Colorado § 8-70-120 - Employment - agricultural labor.

§ 8-70-120. Employment - agricultural labor.

(1) "Employment" means services performed after December 31, 1977, by an individual in agricultural labor as defined in section 8-70-109 when:

(a) Such service is performed for a person who, during any calendar quarter in either the current or the preceding calendar year, paid remuneration in cash of twenty thousand dollars or more to individuals employed in agricultural labor, including agricultural labor performed by an alien referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), or for some portion of a day in each of twenty different calendar weeks, whether or not such weeks were consecutive, in either the current or the preceding calendar year, employed in agricultural labor, including agricultural labor performed by an alien referred to in paragraph (b) of this subsection (1), ten or more individuals, regardless of whether they were employed at the same moment of time; and

(b) Such service is not agricultural labor if performed by an individual who is an alien admitted to the United States to perform service in agricultural labor pursuant to sections 214 (c) and 101 (a)(15)(H) of the federal "Immigration and Nationality Act".

(2) For the purposes of sections 8-70-115 to 8-70-125, any individual who is a member of a crew furnished by a crew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person shall be treated as an employee of such crew leader:

(a) If such crew leader holds a valid certificate of registration under the federal "Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act" or substantially all the members of such crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or cropdusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment, which is provided by such crew leader; and

(b) If such individual is not an employee of such other person within the meaning of section 8-70-115.

(3) For the purposes of this section, in the case of any individual who is furnished by a crew leader to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person and who is not treated as an employee of such crew leader under subsection (2) of this section:

(a) Such other person and not the crew leader shall be treated as the employer of such individual; and

(b) Such other person shall be treated as having paid cash remuneration to such individual in an amount equal to the amount of cash remuneration paid to such individual by the crew leader (either on his own behalf or on behalf of such other person) for the service in agricultural labor performed for such other person.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a crew leader is an individual who:

(a) Furnishes individuals to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person;

(b) Pays (either on his own behalf or on behalf of such other person) the individuals so furnished by him for the service in agricultural labor performed by them; and

(c) Has not entered into a written agreement with such other person under which such individual is designated as an employee of such other person.

Source: L. 90: Entire section added, p. 593, § 3, effective April 3. L. 94: (1)(b) amended, p. 637, § 1, effective July 1. L. 98: (1)(b) amended, p. 68, § 2, effective March 23.

ANNOTATION

Agricultural exemption clarified. Under subsection (1)(a), agricultural labor is not taxable employment unless the putative employer hires at least 10 persons in each of 20 weeks in a year. Where the employer hired more than 10 persons during the year and at least one person in each of 20 weeks but only hired 10 or more persons at a time during four of those weeks, the services did not constitute covered employment. Whitewater Hill v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 2015 COA 5, 345 P.3d 984.