S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5569
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 19, 2021
___________
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:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 4 of section 2 of the
workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 503 of the laws of
2016, is amended to read as follows:
"Employee" means a person engaged in one of the occupations enumerated
in section three of this article or who is in the service of an employer
whose principal business is that of carrying on or conducting a hazard-
ous employment upon the premises or at the plant, or in the course of
his or her employment away from the plant of his or her employer;
"employee" shall also mean for the purposes of this chapter any individ-
ual performing services in construction for a contractor who does not
overcome the presumption of employment as provided under section eight
hundred sixty-one-c of the labor law; "employee" shall also mean for the
purposes of this chapter any individual performing services in the
commercial goods transportation industry for a commercial goods trans-
portation contractor who does not overcome the presumption of employment
as provided under section eight hundred sixty-two-b of the labor law;
"employee" shall also mean for the purposes of this chapter civil
defense volunteers who are personnel of volunteer agencies sponsored or
authorized by a local office under regulations of the civil defense
commission, to the extent of the provisions of groups seventeen and
nineteen; "employee" shall at the election of a municipal corporation
made pursuant to local law duly enacted also mean a member of an auxil-
iary police organization authorized by local law; and for the purposes
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.
LBD08801-01-1
A. 5569 2
as defined in section thirty-two hundred twenty-eight of the education
law, but shall not include delivery of newspapers or shopping news to
the consumer (including any services directly related to such trade or
business) by a person who is not performing commercial goods transporta-
tion services for a commercial goods transportation contractor within
the meaning of article twenty-five-C of the labor law, and shall not
include domestic servants except as provided in section three of this
chapter, and except where the employer has elected to bring such employ-
ees under the law by securing compensation in accordance with the terms
of section fifty of this chapter. The term "employee" shall not include
persons who are members of a supervised amateur athletic activity oper-
ated on a non-profit basis, provided that said members are not also
otherwise engaged or employed by any person, firm or corporation partic-
ipating in said athletic activity, nor shall it include the spouse or
minor child of an employer who is a farmer unless the services of such
spouse or minor child shall be engaged by said employer under an express
contract of hire nor shall it include an executive officer of a corpo-
ration who at all times during the period involved owns all of the
issued and outstanding stock of the corporation and holds all of the
offices pursuant to paragraph (e) of section seven hundred fifteen of
the business corporation law or two executive officers of a corporation
who at all times during the period involved between them own all of the
issued and outstanding stock of such corporation and hold all such
offices except as provided in subdivision six of section fifty-four of
this chapter provided, however, that where there are two executive offi-
cers of a corporation each officer must own at least one share of stock,
nor shall it include a self-employed person or a partner of a partner-
ship as defined in section ten of the partnership law who is not covered
under a compensation insurance contract or a certificate of self-insu-
rance as provided in subdivision eight of section fifty-four of this
chapter, nor shall it include farm laborers except as provided in group
fourteen-b OF SUBDIVISION ONE of section three of this chapter. If a
farm labor contractor recruits or supplies farm laborers for work on a
farm, such farm laborers shall for the purposes of this chapter be
deemed to be employees of the owner or lessee of such farm. THE TERM
"EMPLOYEE" SHALL NOT INCLUDE INTERNS RECEIVING COLLEGE CREDIT FOR
SERVICE AS FARM LABORERS. The term "employee" shall not include baby
sitters as defined in subdivision three of section one hundred thirty-
one and subdivision three of section one hundred thirty-two of the labor
law or minors fourteen years of age or over engaged in casual employment
consisting of yard work and household chores in and about a one family
owner-occupied residence or the premises of a non-profit, non-commercial
organization, not involving the use of power-driven machinery. The term
"employee" shall not include persons engaged by the owner in casual
employment consisting of yard work, household chores and making repairs
to or painting in and about a one-family owner-occupied residence. The
term "employee" shall not include the services of a licensed real estate
broker or sales associate if it be proven that (a) substantially all of
the remuneration (whether or not paid in cash) for the services
performed by such broker or sales associate is directly related to sales
or other output (including the performance of services) rather than to
the number of hours worked; (b) the services performed by the broker or
sales associate are performed pursuant to a written contract executed
between such broker or sales associate and the person for whom the
services are performed within the past twelve to fifteen months; and (c)
A. 5569 3
the written contract provided for in paragraph (b) of this subdivision
was not executed under duress and contains the following provisions:
§ 2. The opening paragraph of paragraph A of subdivision 6 of section
201 of the workers' compensation law, as amended by chapter 105 of the
laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
"Employment" means employment in any trade, business or occupation
carried on by an employer, except that the following shall not be deemed
employment under this article: services performed for the state, a
municipal corporation, local governmental agency, other political subdi-
vision or public authority; employment subject to the federal railroad
unemployment insurance act; service performed on or as an officer or
member of the crew of a vessel on the navigable water of the United
States or outside the United States; casual employment and the first
forty-five days of extra employment of employees not regularly in
employment as otherwise defined herein; service as golf caddies; SERVICE
AS A FARM LABORER WHERE SUCH SERVICE IS AN INTERNSHIP GRANTING COLLEGE
COURSE CREDIT; and service during all or any part of the school year or
regular vacation periods as a part-time worker of any person actually in
regular attendance during the day time as a student in an elementary or
secondary school. The term "employment" shall include domestic or
personal work in a private home. The term "employment" shall not include
the services of a licensed real estate broker or sales associate if it
be proven that (a) substantially all of the remuneration (whether or not
paid in cash) for the services performed by such broker or sales associ-
ate is directly related to sales or other output (including the perform-
ance of services) rather than to the number of hours worked; (b) the
services performed by the broker or sales associate are performed pursu-
ant to a written contract executed between such broker or sales associ-
ate and the person for whom the services are performed within the past
twelve to fifteen months; and (c) the written contract provided for in
subparagraph (b) of this paragraph was not executed under duress and
contains the following provisions:
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.