KRS 342.012: Business owners -- Election to be included as employees -- Qualified

partners and members, nonqualified partners and members, and limited

liability company defined -- Provision of partnership agreement or articles of

organization upon request.

(1) For the purposes of this chapter, an owner or owners of a business, including

qualified partners of a partnership owning a business, or qualified members of a

limited liability company, whether or not employing any other person to perform a

service for hire , shall be included within the meaning of the term employee if the

owner, owners, qualified partners, or qualified members of a limited liability

company elect to come under the provisions of this chapter and provide the

insurance required thereunder. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the

responsibilities of the owners, partners, or members of a limited liability company

to provide coverage for their employees, nonqualified partners, or nonqualified

members, if any, required under this chapter.

(2) When an owner, owners, qualified partners, or qualified members of a limited

liability company have elected to be included as employees, this inclusion shall be

accomplished by the issuance of an appropriate endorsement to a workers'

compensation insurance policy.

(3) For the purpose of this section, "qualified partner" or "qualified member or

members" means, respectively, a partner who has entered into a meaningful

partnership agreement or a member who has entered into meaningful articles of

organization or a meaningful operating agreement of a limited liability company,

which document shows on its face that the partner will substantially participate in

the profit or loss of the business engaged in by the partnership or limited liability

company a nd that the partner or member has made some contribution to the

partnership or limited liability company which entitles him or her to participate in

the profits of the business as well as to participate in the decision-making process of

the partnership or limited liability company.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "nonqualified partner" or "nonqualified member"

means, respectively, a person who has entered into a partnership agreement, or

articles of organization or operating agreement of a limited liability company, which

document shows on its face that this person will receive regular payments in

exchange for work for the business engaged in by the partnership or limited liability

company; that the person will not participate in the decision -making of the

partnership or limited liability company and will not participate in the profits and

losses of the business engaged in by the partnership or limited liability company.

(5) Every partnership and limited liability company shall provide, upon the request of

the commissioner or his or her representative, a copy of its partnership agreement or

articles of organization for purposes of demonstrating compliance with this section

and KRS 342.340. With particular reference to employers engaged in coal mining,

the commissioner shall promptly report the failure to comply with the provisions of

this subsection to the Energy and Environment Cabinet, Department for Natural

Resources, Division of Mine Safety, so that appropriate action may be undertaken

pursuant to KRS 351.175.

(6) For purposes of this section, a "limited liability company" means an entity defined

in KRS 275.015 and organized under the provisions of KRS Chapter 275.