Sec. 31-223. Application of chapter to employers.
Sec. 31-223. Application of chapter to employers. (a) Nonvoluntary liability.
Every employer who was subject to this chapter immediately prior to January 1, 1980,
shall continue to be so subject. An employer not previously subject to this chapter shall
become subject to this chapter as follows: (1) An employer subject to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act for any year shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter from
the beginning of such year if he had one or more employees in his employment in the
state of Connecticut in such year; (2) an employer who acquires substantially all of the
assets, organization, trade or business of another employer who at the time of such
acquisition was subject to this chapter shall immediately become subject to this chapter
as a successor employer; (3) an employer who, after December 31, 1973, (A) in any
calendar quarter in either the current or preceding calendar year paid wages for services
in employment of one thousand five hundred dollars or more, or (B) 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, had in employment at
least one individual irrespective of whether the same individual was in employment in
each such day; (4) an employer for which service in employment as defined in subdivision (1) (C) of subsection (a) of section 31-222 is performed after December 31, 1971;
(5) an employer for which service in employment as defined in subdivision (1) (D) of
said subsection (a) is performed after December 31, 1971; (6) an employer which, together with one or more other employers, is owned or controlled, by legally enforceable
means or otherwise, directly or indirectly by the same interests, or which owns or controls, by legally enforceable means or otherwise, one or more other employers, and
which, if treated as a single unit or entity with such other employers or interests, or both,
would be an employer under subdivision (3) of this subsection and subparagraphs (H)
and (J) of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 31-222; (7) any employer, not
defined as such by any other subdivision of this subsection, (A) for which, within either
the current or preceding calendar year, service is or was performed with respect to
which such employer is liable for any federal tax against which credit may be taken for
contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment fund, or (B) which, as a
condition for approval of this chapter for full tax credit against the tax imposed by
the federal Unemployment Tax Act, is required, pursuant to such federal act, to be an
"employer" under this chapter; (8) an employer which, having become an employer
under any of subdivisions (1) to (7), inclusive, of this subsection, has not, under subsection (c) ceased to be an employer subject to this chapter; (9) for the effective period of
its election pursuant to subsection (b), an employer which has elected to become subject
to this chapter. In determining whether an employer in question shall be considered, for
the purposes of this section, as having had a particular number of employees in his
employment at a given time, there shall be counted, in addition to his own employees,
if any, (A) the employees of each employer whose business was at the given time owned
or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the same interests which owned or controlled
the business of the employer in question, and (B) the employees of each employer,
substantially all of whose assets, organization, trade or business has, after the given time
during the same calendar year, been acquired by the employer in question. If an employer
shall contract with or shall have under him any contractor or subcontractor for any work
which is part of said employer's usual trade, occupation, profession or business, and
which is performed in, on or about the premises under such employer's control, and if
such contractor or subcontractor shall not be subject to this chapter, such employer shall,
for all the purposes of this chapter, be deemed to employ each individual in the employ
of such contractor or subcontractor for each day during which such individual is engaged
solely in performing such work; but this provision shall not prevent such employer from
recovering from such contractor or subcontractor the amount of any contributions he
may be required by this chapter to pay with respect to wages of such individuals for
such work.
(b) Voluntary liability. Any employer not so subject to this chapter may accept
the provisions of this chapter and become in all respects subject thereto by agreeing in
writing filed with the administrator to pay the contributions required from employers
subject to this chapter. Any employer with persons in his employ engaged in one or
more of the types of service specified in subdivision (5) of subsection (a) of section
31-222, except the service described by subparagraph (A) thereof, may elect that the
provisions of this chapter apply to such services by agreeing in writing filed with the
administrator to pay the contributions on wages for such services. Any employer defined
in subdivision (1) (D) or (E) of subsection (a) of section 31-222 or (5) (F) or (L) of said
section may elect either to pay the contributions on wages for services or to finance
benefits on a reimbursable basis, by paying into the Unemployment Compensation Fund
an amount equivalent to the amount of benefits paid out to claimants who during the
applicable period were paid wages by the employer concerned, said election to be made
in writing to the administrator in accordance with the provisions of subsection (g) of
section 31-225. Any employer may revoke acceptance of voluntary liability at the end
of any calendar year following the calendar year in which he made such acceptance if
he gives written notice to the administrator, accompanied by proof satisfactory to the
administrator that he has paid all contributions due under the provisions of this chapter
and that he has notified his employees of his intention to revoke such acceptance; such
application to revoke acceptance shall be submitted within thirty days after the end of
a calendar year and the administrator shall render his decision on such application within
sixty days after submission thereof and such revocation of acceptance shall be effective
on the thirty-first day of December next preceding the giving of written notice from the
administrator to the employer that he is satisfied with such proofs.
(c) Release from liability. An employer may cease to be subject to this chapter at
the end of any calendar year following the calendar year in which he became subject
to this chapter if he gives written notice to the administrator, accompanied by proof
satisfactory to the administrator that he has not employed one employee for at least
thirteen weeks during the next-preceding fifteen months, that he is not subject to the
Federal Unemployment Tax Act, and that he has notified his employees of his intention
to cease to be subject to this chapter; such application for release shall be submitted
within thirty days after the end of a calendar year and the administrator shall render his
decision on such application within sixty days after submission thereof and the employer
shall cease to be subject to this chapter on the thirty-first day of December next preceding
the giving of written notice from the administrator to the employer that he is satisfied
with such proofs. The administrator shall waive the requirement for an application for
release whenever it shall appear that the employer was unable to comply with such
requirement for the reason that, at the time when he had qualified for release from
liability under the provisions of this chapter, he was in good faith not aware of the fact
that he was subject to the provisions of this chapter. An employer who discontinues his
business and enters the armed forces of the United States shall cease immediately to be
subject to this chapter.
(d) Employment to include out-of-state service, when. For the purposes of subdivisions (5) and (7) of subsection (a), employment shall include service which would
constitute employment but for the fact that such service is deemed to be performed
entirely within another state pursuant to an election under an arrangement entered into
with such state by the administrator and an agency charged with the administration of
any other state or federal unemployment compensation law.
(e) Calendar week when December 31 and January 1 in same week. For the
purposes of subdivisions (3)(B) and (5) of subsection (a), in respect to any week including both December thirty-first and January first, the days of that week to and including
December thirty-first shall be deemed one calendar week, and the days beginning and
including January first another such week.
(1949 Rev., S. 7496; 1949, 1955, S. 3061d; 1957, P.A. 596, S. 1; 1967, P.A. 790, S. 5; 1971, P.A. 835, S. 4-6; P.A.
73-37; P.A. 75-567, S. 57, 80; P.A. 78-331, S. 38, 39, 58; 78-368, S. 2, 11; P.A. 79-34, S. 1, 2.)
History: 1967 act deleted applicability of provisions for employers with four or more employees during 13 calendar
weeks and added applicability for employers with one or more employees during 13 weeks, qualified provision re elective
applicability by employers employing persons under Sec. 31-222(a)(5) to except services in Subpara. (C) and made minor
wording changes; 1971 act added Subdivs. (5) to (11) in Subsec. (a) extending applicability provisions, amended Subsec.
(b) to add provision re employer's election to pay contributions on wages or to finance benefits on a reimbursable basis
and added Subsecs. (d) and (e) clarifying what constitutes employment and calendar weeks; P.A. 73-37 amended Subsec.
(a)(5) to qualify applicability with regard to amount of wages paid, to increase weeks of employment from 13 to 20 and
to include those subject to chapter under previous applicability provision of the Subdiv. in effect before amendments were
made; P.A. 75-567 changed reference to Sec. 31-226(h) to reference to Sec. 31-225(g) in Subsec. (b); P.A. 78-331 made
corrections to Subparas. of Sec. 31-222 referred to in Subsec. (b); P.A. 78-368 added reference to Sec. 31-225(a)(1)(H)
and (J) in Subsec. (a)(8); P.A. 79-34 deleted Subdivs. (3) and (4) of Subsec. (a) re applicability to employers of three or
more persons during 13 weeks in years after 1955 and to employers of three or more person during 13 weeks in years after
1967, renumbering accordingly, relettered Subparas. for consistency with other statutes and added reference to successor
employers under Subdiv. (2); (Revisor's note: In 1991 the reference to "subdivisions (5)(b) and (7)" in Subsec. (e) was
changed editorially by the Revisors to read "subdivisions (3)(B) and (5)").
Constitutionality of "common control" provision upheld. 128 C. 213. Cited. 131 C. 504.
Question of fact for commissioner as to whether plaintiffs did take over substantially all of the assets or business. 135
C. 102. By purchasing one unit in a chain of stores, buyer did not become a liable employer. Id., 120. (1) Does not qualify
definition of employment in Sec. 31-222(a). 136 C. 387. (4) Cited. Id., 389. (4) (a) Reason for including this provision in
act was to insure contributions from all employers falling within the terms of the subsection. 138 C. 724. Whether the
business of a particular employer is owned or controlled by the same interests that own and control the business of another
employer is a question of fact. 139 C. 709.
Standard to determine where employee performs the greater part of his service. 7 CS 202. Cited. 9 CS 71. By using the
word "usual", the legislature intended to restrict the decision of the Bello case, 101 C. 34. Id., 433. It is not the "usual
trade, occupation, profession or business" of a bank to construct a road to improve property. 10 CS 228. Owner of a super
market deemed to have employed individuals of "leased departments" for purposes of this act. 11 CS 209. Cited. 12 CS
292. Plaintiff became subject to the act by purchasing the land, buildings, equipment, machinery and good will of an
employer subject to the act. 15 CS 301. Successor to a business steps into the shoes of his predecessor. Id., 399. Individual
enterprise and corporation, controlled by the same person, with a total of four employees held subject to assessment. 17
CS 353. Cited. 18 CS 113. Manufacturer who provided physical facilities for operation of cafeteria for employees but had
no control over contract operator, held not liable for cafeteria employees unemployment compensation contributions. 19
CS 73.