WY Stat § 27-14-102 (2021)
2021 Wyoming Statutes|Title 27 - Labor and Employment|Chapter 14 - Worker's Compensation|Article 1 - Generally|Section 27-14-102 - Definitions.

27-14-102. Definitions.| (a) As used in this act:  (i) "Artificial replacement" means the addition of an artificial part to the human body which replaces a part lost, damaged or in need of correction, excluding any personal item, artificial heart, automobile or the remodeling of an automobile or other physical structure or any item of furniture except as provided by rule and regulation of the division. If a wheelchair is approved by the division for use during impairment or disability, "artificial replacement" may include necessary cost effective physical structures such as ramps, automobile devices or remodeling, bars and rails, and other necessary equipment or devices aiding the body during impairment or disability, subject to the following criteria:  (A) A physical structure for which artificial replacement is claimed shall be the primary residence of the claimant;  (B) Only one (1) automobile at a time shall be eligible for devices or remodeling under this paragraph.  (ii) "Ascertainable loss" means that point in time in which it is apparent that permanent physical impairment has resulted from a compensable injury, the extent of the physical impairment due to the injury can be determined and the physical impairment will not substantially improve or deteriorate because of the injury;  (iii) "Child" means any unmarried minor or physically or mentally incapacitated individual receiving court ordered support or substantially all of his financial support from the employee at the time of injury or death of the employee and includes an adopted child, stepchild, posthumous child or acknowledged illegitimate child but does not include a parent or spouse of the employee;  (iv) "Delinquent payment" means any payment required of an employer under this act which is not paid within thirty (30) days after the date due as specified by this act;  (v) "Administrator" means the administrator of the division;  (vi) "Division" means the worker's compensation division within the department of workforce services;  (vii) "Employee" means any person engaged in any extra hazardous employment under any appointment, contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written, and includes student learners engaged in any extra hazardous employment, legally employed minors, aliens authorized to work by the United States department of justice, office of citizenship and immigration services, and aliens whom the employer reasonably believes, at the date of hire and the date of injury based upon documentation in the employer's possession, to be authorized to work by the United States department of justice, office of citizenship and immigration services. "Employee" does not include:  (A) Any individual whose employment is determined to be casual labor;  (B) A sole proprietor or a partner of a business partnership unless coverage is elected pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(k);  (C) An officer of a corporation unless coverage is elected pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(k);  (D) Any individual engaged as an independent contractor;  (E) A spouse or dependent of an employer living in the employer's household;  (F) A professional athlete, except as provided in W.S. 27-14-108(q);  (G) An employee of a private household;  (H) A private duty nurse engaged by a private party;  (J) An employee of the federal government;  (K) Any volunteer unless covered pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(e);  (M) Any adult or juvenile prisoner or probationer unless covered pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(d)(ix);  (N) An elected public official or an appointed member of any governmental board or commission, except for a duly elected or appointed county officer;  Note: Effective 1/2/2023 this subparagraph will read as:  (N) An elected public official or an appointed member of any governmental board or commission, except for a duly elected or appointed county officer or a member of the legislature;  (O) The owner and operator of a motor vehicle which is leased or contracted with driver to a for-hire common or contract carrier. The owner-operator shall not be an employee for purposes of this act if he performs the service pursuant to a contract which provides that the owner-operator shall not be treated as an employee for purposes of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the Social Security Act, the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and income tax withholding at source;  (P) A member of a limited liability company unless coverage is elected pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(k);  (Q) A foster parent providing foster care services for the department of family services or for a certified child placement agency;  (R) An individual providing child day care or babysitting services, whose wages are subsidized or paid in whole or in part by the Wyoming department of family services. This exclusion from coverage does not exclude from coverage an individual providing child day care or babysitting services as an employee of any individual or entity other than the Wyoming department of family services;  (S) A responsible broker, associate broker or salesperson licensed under the Real Estate License Act, W.S. 33-28-101 through 33-28-401, who receives compensation for the services identified in W.S. 33-28-102(b)(xlv). The receipt of additional compensation for the performance of other real estate related services shall not negate this exemption.  (viii) "Employer" means any person or entity employing an employee engaged in any extrahazardous occupation or electing coverage under W.S. 27-14-108(j) or (k) and at least one (1) of whose employees is described in W.S. 27-14-301. "Employer" includes:  (A) Repealed By Laws 1999, ch. 46, § 2.  (B) The governmental entity for which recipients of public assistance perform work if that work does not otherwise establish a covered employer and employee relationship;  (C) The governmental entity for which volunteers perform the specified volunteer activities under W.S. 27-14-108(e);  (D) The governmental entity for which prisoners and probationers work or perform community service under W.S. 27-14-108(d)(ix) or (xv);  (E) An owner-operator of a mine at which any mine rescue operation or training occurs;  (F) A temporary service contractor for a temporary worker;  (G) Any person, contractor, firm, association or corporation otherwise qualifying under this paragraph as an employer and who utilizes the services of a worker furnished by another contractor, joint employer, firm, association, person or corporation other than a temporary service contractor, joint employer, independent contractor or owner and operator excluded as an employee under subparagraph (a)(vii)(O) of this section;  (H) Any employer otherwise qualifying under this paragraph as an employer and participating in a school-to-work program approved by the department of workforce services, any local school district board of trustees, community college district board of trustees or the department of education, and the employer previously elected coverage in writing pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(m);  (J) Any corporation, limited liability company, partnership or sole proprietorship electing coverage pursuant to W.S. 27-14-108(k), whether or not the corporation, limited liability company, partnership or sole proprietorship has other employees covered by this act;  (K) A collective group of county governments or county governmental entities as specified under W.S. 27-14-109.  (ix) "Gross earnings" means remuneration payable for services from any source including commissions, bonuses and cash and excluding tips and gratuities. The reasonable cash value of remuneration other than cash or check shall be prescribed by rule and regulation of the division. To the extent the following are not considered wages under 26 U.S.C. §§ 3301 through 3311, "gross earnings" does not include:  (A) Any premium paid by an employer under a plan, system or into a fund for insurance or annuities to provide an employee or class of employees retirement, sickness or accident disability, medical and hospitalization expenses for sickness or accident disability or death benefits if the employee cannot receive any part of this payment instead of the death benefit or any part of the premium if the benefit is insured and cannot assign or receive cash instead of the benefit upon withdrawal from or termination of the plan, system, policy or services with the employer;  (B) A payment by an employer not deducted from an employee's remuneration for the tax imposed under 26 U.S.C. § 3101;  (C) Any dismissal payment which the employer is not obligated to make;  (D) The value of any meals or lodging furnished by and for the convenience of the employer to the employee if the meals are furnished on the business premises of the employer or in the case of lodging, the employee is required to accept lodging on the business premises of his employer as a condition of his employment;  (E) Remuneration received by an employee as sick pay following a six (6) month continuous period of illness;  (F) Any benefit received under a cafeteria plan specified by 26 U.S.C. § 125, excluding cash;  (G) Wages of a deceased worker paid to a beneficiary or estate following the calendar year of the worker's death;  (H) Services received under any dependent care assistance program to the extent excluded from gross income under 26 U.S.C. § 129;  (J) Wages paid to a disabled worker during the year following the year in which he became entitled to disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act;  (K) Services or benefits received under any educational assistance program;  (M) Any benefit or other value received under an employee achievement award;  (N) The value of any qualified group legal services plan to the extent payments are excludable from gross income under 26 U.S.C. § 120;  (O) Costs of group term-life insurance;  (P) Any loan repayment which is repaid at interest rates below established market rates;  (Q) Any moving expenses;  (R) Employer contributions to any qualified retirement or pension plan or individual retirement account and distributions from qualified retirement and pension plans and annuities under 26 U.S.C. § 403(b);  (S) Benefit payments under any supplemental unemployment compensation plan; and  (T) Any benefits paid under this act or any other worker's compensation law of another state.  (x) "Health care provider" means doctor of medicine, chiropractic or osteopathy, dentist, optometrist, podiatrist, psychologist or advanced practitioner of nursing, acting within the scope of his license, licensed to practice in this state or in good standing in his home state;  (xi) "Injury" means any harmful change in the human organism other than normal aging and includes damage to or loss of any artificial replacement and death, arising out of and in the course of employment while at work in or about the premises occupied, used or controlled by the employer and incurred while at work in places where the employer's business requires an employee's presence and which subjects the employee to extrahazardous duties incident to the business. "Injury" does not include:  (A) Any illness or communicable disease unless the risk of contracting the illness or disease is increased by the nature of the employment. For the period beginning January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022 unless otherwise extended by the legislature, if any employee in an employment sector for which coverage is provided by this act is infected with the COVID-19 Coronavirus, it shall be presumed that the risk of contracting the illness or disease was increased by the nature of the employment;  (B) Injury caused by:  (I) The fact the employee is intoxicated or under the influence of a controlled substance, or both, except any prescribed drug taken as directed by an authorized health care provider. The division shall define "intoxicated" and "under the influence of a controlled substance" for purposes of this subparagraph in its rules and regulations; or  (II) The employee's willful intention to injure or kill himself or another.  (C) Injury due solely to the culpable negligence of the injured employee;  (D) Any injury sustained during travel to or from employment unless the employee is reimbursed for travel expenses or is transported by a vehicle of the employer;  (E) Any injury sustained by the prisoner during or any harm resulting from any illegal activity engaged in by prisoners held under custody;  (F) Any injury or condition preexisting at the time of employment with the employer against whom a claim is made;  (G) Any injury resulting primarily from the natural aging process or from the normal activities of day-to-day living, as established by medical evidence supported by objective findings;  (H) Any injury sustained while engaged in recreational or social events under circumstances where an employee was under no duty to attend and where the injury did not result from the performance of tasks related to the employee's normal job duties or as specifically instructed to be performed by the employer; or  (J) Any mental injury unless it is:  (I) Caused by a compensable physical injury, it occurs subsequent to or simultaneously with, the physical injury and it is established by clear and convincing evidence, which shall include a diagnosis by a licensed psychiatrist, licensed clinical psychologist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner meeting criteria established in the most recent edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. In no event shall benefits for a compensable mental injury under this subdivision be paid for more than thirty-six (36) months after an injured employee's physical injury has healed to the point that it is not reasonably expected to substantially improve; or  (II) Experienced by a first responder and established by clear and convincing evidence, which shall include a diagnosis by a licensed psychiatrist, licensed clinical psychologist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner meeting criteria established in the most recent edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association. The mental injury shall not be considered a compensable injury if the mental injury is directly attributed to disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, termination or similar action taken by an employer. In no event shall any disability benefit for a compensable mental injury under this subdivision extend more than thirty-six (36) months beyond the diagnosis of a compensable injury.  (xii) "Medical and hospital care" when provided by a health care provider means any reasonable and necessary first aid, medical, surgical or hospital service, medical and surgical supplies, apparatus, essential and adequate artificial replacement, body aid during impairment, disability or treatment of an employee pursuant to this act including the repair or replacement of any preexisting artificial replacement, hearing aid, prescription eyeglass lens, eyeglass frame, contact lens or dentures if the device is damaged or destroyed in an accident and any other health services or products authorized by rules and regulations of the division. "Medical and hospital care" does not include any personal item, automobile or the remodeling of an automobile or other physical structure, public or private health club, weight loss center or aid, experimental medical or surgical procedure, item of furniture or vitamin and food supplement except as provided under rule and regulation of the division and paragraph (a)(i) of this section for impairments or disabilities requiring the use of wheelchairs;  (xiii) "Nonresident employer" means:  (A) An individual who was not domiciled in Wyoming for at least twelve (12) months prior to commencing operations in the state; or  (B) A partnership or other association if any member does not qualify under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; or  (C) A corporation in which more than three-fourths (3/4) of the capital stock is owned by individuals who do not qualify under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and  (D) A person who uses or employs covered individuals in Wyoming and who has not been a continuous contributor under this act for twelve (12) months preceding the use or employment.  (xiv) "Payroll" means "gross earnings" as defined under paragraph (a)(ix) of this section;  (xv) "Permanent partial disability" means the economic loss to an injured employee, measured as provided under W.S. 27-14-405(j), resulting from a permanent physical impairment;  (xvi) "Permanent total disability" means the loss of use of the body as a whole or any permanent injury certified under W.S. 27-14-406, which permanently incapacitates the employee from performing work at any gainful occupation for which he is reasonably suited by experience or training;  (xvii) "Spouse" means any individual legally married to an employee at the time of injury or death;  (xviii) "Temporary total disability" means that period of time an employee is temporarily and totally incapacitated from performing employment at any gainful employment or occupation for which he is reasonably suited by experience or training. The period of temporary total disability terminates at the time the employee completely recovers or qualifies for benefits under W.S. 27-14-405 or 27-14-406;  (xix) "Joint employer" means any person, firm, corporation or other entity which employs joint employees, is associated by ownership, commonly managed or controlled and contributes to the worker's compensation account as required by this act;  (xx) "Employer making contributions required by this act" means the employee's employer and any joint employer when the employer or any joint employer reports the employee's wages to the division on an account or through a consolidated worker's compensation account and contributions are made to the account as required by this act;  (xxi) "Joint employee" means any person:  (A) Who has an express or implied contract for employment with more than one (1) joint employer at the same time;  (B) Whose work is controlled by more than one (1) joint employer; and  (C) Who is engaged in the performance of work for more than one (1) joint employer.  (xxii) "Consolidated Wyoming worker's compensation account" means an account maintained by the Wyoming workers' compensation division to which an employer reports the wages of its employees and joint employees for its own account and the account of its joint employers, pursuant to which contributions are made to the account as required by this act;  (xxiii) "Independent contractor" means an individual who performs services for another individual or entity and:  (A) Is free from control or direction over the details of the performance of services by contract and by fact;  (B) Repealed By Laws 1998, ch. 117, § 2.  (C) Represents his services to the public as a self-employed individual or an independent contractor; and  (D) May substitute another person to perform his services.  (xxiv) "Casual labor" means service of less than two (2) consecutive weeks and not within the normal course of business;  (xxv) "Temporary service contractor" means any person, firm, association or corporation conducting a business that employs individuals directly for the purpose of furnishing services of the employed individuals on a temporary basis to others;  (xxvi) "Temporary worker" means a worker whose services are furnished to another employer on a temporary basis to substitute for a permanent employee on leave or to meet an emergency or short-term workload;  (xxvii) "This act" means W.S. 27-14-101 through 27-14-806;  (xxviii) "State employee" means any individual entering into service of or working under an employment contract with any agency of the state of Wyoming for which compensation is paid or which qualifies the individual to participate in the state retirement account. Effective on and after July 1, 2002, "state employee" shall include the University of Wyoming;  (xxix) "Professional athlete" means an individual who receives payment from a team owner for competing on a baseball, basketball, football, hockey or soccer team having its principal place of business in Wyoming;  (xxx) For purposes of W.S. 27-14-207 and 27-14-806, "person" means as defined in W.S. 8-1-102;  (xxxi) "First responder" means a peace officer or an employee who is employed or volunteers as a firefighter, search and rescue personnel or ambulance personnel;  (xxxii) "Member of the legislature" means a duly elected or appointed member of the Wyoming legislature commencing when the member's term begins if elected or upon being sworn into office if appointed and until such time as the member's seat is vacated as provided in W.S. 22-18-101 or the member's term ends. [NOTE: This paragraph will be effective 1/2/2023.]  (xxxiii) "Student learner" means a person between the ages of sixteen (16) years and eighteen (18) years who is currently enrolled in a Wyoming school district, community college or technical school and who enters into a student training agreement with an employer pursuant to a student learner agreement between the employer and the student learner's school district. For purposes of this act, a student learner shall be considered an employee under paragraph (vii) of this subsection;  (xxxiv) "Student learner agreement" means an agreement between a Wyoming school district, community college or technical school and an employer that:  (A) Authorizes an employer to provide vocational training and work experience to student learners;  (B) Provides for the student learner to receive course credit from the school district, community college or technical school for completing the vocational training or both course credit and compensation from the employer;  (C) Specifies terms and conditions for any student learner who is not eighteen (18) years of age in accordance with federal law and regulation concerning the performance of certain particularly hazardous work as defined by federal regulation;  (D) Authorizes the student learner to be covered under the worker's compensation program established under this act.  (xxxv) "Student training agreement" means an agreement entered into between an employer and a student of a school district, community college or technical school with a student learner agreement with the employer and that specifies the terms and conditions included in the student learner agreement and that is subject to the provisions of W.S. 27-14-110. For students under the age of eighteen (18), a student training agreement shall be signed by the student's parent or guardian unless the student is an emancipated minor under W.S. 14-1-201 through 14-1-206.