210	210	Section 1 October 1, 2019 31-222(a)(5)
211	211
212	212	Statement of Purpose:
213	213	To exempt individual direct sellers from unemployment compensation
214	214	coverage.
215	215	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
216	216	except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
217	217	not underlined.]