West Virginia Code § 21A-1A-16

Employment
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"Employment", subject to the other provisions of this article, means:
(1) Service, including service in interstate commerce, performed for wages or under any
contract of hire, written or oral, express or implied;
(2) Any service performed by an employee, as defined in Section 3306(i) of the federal
Unemployment Tax Act, including service in interstate commerce;
(3) Any service performed, including service in interstate commerce, by any officer of a
corporation;
(4) An individual's entire service, performed within or both within and without this state if:
(A) The service is localized in this state; or (B) the servaice is not localized in any state but
some of the service is performed in this state and: (i) The base of operations, or, if there is
no base of operations, then the place from which thle service is directed or controlled, is in
this state; or (ii) the base of operations or place from which the service is directed or
controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is performed but the
individual's residence is in this state; i
(5) Service not covered under subdivision (4) of this section and performed entirely without
this state with respect to no part of which contributions are required and paid under an
unemployment compensation law of any other state or of the federal government, is
employment subject to this chapter if the individual performing the services is a resident of
this state and the commissioner approves the election of the employing unit for whom the
services are performed that the entire service of the individual is employment subject to this
chapter;
(6) Service is localized within a state, if: (A) The service is performed entirely within the
state; or (B) the service is performed both within and without the state, but the service
performed without the state is incidental to the individual's service within this state, as, for
example, is temporary or transitory in nature or consists of isolated transactions;
(7) Services performed by an individual for wages are employment subject to this chapter
unless and until it is shown to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the individual is
classified as an independent contractor pursuant to §21-5I-4 of this code;
(8) All service performed by an officer or member of the crew of an American vessel (as
defined in Section 305 of an act of Congress entitled Social Security Act Amendment of
1946, approved August 10, 1946), on or in connection with the vessel, provided that the
operating office, from which the operations of the vessel operating on navigable waters
within and without the United States is ordinarily and regularly supervised, managed,
directed, and controlled, is within this state;
(9)(A) Service performed by an individual in the employ of this state or any of its
instrumentalities (or in the employ of this state and one or more other states or their
instrumentalities) for a hospital or institution of higher education located in this state:
Provided, That the service is excluded from "employment" as defined in the federal
Unemployment Tax Act solely by reason of Section 3306(c)(7) of that act and is not excluded
from "employment" under §21A-1A-17(9) of this code;
(B) Service performed in the employ of this state or any of its instrumentaliteies or political
subdivisions thereof or any of its instrumentalities or any instrumentality of more than one of
the foregoing or any instrumentality of any foregoing and one or more rother states or
political subdivisions: Provided, That the service is excluded from "employment" as defined
in the federal Unemployment Tax Act by Section 3306(c)(7) of that act and is not excluded
from "employment" under §21A-1A-17(13) of this code; and
(C) Service performed in the employ of a nonprofit educational institution which is not an
institution of higher education;
(10) Service performed by an individual in the emplloy of a religious, charitable, educational,
or other organization but only if the followings conditions are met:
(A) The service is excluded from "employmient" as defined in the federal Unemployment Tax
Act solely by reason of Section 3306g(c)(8) of that act; and
(B) The organization had four or more individuals in employment for some portion of a day in
each of 20 different weeks, whether or not the weeks were consecutive, within either the
current or preceding calendar year, regardless of whether they were employed at the same
moment of time;
(11) Service of an ind ividual who is a citizen of the United States, performed outside the
United StatesV after December 31, 1971 (except in Canada and in the case of the Virgin
Islands after December 31, 1971, and before January 1 the year following the year in which
the Secretary of Labor approves for the first time an unemployment insurance law submitted
to him or her by the Virgin Islands for approval), in the employ of an American employer
(other than service which is considered "employment" under the provisions of subdivision
(4), (5), or (6) of this section or the parallel provisions of another state's law) if:
(A) The employer's principal place of business in the United States is located in this state; or
(B) The employer has no place of business in the United States, but: (i) The employer is an
individual who is a resident of this state; or (ii) the employer is a corporation which is
organized under the laws of this state; or (iii) the employer is a partnership or a trust and
the number of the partners or trustees who are residents of this state is greater than the
number who are residents of any one other state; or
(C) None of the criteria of paragraphs (A) and (B) of this subdivision is met but the employer
has elected coverage in this state or, the employer having failed to elect coverage in any
state, the individual has filed a claim for benefits, based on the service, under the law of this
state.
(D) An "American employer", for purposes of this subdivision, means a person who is: (i) An
individual who is a resident of the United States; or (ii) a partnership if two thirds or more of
the partners are residents of the United States; or (iii) a trust, if all of the trustees are
residents of the United States; or (iv) a corporation organized under the lawes of the United
States or of any state;
(12) Service performed by an individual in agricultural labor as defined in §21A-1A-17(3) of
this code when: u
(A) The service is performed for a person who: (i) During any calendar quarter in either the
current or the preceding calendar year paid remuneration in cash of $20,000 or more to
individuals employed in agricultural labor including laabor performed by an alien referred to
in paragraph (B) of this subdivision; or (ii) for some portion of a day in each of 20 different
calendar weeks, whether or not the weeks were colnsecutive, in either the current or the
preceding calendar year, employed in agricultsural labor, including labor performed by an
alien referred to in paragraph (B) of this subdivision, 10 or more individuals, regardless of
whether they were employed at the same moment of time;
(B) The service is not performed in 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 Immigration and Nationality Act;
(C) For the purposes of the definition of employment, 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 the crew leader: (i) If the crew leader holds a valid
certificate of registration under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection
Act; or substantially all the members of the crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized
harWvesting or crop-dusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment, which is
provided by the crew leader; and (ii) if the other person is not otherwise an employer of the
individual;
(D) For the purposes of this subdivision, 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 the crew leader under paragraph (C) of this subdivision: (i) The
other person and not the crew leader shall be treated as the employer of the individual; and
(ii) the other person shall be treated as having paid cash remuneration to the individual in an
amount equal to the amount of cash remuneration paid to the individual by the crew leader
(either on his or her own behalf or on behalf of the other person) for the service in
agricultural labor performed for the other person; and
(E) For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "crew leader" means an individual who: (i)
Furnishes individuals to perform service in agricultural labor for any other person; (ii) pays
(either on his or her own behalf or on behalf of the other person) the individuals so furnished
by him or her for the service in agricultural labor performed by them; and (iii) has not
entered into a written agreement with the other person under which the individual is
designated as an employee of the other person;
(13) (A) The term "employment" includes domestic service in a private home, local college
club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority performed for a perseon who paid cash
remuneration of $1,000 or more in any calendar quarter in the current calendar year or the
preceding calendar year to individuals employed in domestic service; arnd
(B) Notwithstanding the foregoing definition of "employment", ifu the services performed
during one half or more of any pay period by an employee for the person employing him or
her constitute employment, all the services of the employee tfor the period are employment;
but if the services performed during more than one half of any such pay period by an
employee for the person employing him or her do not constitute employment, then none of
the services of the employee for the period are employment.

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