Source: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/efte/thresholds_for_coverage.html
Timestamp: 2013-06-19 00:26:30
Document Index: 763566835

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1002', '§ 203', '§ 652', '§ 652', '§ 652', '§ 654', '§ 653', '§ 3306', '§ 3306', '§ 1324', '§ 274', '§ 1324', '§ 1324', '§ 2000', '§ 1161', '§4980', '§ 401', '§ 234', '§ 61', '§ 201', '§ 201', '§ 201']

Employer	Statute
1 worker (employee or independent contractor)
Any employer with any employee involved in commerce
Any employer with any employee
Texas and federal new hire reporting laws
new hire reporting within first 20 days after hire
Any private-sector employer
minimum wage, overtime, timely wages, illegal deductions
Federal Unemployment Tax Act and Texas Unemployment Compensation Act
Small Employer Health Insurance Availability Act(Texas COBRA)
health benefit continuation - state law
national origin/U.S. citizenship
Title VII, ADA, GINA, Chapter 21 (Texas Labor Code)
race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, age (state law), genetic information
age discrimination (federal)
Any, except for church and governmental** health plans
health benefit continuation - federal law
advance notice of plant closings and mass layoffs
statistical survey of employees
** Regarding health benefit continuation rights for public employees, state and local government health plans maintained by public employers with 20 or more employees are covered under the Public Health Safety Act - see 42 U.S.C.A. � 300bb-1 et seq.. In Texas, state and local government health plans maintained by public employers with 2 to 19 employees would be covered by the Texas COBRA law.
"All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts ..." This law applies to all contracts made within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States, including contracts for personal services, and thus applies even to independent contractors. There is no minimum number of employees or contractors involved for the law to apply, so even one worker of any kind makes the employer liable under this statute.
Employee Retirement Income and Security Act (ERISA) � 29 U.S.C. § 1002(5, 6): Top of Page
"(5) The term 'employer' means any person acting directly as an employer, or indirectly in the interest of an employer, in relation to an employee benefit plan; and includes a group or association of employers acting for an employer in such capacity. (6) The term 'employee' means any individual employed by an employer." Under 29 U.S.C. � 1052(a)(3)(A), the retirement benefit rights apply to any employee who works at least 1,000 hours in a 12-month period.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) � 29 U.S.C. § 203(d): Top of Page
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) � 29 U.S.C. § 652(5, 6): Top of Page
29 U.S.C. § 652(5) provides that "'employer' means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States (not including the United States Postal Service) or any State or political subdivision of a State ..." Under § 652(6), "the term 'employee' means an employee of an employer who is employed in a business of his employer which affects commerce." The common law test used for determining employment status in FLSA cases is applicable to OSHA as well. One employee is sufficient for coverage, since 29 U.S.C. § 654(a) provides that "[e]ach employer - (1) shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards ..." and "(2) shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this chapter."
State Directory of New Hires; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) � 42 U.S.C. § 653a: Top of Page
Under the federal law, "each employer" must report "each newly-hired employee" to the state directory of new hires. Both the state and federal new hire reporting laws have the same basic definitions: "The term 'employer' has the meaning given such term in section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes any governmental entity and any labor organization." "The term 'employee' � (i) means an individual who is an employee within the meaning of chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; ... ." Thus, the IRS test for determining a worker's employment status would apply.
Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) � 26 U.S.C. § 3306: Top of Page
The definitions here are almost identical to those in the Texas unemployment compensation statutes. In § 3306(a)(1), "[t]he term 'employer' means, with respect to any calendar year, any person who � (A) during any calendar quarter in the calendar year or the preceding calendar year paid wages of $1,500 or more, or (B) on each of some 20 days during the calendar year or during the preceding calendar year, each day being in a different calendar week, employed at least one individual in employment for some portion of the day." In subsection (a)(3), an employer of a domestic service employee is liable if it pays $1,000 or more in wages in a calendar quarter. In subsection (i), the FUTA statute actually gives the term "employee" the same meaning that it has for Social Security (FICA) tax purposes: "... the term 'employee' has the meaning assigned to such term by section 3121(d), ..." Section 3121(d) in turn provides that "... the term 'employee' means � (1) any officer of a corporation; or (2) any individual who, under the usual common law rules applicable in determining the employer-employee relationship, has the status of an employee; ... ." Thus, it is apparent that both the FUTA and FICA tax statutes use the same common law test (commonly referred to in FICA and FLSA cases as the "economic realities test").
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) (national origin and U.S. citizenship discrimination) � 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(2)(A): Top of Page
The prohibition on citizenship and national origin discrimination does not apply to "a person or other entity that employs three or fewer employees". Thus, the discrimination provision in this law applies to any employer with four or more employees. There is no distinction between full- and part-time employees, and no distinction based upon how long the employees have worked for the company. The term "employee" is not specifically defined in this statute (however, the regulation 8 C.F.R. § 274a.1(f) defines "employee" � see that regulation below). With regard to the hiring of unauthorized workers in § 1324a, it is clear from subsection (a)(4) that the prohibition on hiring an "unauthorized alien" applies to "contracts for labor", and thus the law prohibiting employment of unauthorized aliens applies to the hiring of independent contractors, similar to the way that the Civil Rights Act of 1866 applies to independent contractors as well as employees. Concerning the I-9 process, obtaining I-9 documentation from independent contractors is not necessary, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services guidance in the I-9 Handbook for Employers, Publication M-274, in question 6 on page 31 of the PDF version of the handbook (see http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/m-274.pdf). The USCIS regulation regarding § 1324a offers more guidance on the relevant definitions:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (race, color, religion, national origin, and gender discrimination, including pregnancy and sexual harassment) � 42 U.S.C. § 2000e: Top of Page
"The term 'employer' means a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year �" Thus, one would mark on a calendar for the current or preceding calendar year all days on which the company employed 15 or more employees, and then mark each week that had each working day so marked, and if the number of weeks so marked is at least 20, Title VII applies. "Employee" means "an individual employed by an employer". That would include owners and officers of corporations who perform work for pay for their corporations. Private-sector employers with 100 or more employees (50 or more if the employer has a federal contract, subcontract, or purchase order worth $50,000 or more) must file the EEO-1 report annually.
"The term 'employer' means a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year �" This test is the same as for Title VII. The definition of "employee" is the same as in Title VII.
"The term 'employer' means a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has twenty or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year �" This test is the same as for Title VII, except that the number of employees is 20, instead of 15. The definition of "employee" is basically the same as in Title VII.
COBRA applies to health insurance plans of non-governmental, non-church employers with 20 or more employees (governmental employer health insurance plans are covered by the PHSA, as noted above). Covered plans are defined in the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26) as follows: "This section shall not apply to (1) any failure of a group health plan to meet the requirements of subsection (f) with respect to any qualified beneficiary if the qualifying event with respect to such beneficiary occurred during the calendar year immediately following a calendar year during which all employers maintaining such plan normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day, (2) any governmental plan (within the meaning of section 414 (d)), or (3) any church plan (within the meaning of section 414 (e))." Similarly, 29 U.S.C. § 1161(b) provides that continuation coverage under the federal law "shall not apply to any group health plan for any calendar year if all employers maintaining such plan normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year." "Employee" is defined in subsection (f)(7) of §4980B, which refers to the definition of "employee" in 26 U.S.C. § 401(c) for ERISA pension plan purposes � that definition includes self-employed individuals who perform personal services for their entities, such as owners of proprietorships, partners of partnerships, and owners of corporate entities. For more on federal COBRA requirements, click here.
State Directory of New Hires � Texas Family Code, § 234.101: Top of Page
Texas Payday Law � Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61 - § 61.001(4): Top of Page
The definitions here are almost identical to the definitions for the federal unemployment compensation statutes. "In this subtitle, 'employer' means an employing unit that: (1) paid wages of $1,500 or more during a calendar quarter in the current or preceding calendar year; or (2) employed at least one individual in employment for a portion of at least one day during 20 or more different calendar weeks of the current or preceding calendar year.", or that "is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization under Sections 501(a) and 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that employed at least four individuals in employment for a portion of at least one day during 20 or more different calendar weeks during the current year or during the preceding calendar year." In the case of a domestic service employee, the wage amount for liability is $1,000 paid in a calendar quarter (see § 201.027(a)). "Employing unit" is defined in § 201.011(11) as "a person who � has employed an individual to perform services for the person in this state." "Employee" is not directly defined, but the term means anyone who is in "employment", which is defined in § 201.041 as "a service, including service in interstate commerce, performed by an individual for wages or under an express or implied contract of hire, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the commission that the individual's performance of the service has been and will continue to be free from control or direction under the contract and in fact." The test for employment status is the same as the one used by TWC for payday law coverage - see Appendix E in the article "Independent Contractors / Contract Labor" for the twenty-factor test in question. Thus, a for-profit employer becomes liable for unemployment compensation with even one employee. A non-profit employer needs at least four employees for liability.
"'Employer' means: (A) a person who is engaged in an industry affecting commerce and who has 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year �" This test is the same as for Title VII on the federal side. The definition of "employee" is also the same as in Title VII.