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Chapter 268

Section 268.035

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268.035 Definitions.

Subdivision 1. Scope. Unless the language or context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended, the words, terms, and phrases in this section shall, for the purposes of the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Law, have the meaning stated.

Subd. 2. Agricultural employment. "Agricultural employment" means services:

(1) on a farm, in the employ of any person or family farm corporation in connection with cultivating the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, and wildlife;

(2) in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm, in connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of the farm and its tools and equipment, or in salvaging timber or clearing land of brush and other debris left by a tornado-like storm, if the major part of the employment is performed on a farm;

(3) in connection with the production or harvesting of any commodity defined as an agricultural product in United States Code, title 7, section 1626 of the Agricultural Marketing Act, or in connection with cotton ginning, or in connection with the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways, not owned or operated for profit, used exclusively for supplying and storing water for farming purposes;

(4) in the employ of the operator of a farm in handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any agricultural or horticultural commodity; but only if the operator produced more than one-half of the commodity with respect to which the employment is performed, or in the employ of a group of operators of farms or a cooperative organization of which the operators are members, but only if the operators produced more than one-half of the commodity with respect to which the employment is performed; however, this clause shall not be applicable to employment performed in connection with commercial canning or commercial freezing or in connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for consumption; or

(5) on a farm operated for profit if the employment is not in the course of the employer's trade or business.

For purposes of this subdivision, the term "farm" includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animals, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, orchards, ranges, greenhouses, or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities.

Subd. 2a. Applicant. "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an application for unemployment benefits and has established or is pursuing the establishment of a benefit account.

Subd. 3. Back pay. "Back pay" means a retroactive payment of money by an employer to an employee or former employee for lost wages.

Subd. 4. Base period. "Base period" means:

(1) the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of an applicant's benefit account as set forth below:

If the benefit account is effective The base period on or between these dates: is the prior: January 1 - March 31 October 1 - September 30 April 1 - June 30 January 1 - December 31 July 1 - September 30 April 1 - March 31 October 1 - December 31 July 1 - June 30

(2) if during the base period under clause (1) an applicant received workers' compensation for temporary disability under chapter 176 or a similar federal law or similar law of another state, or if an applicant whose own serious illness caused a loss of work for which the applicant received compensation for loss of wages from some other source, the applicant may request a base period as follows:

(i) if an applicant was compensated for a loss of work of seven to 13 weeks, the base period shall be the first four of the last six completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of the benefit account;

(ii) if an applicant was compensated for a loss of work of 14 to 26 weeks, the base period shall be the first four of the last seven completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of the benefit account;

(iii) if an applicant was compensated for a loss of work of 27 to 39 weeks, the base period shall be the first four of the last eight completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of the benefit account; and

(iv) if an applicant was compensated for a loss of work of 40 to 52 weeks, the base period shall be the first four of the last nine completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of the benefit account;

(3) if the applicant qualifies for a base period under clause (2), but has insufficient wage credits to establish a benefit account, the applicant may request a base period of the last four completed calendar quarters prior to the date the applicant's benefit account is effective. This base period may be used only once during any five-calendar-year period; and

(4) no base period under clause (1), (2), or (3) shall include wage credits upon which a prior benefit account was established.

Subd. 5. Renumbered subd 26a

Subd. 6. Benefit year. "Benefit year" means the period of 52 calendar weeks beginning the date a benefit account is effective. For a benefit account established effective any January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1, or January 2, 2000, or October 2, 2011, the benefit year will be a period of 53 calendar weeks.

Subd. 7. Calendar quarter. "Calendar quarter" means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31.

Subd. 8. Renumbered subd 2a

Subd. 8a. Commissioner. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of employment and economic development.

Subd. 9. Construction/independent contractor. A worker doing commercial or residential building construction or improvement, in the public or private sector, performing services in the course of the trade, business, profession, or occupation of the employer, shall be considered an employee and not an "independent contractor" unless the worker meets all the following conditions:

(1) maintains a separate business with the independent contractor's own office, equipment, materials, and other facilities;

(2) holds or has applied for a federal employer identification number;

(3) operates under contracts to perform specific services or work for specific amounts of money under which the independent contractor controls the means of performing the services or work;

(4) incurs the main expenses related to the service or work that the independent contractor performs under contract;

(5) is responsible for the satisfactory completion of work or services that the independent contractor contracts to perform and is liable for a failure to complete the work or service;

(6) receives compensation for work or service performed under a contract on a commission or per job or competitive bid basis and not on any other basis;

(7) may realize a profit or suffer a loss under contracts to perform work or service;

(8) has continuing or recurring business liabilities or obligations; and

(9) the success or failure of the independent contractor's business depends on the relationship of business receipts to expenditures.

Subd. 10. Corporation. "Corporation" includes associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies. This definition shall not be exclusive.

Subd. 11. Covered agricultural employment. "Covered agricultural employment" means agricultural employment where:

(1) The employment is performed for a person who:

(i) during any calendar quarter in either the current or the prior calendar year paid wages of $20,000 or more to employees in agricultural employment; or

(ii) for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks, whether or not the weeks were consecutive, in either the current or prior calendar year employed in agricultural employment four or more employees, regardless of whether they were employed at the same time.

(2) Any employee who is a member of a crew furnished by a crew leader to be employed in agricultural employment for any other person shall be treated as an employee of the crew leader:

(i) if the crew leader holds a valid certificate of registration under United States Code, title 29, section 1802, the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act; or substantially all of the members of the crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or crop dusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment, that is provided by the crew leader; and

(ii) if the employee is not an employee of another person.

(3) Any employee who is furnished by a crew leader to be employed in agricultural employment for any other person and who is not treated as an employee of the crew leader under clause (2):

(i) the other person and not the crew leader shall be treated as the employer of the employee; and

(ii) the other person shall be treated as having paid wages to the employee in an amount equal to the amount of wages paid to the employee by the crew leader (either on the crew leader's behalf or on behalf of the other person) for the agricultural employment performed for the other person.

(4) The term "crew leader" means an individual who:

(i) furnishes employees to be employed in agricultural employment for any other person;

(ii) pays (either on the crew leader's own behalf or on behalf of the other person) the employees furnished by the crew leader for the agricultural employment performed by them; and

(iii) has not entered into a written agreement with the other person under which the furnished employee is designated as an employee of the other person.

(5) Employment of an officer or shareholder of a family farm corporation shall be excluded from covered agricultural employment unless the corporation is an employer under United States Code, title 26, section 3306(a)(2) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

(6) Employment of an individual 16 years of age or under shall be excluded from covered agricultural employment unless the employer is an employer under United States Code, title 26, section 3306(a)(2) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

Subd. 12. Covered employment. "Covered employment" means the following unless excluded as "noncovered employment" under subdivision 20:

(1) an employee's entire employment if:

(i) the employment is performed entirely in Minnesota;

(ii) the employment is performed primarily in Minnesota, and the employment performed outside Minnesota is incidental to the employment in Minnesota; or

(iii) the employment is not performed primarily in any one state but some of the employment is performed in Minnesota and the base of operations or the place from which the employment is directed or controlled is in Minnesota; or the base of operations or place from which the employment is directed or controlled is not in any state in which part of the employment is performed, but the employee's residence is in Minnesota;

(2) an employee's employment wherever performed within the United States or Canada, if:

(i) the employment is not covered under the unemployment insurance program of any other state or Canada; and

(ii) the place from which the employment is directed or controlled is in Minnesota;

(3) the employment of an employee who is a citizen of the United States, performed outside the United States, except in Canada, in the employ of an American employer if:

(i) the employer's principal place of business in the United States is located in Minnesota;

(ii) the employer has no place of business in the United States, but the employer is an individual who is a resident of Minnesota, or the employer is a corporation that is organized under the laws of Minnesota, or the employer is a partnership or a trust and the number of partners or trustees who are residents of Minnesota is greater than the number who are residents of any one other state;

(iii) none of the criteria of subclauses (i) and (ii) is met but the employer has elected coverage in Minnesota, or the employer having failed to elect coverage in any state, an applicant has made an application for unemployment benefits under section 268.07, based on the employment;

(iv) an "American employer," for the purposes of this subdivision, means an individual who is a resident of the United States, or a partnership if two-thirds or more of the partners are residents of the United States, or a trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United States, or a corporation organized under the laws of the United States, or of any state; or

(v) as used in this subdivision, the term "United States" includes the states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands;

(4) all employment performed by an officer or member of the crew of an American vessel on or in connection with the vessel, if the operating office from which the operations of the vessel operating on navigable waters within, or within and without, the United States are ordinarily and regularly supervised, managed, directed, and controlled is in Minnesota; and

(5) for the purposes of satisfying disqualifications under section 268.095, subdivision 10, "covered employment" shall include covered employment under an unemployment insurance program of any other state or employment covered under an unemployment insurance program established by an act of Congress.

Subd. 12a. Department. "Department" means the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Subd. 12b. Electronic transmission. "Electronic transmission" means a communication sent by electronic, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic or similar capabilities, and, when permitted by the commissioner, a telephone communication.

Subd. 13. Employee. "Employee" means every individual, who is performing, or has performed services for an employer in employment.

Subd. 14. Employer. "Employer" means any of the following which has had one or more employees during the current or the prior calendar year:

(1) any individual or type of organization, resident or nonresident, for profit or nonprofit, religious, charitable, or educational, including any partnership, limited liability company, trust, estate, or corporation, domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee or successor of any of the foregoing, or the legal representative of a deceased person;

(2) any government entity, state or federal, foreign or domestic, Indian tribe, including any subdivision thereof and any instrumentality thereof owned wholly or in part;

(3) any organization or person that has elected, under section 268.042, to be subject to the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Law;

(4) a joint venture composed of one or more employers;

(5) any nonprofit organization or government agency providing or authorizing the hiring of homeworkers, personal care attendants, or other individuals performing similar services in a private home is the employer of the homeworker, attendant, or similar worker whether the organization or agency pays the employee directly or provides funds to the recipient of the services to pay for the services. This clause does not apply to the state of Minnesota or any county that provides federal, state, or local funds to a child care provider either directly or indirectly through a parent who is a child care assistance recipient; or

(6) each individual employed to perform or assist in performing the work of any agent or employee shall be considered to be employed by that employer whether the individual was hired or paid directly by that employer or by the agent or employee, provided the employer had actual or constructive knowledge of the work.

Subd. 15. Employment. "Employment" means service performed by:

(1) an individual who is considered an employee under the common law of employer-employee and not considered an independent contractor;

(2) an officer of a corporation;

(3) a member of a limited liability company who is considered an employee under the common law of employer-employee; or

(4) an individual who performs services for a person for compensation, as:

(i) an agent-driver or commission-driver engaged in distributing meat products, vegetable products, fruit products, beverages, or laundry or dry cleaning services; or

(ii) a traveling or city salesperson, other than as an agent-driver or commission-driver, engaged full-time in the solicitation on behalf of the person, of orders from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments for merchandise for resale or supplies for use in their business operations.

This clause shall apply only if the contract of service provides that substantially all of the services are to be performed personally by the individual, and the services are part of a continuing relationship with the person for whom the services are performed, and the individual does not have a substantial investment in facilities used in connection with the performance of the services, other than facilities for transportation.

Subd. 16. Family farm corporation. "Family farm corporation" has the meaning given to it in section 500.24, subdivision 2.

Subd. 17. Filing; filed. "Filing" or "filed" means the delivery of any document to the commissioner or any of the commissioner's agents, or the depositing of the document in the United States mail properly addressed to the department with postage prepaid, in which case the document shall be considered filed on the day indicated by the cancellation mark of the United States Postal Service.

If, where allowed, an application, protest, appeal, or other required action is made by electronic transmission, it shall be considered filed on the day received by the department.

Subd. 18. Renumbered subd 25a

Subd. 19. High quarter. "High quarter" means the calendar quarter in an applicant's base period with the highest amount of wage credits.

Subd. 20. Noncovered employment. "Noncovered employment" means:

(1) employment for the United States government or an instrumentality thereof, including military service;

(2) employment for a state, other than Minnesota, or a political subdivision or instrumentality thereof;

(3) employment for a foreign government;

(4) employment for an instrumentality wholly owned by a foreign government, if the employment is of a character similar to that performed in foreign countries by employees of the United States government or an instrumentality thereof and the United States Secretary of State has certified that the foreign government grants an equivalent exemption to similar employment performed in the foreign country by employees of the United States government and instrumentalities thereof;

(5) employment covered under United States Code, title 45, section 351, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act;

(6) employment covered by a reciprocal arrangement between the commissioner and another state or the federal government which provides that all employment performed by an individual for an employer during the period covered by the reciprocal arrangement is considered performed entirely within another state;

(7) employment for a church or convention or association of churches, or an organization operated primarily for religious purposes that is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches described in United States Code, title 26, section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and exempt from income tax under section 501(a);

(8) employment of a duly ordained or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of a ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by the order, for Minnesota or a political subdivision or an organization described in United States Code, title 26, section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and exempt from income tax under section 501(a);

(9) employment of an individual receiving rehabilitation of "sheltered" work in a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age or physical or mental deficiency or injury or a program providing "sheltered" work for individuals who because of an impaired physical or mental capacity cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market. This clause applies only to services performed for Minnesota or a political subdivision or an organization described in United States Code, title 26, section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and exempt from income tax under section 501(a) in a facility certified by the Rehabilitation Services Branch of the department or in a day training or habilitation program licensed by the Department of Human Services;

(10) employment of an individual receiving work relief or work training as part of an unemployment work relief or work training program assisted or financed in whole or in part by any federal agency or an agency of a state or political subdivision thereof. This clause applies only to employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision or an organization described in United States Code, title 26, section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code and exempt from income tax under section 501(a). This clause shall not apply to programs that require unemployment benefit coverage for the participants;

(11) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision as an elected official, a member of a legislative body, or a member of the judiciary;

(12) employment as a member of the Minnesota National Guard or Air National Guard;

(13) employment for Minnesota, a political subdivision, or instrumentality thereof, as an employee serving only on a temporary basis in case of fire, flood, tornado, or similar emergency;

(14) employment as an election official or election worker for Minnesota or a political subdivision, but only if the compensation for that employment was less than $1,000 in a calendar year;

(15) employment for Minnesota that is a major policy making or advisory position in the unclassified service, including those positions established pursuant to section 43A.08, subdivision 1a;

(16) employment for a political subdivision of Minnesota that is a nontenured major policy making or advisory position;

(17) domestic employment in a private household, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority performed for a person, only if the wages paid in any calendar quarter in either the current or preceding calendar year to all individuals in domestic employment totaled less than $1,000.

"Domestic employment" includes all service in the operation and maintenance of a private household, for a local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority as distinguished from service as an employee in the pursuit of an employer's trade or business;

(18) employment of an individual by a son, daughter, or spouse, and employment of a child under the age of 18 by the child's father or mother;

(19) employment of an inmate of a custodial or penal institution;

(20) employment for a school, college, or university by a student who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at the school, college, or university;

(21) employment of an individual who is enrolled as a student in a full-time program at a nonprofit or public educational institution that maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and has a regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are carried on, taken for credit at the institution, that combines academic instruction with work experience, if the employment is an integral part of the program, and the institution has so certified to the employer, except that this clause shall not apply to employment in a program established for or on behalf of an employer or group of employers;

(22) employment of university, college, or professional school students in an internship or other training program with the city of St. Paul or the city of Minneapolis pursuant to Laws 1990, chapter 570, article 6, section 3;

(23) employment for a hospital by a patient of the hospital. "Hospital" means an institution that has been licensed by the Department of Health as a hospital;

(24) employment as a student nurse for a hospital or a nurses' training school by an individual who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in an accredited nurses' training school;

(25) employment as an intern for a hospital by an individual who has completed a four-year course in an accredited medical school;

(26) employment as an insurance salesperson, by other than a corporate officer, if all the compensation for the employment is solely by way of commission. The word "insurance" shall include an annuity and an optional annuity;

(27) employment as an officer of a township mutual insurance company or farmer's mutual insurance company operating pursuant to chapter 67A;

(28) employment of a corporate officer, if the officer owns 25 percent or more of the employer corporation, and employment of a member of a limited liability company, if the member owns 25 percent or more of the employer limited liability company;

(29) employment as a real estate salesperson, by other than a corporate officer, if all the compensation for the employment is solely by way of commission;

(30) employment as a direct seller as defined in United States Code, title 26, section 3508;

(31) employment of an individual under the age of 18 in the delivery or distribution of newspapers or shopping news, not including delivery or distribution to any point for subsequent delivery or distribution;

(32) casual employment performed for an individual, other than domestic employment under clause (17), that does not promote or advance that employer's trade or business;

(33) employment in "agricultural employment" unless considered "covered agricultural employment" under subdivision 11; or

(34) if employment during one-half or more of any pay period was covered employment, all the employment for the pay period shall be considered covered employment; but if during more than one-half of any pay period the employment was noncovered employment, then all of the employment for the pay period shall be considered noncovered employment. "Pay period" means a period of not more than a calendar month for which a payment or compensation is ordinarily made to the employee by the employer.

Subd. 21. Person. "Person" means an individual, trust or estate, a partnership or a corporation.

Subd. 21a. Reemployment assistance training. (a) An applicant is in "reemployment assistance training" when:

(1) reasonable and suitable employment for the applicant does not exist in the labor market area and it is necessary that the applicant receive training in order to obtain suitable employment;

(2) the curriculum, facilities, staff, and other essentials are adequate to achieve the training objective;

(3) the training is vocational in nature or short term academic training vocationally directed to an occupation or skill for which there are reasonable employment opportunities available to the applicant;

(4) the training course is considered full time by the training provider; and

(5) the applicant is making satisfactory progress in the training.

(b) Full-time training provided through the dislocated worker program, the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, or the North American Free Trade Agreement shall be considered "reemployment assistance training," if that training course is in accordance with the requirements of that program.

(c) An applicant will be considered in reemployment assistance training only if the training course has actually started or is scheduled to start within 30 calendar days.

Subd. 22. State. "State" includes, in addition to the states of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.

Subd. 23. State's average annual and average weekly wage. (a) On or before June 30 of each year, the commissioner shall calculate the state's average annual wage and the state's average weekly wage in the following manner:

(1) The sum of the total monthly covered employment reported by all employers for the prior calendar year shall be divided by 12 to calculate the average monthly covered employment.

(2) The sum of the total wages paid for all covered employment reported by all employers for the prior calendar year shall be divided by the average monthly covered employment to calculate the state's average annual wage.

(3) The state's average annual wage shall be divided by 52 to calculate the state's average weekly wage.

(b) For purposes of calculating the amount of taxable wages, the state's average annual wage shall apply to the calendar year following the calculation.

(c) For purposes of calculating the state's maximum weekly unemployment benefit amount available on any benefit account under section 268.07, subdivision 2, the state's average weekly wage shall apply to the one-year period beginning the first Sunday in August of the calendar year of the calculation.

Subd. 23a. Suitable employment. (a) Suitable employment means employment in the applicant's labor market area that is reasonably related to the applicant's qualifications. In determining whether any employment is suitable for an applicant, the degree of risk involved to the health and safety, physical fitness, prior training, experience, length of unemployment, prospects for securing employment in the applicant's customary occupation, and the distance of the employment from the applicant's residence shall be considered.

(b) In determining what is suitable employment, primary consideration shall be given to the temporary or permanent nature of the applicant's separation from employment and whether the applicant has favorable prospects of finding employment in the applicant's usual or customary occupation at the applicant's past wage level within a reasonable period of time.

If prospects are unfavorable, employment at lower skill or wage levels is suitable if the applicant is reasonably suited for the employment considering the applicant's education, training, work experience, and current physical and mental ability.

The total compensation must be considered, including the wage rate, hours of employment, method of payment, overtime practices, bonuses, incentive payments, and fringe benefits.

(c) When potential employment is at a rate of pay lower than the applicant's former rate, consideration must be given to the length of the applicant's unemployment and the proportion of difference in the rates. Employment that may not be suitable because of lower wages during the early weeks of the applicant's unemployment may become suitable as the duration of unemployment lengthens.

(d) For an applicant seasonally unemployed, suitable employment includes temporary work in a lower skilled occupation that pays average gross weekly wages equal to or more than 150 percent of the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount.

(e) If a majority of the applicant's wage credits were earned from part-time employment, part-time employment in a position with comparable skills and comparable hours that pays average gross weekly wages equal to or more than 150 percent of the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount shall be considered suitable employment.

(f) To determine suitability of employment in terms of shifts, the arrangement of hours in addition to the total number of hours is to be considered. Employment on a second, third, rotating, or split shift is suitable employment if it is customary in the occupation in the labor market area.

(g) Employment shall not be considered suitable if:

(1) the position offered is vacant because of a labor dispute;

(2) the wages, hours, or other conditions of employment are substantially less favorable than those prevailing for similar employment in the labor market area; or

(3) as a condition of becoming employed, the applicant would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization.

Subd. 24. Taxable wages. (a) "Taxable wages" means those wages paid to an employee in covered employment each calendar year up to an amount equal to 60 percent of the state's average annual wage, rounded to the nearest $1,000.

(b) Taxable wages includes the amount of wages paid for covered employment by the employer's predecessor when there has been an experience rating transfer under section 268.051, subdivision 4.

Subd. 25. Taxes. "Taxes" means the money payments required by the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Law to be paid into the trust fund by an employer on account of paying wages to employees in covered employment.

Subd. 25a. Trust fund. "Trust fund" means the Minnesota unemployment insurance trust fund established by section 268.194.

Subd. 26. Unemployed. An applicant shall be considered "unemployed": (1) in any week that the applicant performs no service in employment, covered employment, noncovered employment, self-employment, or volunteer work, and with respect to which the applicant has no earnings; or (2) in any week of less than 32 hours of service in employment, covered employment, noncovered employment, self-employment, or volunteer work if the earnings with respect to that week are less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount.

Subd. 26a. Unemployment benefits. "Unemployment benefits" means the money payments portion of the Minnesota unemployment insurance program available to an applicant.

Subd. 27. Wage credits. "Wage credits" mean the amount of wages paid within an applicant's base period for covered employment.

Subd. 28. Wage detail report. "Wage detail report" means the report on each employee in covered employment required from an employer on a calendar quarter basis under section 268.044.

Subd. 29. Wages. "Wages" means all compensation for services, including commissions; bonuses; severance payments; vacation and holiday pay; back pay as of the date of payment; tips and gratuities paid to an employee by a customer of an employer and accounted for by the employee to the employer; sickness and accident disability payments, except as otherwise provided in this subdivision; and the cash value of all compensation in any medium other than cash, except:

(1) the amount of any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee under a plan established by an employer that makes provision for employees generally or for a class or classes of employees, including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or annuities, or into a plan, to provide for a payment, on account of (i) retirement or (ii) medical and hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability, or (iii) death;

(2) the payment by an employer of the tax imposed upon an employee under United States Code, title 26, section 3101 of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act, with respect to compensation paid to an employee for domestic employment in a private household of the employer or for agricultural employment;

(3) any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or beneficiary (i) from or to a trust described in United States Code, title 26, section 401(a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, that is exempt from tax under section 501(a) at the time of the payment unless the payment is made to an employee of the trust as compensation for services as an employee and not as a beneficiary of the trust, or (ii) under or to an annuity plan that, at the time of the payment, is a plan described in section 403(a);

(4) sickness or accident disability payments made by the employer after the expiration of six calendar months following the last calendar month that the individual worked for the employer;

(5) disability payments made under the provisions of any workers' compensation law;

(6) sickness or accident disability payments made by a third party payer such as an insurance company;

(7) payments made into a trust fund, or for the purchase of insurance or an annuity, to provide for sickness or accident disability payments to employees pursuant to a plan or system established by the employer that provides for the employer's employees generally or for a class or classes of employees; or

(8) nothing in this subdivision shall exclude from the term "wages" any payment made under any type of salary reduction agreement, including payments made under a cash or deferred arrangement and cafeteria plan, as defined in United States Code, title 26, sections 401(k) and 125 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, to the extent that the employee has the option to receive the payment in cash.

Subd. 30. Wages paid. (a) "Wages paid" means the amount of wages that have been actually paid or that have been credited to or set apart so that payment and disposition is under the control of the employee. Wage payments delayed beyond the regularly scheduled pay date are considered "wages paid" on the missed pay date. Back pay shall be considered "wages paid" on the date of actual payment. Any wages earned but not paid with no scheduled date of payment shall be considered "wages paid" on the last day of employment.

(b) Wages paid shall not include wages earned but not paid except as provided for in this subdivision.

Subd. 31. Week. "Week" means calendar week, ending at midnight Saturday.

Subd. 32. Weekly unemployment benefit amount. "Weekly unemployment benefit amount" means the amount of unemployment benefits computed under section 268.07, subdivision 2, paragraph (b).

HIST: 1998 c 265 s 4; 1999 c 107 s 2-15,66; 2000 c 343 s 4; 2001 c 175 s 3-8,52; 1Sp2003 c 3 art 2 s 1,2,20; 2004 c 183 s 4-12

* NOTE: The amendment to subdivision 28 by Laws 2004, *chapter 183, section 12, is effective July 1, 2005. Laws 2004, *chapter 183, section 12, the effective date.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes