{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-341.050","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 341.050","heading":"Covered employment.","body":"(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise and subject to\nthe provisions of KRS 341.055, \"covered employment\" means service, including\nservice in interstate commerce, performed by:\n(a) An individual who, under the usual common l aw rules applicable in\ndetermining the employer -employee relationship, has the status of an\nemployee;\n(b) An officer of a corporation;\n(c) An individual who performs service for remuneration for any employing unit:\n1. As an agent -driver or commission -driver engaged in distributing meat\nproducts, vegetable products, fruit products, bakery products, beverages\n(other than milk), or laundry or dry -cleaning services, for his principal;\nor\n2. As a traveling or city salesman, other than as an agent -driver or\ncommission-driver, engaged upon a full -time basis in the solicitation on\nbehalf of, and the transmission to, his principal (except for side -line\nsales activities on behalf of some other person) of orders from\nwholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of  hotels, restaurants, or\nother similar establishments for merchandise for resale or supplies for\nuse in their business operations; provided, that for purposes of this\nparagraph, the term \"covered employment\" shall include services\ndescribed in subparagraphs 1. and 2. above only if the contract of service\ncontemplates that substantially all of the services are to be performed\npersonally by such individual; such individual does not have a\nsubstantial investment in facilities used in connection with the\nperformance of the services (other than in facilities for transportation);\nand the services are not in the nature of a single transaction that is not\npart of a continuing relationship with the person for whom the services\nare performed;\n(d) Except as provided in  KRS 341.055(4), an individual in the employ of this\nstate or any of its instrumentalities or any political subdivision or municipality\nthereof or any of its instrumentalities or any instrumentality of more than one\n(1) of the foregoing or any instrumentality of any of the foregoing and one (1)\nor more other states or political subdivisions or municipalities, provided that\nsuch service is excluded from \"employment\" as defined in the Internal\nRevenue Code solely by reason of Section 3306(c)(7) of the code bu t only\nwhen such service is required to be \"covered employment\" under this chapter\nby reason of Section 3309 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, as a\nrequirement of Section 3304 of that code, as amended, for approval of the\nstate's unemployment insurance law; or\n(e) An individual in the employ of a religious, charitable, educational or other\norganization but only if the following conditions are met:\n1. The service is excluded from \"employment\" as defined in the Internal\nRevenue Code solely by reason o f Section 3306(c)(8) of that code but\nonly when such service is required to be \"covered employment\" under\nthis chapter by reason of Section 3309 of the Internal Revenue Code, as\namended, as a requirement of Section 3304 of that code, as amended, for\napproval of the state's unemployment insurance law; and\n2. The organization had four (4) or more individuals in employment for\nsome portion of a day in each of twenty (20) different weeks, whether or\nnot such weeks were consecutive, within either the current or preceding\ncalendar year, regardless of whether they were employed at the same\nmoment of time; or\n(f) An individual in the employ of an employing unit performing agricultural\nservice, as defined in Section 3306(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, if either\nof the following conditions are met:\n1. The employing unit paid wages of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or\nmore in a calendar quarter in either the current or preceding calendar\nyear for service performed in agricultural labor; or\n2. The employing unit employed for some portion of a day in each of\ntwenty (20) different calendar weeks, whether or not such weeks are\nconsecutive, ten (10) or more workers (irrespective of whether the same\nworkers were in employment in each of such weeks) p erforming service\nin agricultural labor; or\n(g) An individual in the employ of an employing unit performing domestic\nservice in a private home, a local college club, or a local chapter of a college\nfraternity or sorority if the employing unit paid wages of  one thousand dollars\n($1,000) or more in a calendar quarter in either the current or preceding\ncalendar year for service performed in domestic employment; or\n(h) An individual's service described in paragraphs (e) or (f) or (g) of this\nsubsection, has not  ceased to be covered employment under paragraph (c) of\nsubsection (3) of KRS 341.250.\n(2) The term \"covered employment\" shall include:\n(a) An individual's entire service, performed within, or both within and without,\nthis state if the service is localized  in this state. Service shall be deemed to be\nlocalized within a state if:\n1. The service is performed entirely within such state; or\n2. The service is performed both within and without such state but the\nservice performed without such state is incidental to the individual's\nservice within the state; for example, is temporary or transitory in nature\nor consists of isolated transactions.\n(b) An individual's entire service, wherever performed within the United States,\nthe Virgin Islands or Canada, if:\n1. Such service is not covered under the unemployment compensation law\nof any other state, the Virgin Islands or Canada; and\n2. The place from which the service is directed or controlled is in this state.\n(c) The service of an individual who is a citizen of the U nited States, performed\noutside the United States (except in Canada), in the employ of an American\nemployer (other than service which is deemed \"covered employment\" under\nthe provisions of paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subsection or the parallel\nprovisions of another state's law), if:\n1. The employer's principal place of business in the United States is located\nin this state; or\n2. The employer has no place of business in the United States, but\na. The employer is an individual who is a resident of this state; or\nb. The employer is a corporation which is organized under the laws\nof this state; or\nc. The employer is a partnership or a trust and the number of the\npartners or trustees who are residents of this state is greater than\nthe number who are residents of any one (1) other state; or\n3. None of the criteria of subparagraphs 1. and 2. of this paragraph is met\nbut the employer has elected coverage in this state or, the employer\nhaving failed to elect coverage in any state, the individual has filed a\nclaim for benefits, based on such service, under the law of this state.\n4. An \"American employer,\" for purposes of this paragraph, means:\na. An individual who is a resident of the United States; or\nb. A partnership if two -thirds (2/3) or more of the partners are\nresidents of the United States; or\nc. A trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United States; or\nd. A corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of\nany state.\n5. The term \"United States,\" for the purposes of this subsection, in cludes\nthe states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,\nand the Virgin Islands.\n(d) Service performed by an officer or member of the crew of an American vessel\nor American aircraft on or in connection with such vessel or such aircraft , if\nthe operating office, from which the operations of such vessel operating on\nnavigable waters within, or the operation of such aircraft within or the\noperations of such vessel or such aircraft, within or without, the United States\nare ordinarily and re gularly supervised, managed, directed and controlled is\nwithin this state.\n(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section or any of the provisions of\nKRS 341.055, the term \"covered employment\" shall also include service with\nrespect to which a ta x is required to be paid under any federal law imposing a tax\nagainst which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state\nunemployment fund or which as a condition for full tax credit against the tax\nimposed by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act is required to be covered under this\nchapter.\n(4) For the purpose of this chapter, if the services performed during one -half (1/2) or\nmore of any pay period by an individual for the employing unit employing him\nconstitutes covered employment, all the services of such individual for such period\nshall be deemed to be covered employment; but if the services performed during\nmore than one-half (1/2) of any such pay period by an individual for the employing\nunit employing him do not constitute cover ed employment, then none of the\nservices of such individual for such period shall be deemed to be covered\nemployment. As used in this subsection, the term \"pay period\" means a period (of\nnot more than thirty -one (31) consecutive days) for which a payment f or service is\nordinarily made to the individual by the employing unit employing him. This\nsubsection shall not be applicable with respect to services performed in a pay period\nby an individual for the employing unit employing him, when any of such service is\nexcluded because it is subject to an unemployment insurance program established\nby an Act of Congress.","path":["KRS Chapter 341"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32235","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:28Z","sha256":"bc401a1d3df3eba0c429c3a5e620dfbcf75e5a67a91a62d525498d1b97a71fae","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-341.040","next":"us-ky/krs-341.055"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}