Utah Admin. Code 994-206-101

Current through Bulletin 2024-09, May 1, 2024

Section R994-206-101 - Definition of Agricultural Labor

Agricultural labor is exempt under Subsection 35A-4-205(1)(c) of the Act unless it is covered under Subsection 35A-4-204(2)(j). Subsection 35A-4-204(2)(j) covers larger agricultural employers based on wages paid or number of workers employed.

(1) Definition of Agricultural Terms.

The terms used in Section R994-206-101 are defined as follows:

(a) Agricultural Commodities.

Agricultural commodities include livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, wildlife and all crops such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains and other commodities grown in the soil or other growth mediums for use or profit.

(b) Horticultural Commodities.

Horticultural commodities are flowers and nursery products such as sod, fruit trees, shade trees, Christmas trees, ornamental plants and shrubs.

(c) Raising and Harvesting.

Raising includes planting the seeds, watering or irrigating, applying insecticide or fertilizer and otherwise caring for the commodity prior to harvesting. In regard to livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals and wildlife, raising includes caring for, feeding, shearing, breeding, training and management. Harvesting includes picking, cutting, threshing, shucking corn, baling hay, and hulling nuts. Horticultural commodities are harvested when they are made available for sale.

(d) Farm.

A farm includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, orchards, and such greenhouses and other similar structures as are used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities. Greenhouses and other similar structures used primarily for other purposes, such as display, storage, and fabrication of wreaths, corsages, and bouquets, do not constitute "farms".

(2) Agricultural Labor as Defined in Subsection 35A-4-206(1)(a).

(a) Agricultural labor includes services performed on a farm by a worker for any person in connection with any of the following activities:

(i) The cultivation of the soil;

(ii) The raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, or management of livestock, bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals, or wildlife; or

(iii) The raising or harvesting of any other agricultural or horticultural commodity.

(b) Services performed in connection with the production or harvesting of maple sap, or in connection with the raising or harvesting of mushrooms, or in connection with the hatching of poultry constitute agricultural labor only if such services are performed on a farm. Thus, services performed in connection with the operation of a hatchery, if not operated as part of a poultry or other farm, do not constitute agricultural labor.

(3) Agricultural Labor as Defined in Subsection 35A-4-206(1)(b).

(a) Agricultural labor includes the following activities performed by a worker in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of one or more farms, provided the major part, defined as 50% or more, of such services is performed on a farm:

(i) Services performed in connection with the operation, management, conservation, improvement, or maintenance of any of such farms or its tools or equipment; or

(ii) Services performed in salvaging timber, or clearing land of brush and other debris, left by a hurricane, storm, flood, or other natural disaster.

(b) The services described in subparagraph (a)(i) of this section may include services performed by carpenters, painters, mechanics, farm supervisors, irrigation engineers, bookkeepers, and other skilled or semi-skilled workers, which contribute in any way to the conduct of the farm or farms operated by the person employing them. Since the services described in this paragraph must be performed in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of the farm, the term "agricultural labor" does not include services performed by workers of commercial concerns that contract with a farmer to repair, maintain, or renovate farm properties.

(4) Agricultural Labor as Defined in Subsection 35A-4-206(1)(c).

Agricultural labor includes the following activities performed by a worker in the employ of any person without regard to the place where such services are performed:

(a) the production or harvesting of agricultural commodities defined in the Federal Agricultural Marketing Act, 12 U.S.C. 1141 j. These commodities are limited to crude gum, also known as oleoresin, from a living tree and gum spirits of turpentine and gum rosin processed from crude gum by the original producer of the crude gum; or

(b) the ginning of cotton; or

(c) the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs or water ways if not owned or operated for profit and used primarily for farming purposes.

(5) Agricultural Labor as defined in Section 35A-4-206(1)(d).

(a) Agricultural labor includes services performed by a worker in the handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, of any agricultural or horticultural commodity if:

(i) Such services are performed by the worker in the employ of an operator of a farm or in the employ of a group of operators of farms ,other than a cooperative organization; and

(ii) Such services are performed with respect to the commodity in its unmanufactured state; and

(iii) Such operator produced more than one-half of the commodity with respect to which such services are performed during the pay period, or such group of operators produced all of the commodity with respect to which such services are performed during the pay period.

(b) The term "operator of a farm" as used in this section means an owner, tenant, or other person, in possession of a farm and engaged in the operation of such farm.

(c) The services described in this paragraph do not constitute agricultural labor if performed in the employ of a cooperative organization. The term "organization" includes corporations, joint-stock companies, and associations which are treated as corporations pursuant to section 7701(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this paragraph, any unincorporated group of operators shall be deemed a cooperative organization if the number of operators comprising such group is more than 20 at any time during the calendar quarter in which the services involved are performed.

(d) Processing services which change the commodity from its raw or natural state do not constitute agricultural labor. For example, the extraction of juices from fruits or vegetables is a processing operation which changes the character of the fruits or vegetables from their raw or natural state and, therefore, does not constitute agricultural labor. Likewise, services performed in the processing of maple sap into maple syrup or maple sugar do not constitute agricultural labor. On the other hand, services rendered in the cutting and drying of fruits or vegetables are processing operations which do not change the character of the fruits or vegetables and, therefore, constitute agricultural labor, if the other requisite conditions are met. Services performed with respect to a commodity after its character has been changed from its raw or natural state by a processing operation do not constitute agricultural labor.

(e) The term "commodity" refers to a single agricultural or horticultural product, for example, all apples are to be treated as a single commodity, while apples and peaches are to be treated as two separate commodities. The services with respect to each such commodity are to be considered separately in determining whether the condition set forth in subparagraph (a)(iii) of this subsection has been satisfied. The portion of the commodity produced by an operator or group of operators with respect to which the services described in this paragraph are performed by a particular worker shall be determined on the basis of the pay period in which such services were performed by such worker.

(f) The services described in this paragraph do not include services performed in connection with commercial canning or commercial freezing or in connection with any commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for consumption. Moreover, since the services described in this paragraph must be rendered in the actual handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market of the commodity, such services do not, for example, include services performed as stenographers, bookkeepers, clerks, and other office employees, even though such services may be in connection with such activities. However, to the extent that the services of such individuals are performed in the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm and are rendered in major part on a farm, they may be within the provisions of paragraph (3) of this section.

(6) Examples of the Application of the Definition of Agricultural Labor.

(a) Raising and Selling.

Services in connection with raising agricultural or horticultural commodities are agricultural labor. However, if this business also sells the commodity, the selling activity is not agricultural labor unless performed on the farm.

(b) Agricultural Labor Included and Excluded Services.

If the same worker performs both agricultural and nonagricultural labor, the entire service will be considered to be agricultural labor if 50% or more of the time in a pay period was spent in agricultural labor. For reference see Subsection 35A-4-205(2).

(c) Poultry Hatchery.

Poultry hatchery services are agricultural labor provided they are performed on the farm or in the employ of a farm operator or group of operators who produced more than one-half the eggs. Services for a commercial hatchery that is not part of a farm that raises poultry are not agricultural labor.

(d) Raising Livestock.

Raising livestock and related activities performed on a farm are agricultural labor. Services in connection with livestock held, cared for and fed in a feed lot over an extended period of time to make an appreciable weight increase are agricultural labor. However, operating a stable or stud farm where no animals are raised is not agricultural labor. Services in connection with racing horses, using livestock in rodeos, exhibiting livestock and training livestock for these purposes are not agricultural labor when not performed on the farm where the animals were raised.

(e) Forestry, Lumbering and Landscaping.

Services performed in forestry, lumbering and landscaping are not agricultural labor.

(f) Brine Shrimp Harvesting.

Services performed in harvesting brine shrimp are not agricultural labor unless the services are performed on a farm.

Utah Admin. Code R994-206-101