{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-341.055","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 341.055","heading":"Noncovered employment.","body":"Unless the employing unit thereof has elected that the services become covered\nemployment under the provisions of subsection (3) or (4) of KRS 341.250, \"covered\nemployment\" shall not include:\n(1) Service performed in agricultural labor, as defined in Section 3306(k) of the Internal\nRevenue Code, but only if the service is not defined as \"covered employment\" in\nparagraphs (f) and (h) of subsection (1) of KRS 341.050; or agricultural service\nperformed prior to January 1, 1980, by an individual who is an alien  admitted to the\nUnited States to perform service in agricultural labor pursuant to Sections 214(c)\nand 101(a)(15)(H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;\n(2) Domestic service in a private home, a local college club, or local chapter of a\ncollege frater nity or sorority, but only if the service is not defined as \"covered\nemployment\" in paragraphs (g) and (h) of subsection (1) of KRS 341.050;\n(3) Service in the employ of an organization described in paragraph (e) of subsection\n(1) of KRS 341.050, but only if the service is not defined as \"covered employment\"\nin paragraphs (e) and (h) of subsection (1) of KRS 341.050;\n(4) Certain service performed in the employ of this state or any of its political\nsubdivisions, municipalities, or instrumentalities thereof, but only if the service is\nperformed by an individual in the exercise of his or her duties:\n(a) As a public elected official;\n(b) As a member of a legislative body of this state or a political subdivision\nthereof;\n(c) As a member of the judiciary of this state or political subdivision thereof;\n(d) As a member of the State National Guard or Air National Guard;\n(e) As an employee serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, storm, snow,\nearthquake, flood, or similar emergency; or\n(f) In a position which, under or pursuant to the state law is designated as a major\nnontenured policymaking or advisory position, or a policymaking or advisory\nposition the performance of the duties of which ordinarily does not require\nmore than eight (8) hours per week or by reason  of service on any appointed\nstate or local board or commission;\n(5) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of KRS 341.050, service\nperformed in the employ of any other state or any political subdivision thereof, or of\nthe United States gove rnment or an instrumentality of the United States exempt by\nfederal law from the contributions imposed by this chapter, except that to the extent\nthat the Congress of the United States shall permit states to require instrumentalities\nof the United States t o make payments into an unemployment fund under a state\nunemployment insurance law, all the provisions of this chapter shall be applicable\nto such instrumentalities, and to services performed for such instrumentalities, in\nthe same manner, to the same exte nt and on the same terms as to all other\nemploying units, individuals and services; provided that if this state shall not be\ncertified for any year by the Secretary of Labor of the United States under Section\n3304 of the Internal Revenue Code, the payments required of such instrumentalities,\nwith respect to such year, shall be refunded from the fund in the same manner and\nwithin the same period as is provided in KRS 341.330 with respect to contributions\nerroneously collected;\n(6) Service with respect to whi ch unemployment compensation is payable under an\nunemployment compensation system established by an Act of Congress. The\nsecretary may enter into agreements with the proper agencies under such Act of\nCongress to provide reciprocal treatment to workers who have, after acquiring\npotential rights to benefits under this chapter, acquired rights to unemployment\ncompensation under such Act of Congress, or who have, after acquiring potential\nrights to unemployment compensation under such Act of Congress, acquired rights\nto benefits under this chapter;\n(7) Service performed by a worker in the employ of his or her son, daughter, or spouse,\nand service performed by a child under the age of twenty -one (21) in the employ of\nhis or her father or mother;\n(8) Service performed in the employ of a foreign government, including service as a\nconsular, or other officer or employee, or a nondiplomatic representative, or of an\ninstrumentality wholly owned by a foreign government if:\n(a) The service is of a character s imilar to that performed in foreign countries by\nemployees of the United States government or of an instrumentality thereof;\nand\n(b) The secretary finds that the United States Secretary of State has certified to the\nUnited States Secretary of the Treasury that the foreign government, with\nrespect to whose instrumentality exemption is claimed, grants an equivalent\nexemption with respect to similar service performed in the foreign country by\nemployees of the United States government and of instrumentalities thereof;\n(9) Service performed as a student nurse in the employ of a hospital or a nurses' training\nschool by a worker who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in a nurses'\ntraining school chartered or approved pursuant to the laws of this state; and service\nperformed as an intern in the employ of a hospital by a worker who has completed a\nfour (4) years' course in a medical school chartered or approved pursuant to the laws\nof this state;\n(10) Service performed by a worker for an employing unit as an insurance agent or as an\ninsurance solicitor, if all such service performed by such worker for such employing\nunit is performed for remuneration solely by way of commission;\n(11) Service performed by a worker under the age of eighteen (18) in the delive ry or\ndistribution of newspapers or shopping news, not including delivery or distribution\nto any point for subsequent delivery or distribution;\n(12) Service not in the course of the employing unit's trade or business performed in any\ncalendar quarter by a worker, unless the cash remuneration paid for such service is\nfifty dollars ($50) or more and such service is performed by an individual who is\nregularly employed by such employing unit to perform such service. For the purpose\nof this subsection, an indivi dual shall be deemed to be regularly employed by an\nemploying unit during a calendar quarter only if:\n(a) On each of some twenty -four (24) days during the quarter, the individual\nperforms for such employing unit for some portion of the day service not in\nthe course of the employing unit's trade or business; or\n(b) The individual was regularly employed, as determined under paragraph (a) of\nthis subsection, by the employing unit in the performance of the service during\nthe preceding calendar quarter;\n(13) Service performed in any calendar quarter in the employ of any organization exempt\nfrom income tax under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, other than an\norganization described in Section 401(a), or under Section 521 of the Internal\nRevenue Code, if the remuneration for the service is less than fifty dollars ($50);\n(14) Service performed in the employ of an international organization;\n(15) Service covered by an election, duly approved by the agency charged with the\nadministration of any other state o r federal employment security law, in accordance\nwith an arrangement pursuant to KRS 341.145 during the effective period of the\nelection;\n(16) Service performed in the employ of a school, college, or university, if the service is\nperformed:\n(a) By a studen t who is enrolled and is regularly attending classes at the school,\ncollege or university; or\n(b) By the spouse of such a student, if the spouse is advised, at the time the\nspouse commences to perform the service, that:\n1. The employment of the spouse to p erform the service is provided under\na program to provide financial assistance to the student by the school,\ncollege, or university; and\n2. The employment will not be covered by any program of unemployment\ninsurance;\n(17) Service performed by an individual  who is enrolled at a nonprofit or public\neducational institution which normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum\nand normally has a regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place\nwhere its educational activities are carried on, as a student in a full -time program,\ntaken for credit at such institution, which combines academic instruction with work\nexperience, if the service is an integral part of such program, and such institution\nhas so certified to the employer, except that this  subsection shall not apply to\nservice performed in a program established for or on behalf of an employer or group\nof employers;\n(18) Service performed in the employ of a hospital, if the service is performed by a\npatient of the hospital, as defined in KRS 341.067;\n(19) Service performed in the employ of a church or convention or association of\nchurches, or an organization which is operated primarily for religious purposes and\nwhich is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church o r\nconvention or association of churches; or by a duly ordained, commissioned, or\nlicensed minister of a church in the exercise of his or her ministry or by a member\nof a religious order in the exercise of duties required by the order;\n(20) Service defined in KRS 341.050(1)(d) and (e) performed for a facility conducted for\nthe purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose\nearning capacity is impaired by age, physical or mental deficiency, or injury, or\nproviding remunerative work for individuals who, because of their impaired\nphysical or mental capacity, cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor\nmarket by an individual receiving the rehabilitation or remunerative work; or as part\nof an unemployment work -relief or work -training program assisted or financed in\nwhole or in part by any federal agency or an agency of a state or political\nsubdivision thereof by an individual receiving the work relief or work training; or in\na custodial or penal institution by an inmate of such institution;\n(21) Service performed by a direct seller as defined in Section 3508(b)(2) of the Internal\nRevenue Code of 1986; or\n(22) Any individual whose function is to provide behavior support services, behavior\nprogramming services, case management servi ces, community living support\nservices, positive behavior support services, or respite services through a\ncontractual relationship with a certified waiver provider, as defined in 907 KAR\n7:005 sec. 1(5), pursuant to a 1915(c) home and community based servi ces waiver\nprogram, as defined in 907 KAR 7:005 sec. 1(2).","path":["KRS Chapter 341"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51337","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:28Z","sha256":"f9bfbf43385f5fdd34d3d909b85fad7db8892328e10e1374b0efb345346518cd","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-341.050","next":"us-ky/krs-341.060"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}