2013 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 51 - Trade and Commerce
RS 51:2453 - Definitions

§2453. Definitions

The following words or terms as used in this Chapter shall have the following meaning, unless a different meaning appears from the context:

(1) "Benefit rate" means the following percentages:

(a) For new direct jobs created which pay at least fourteen dollars and fifty cents per hour inclusive of wages and the value of the health care benefits paid or offered in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Section, the benefit rate shall be five percent, provided that at least fifty percent of the employees holding new direct jobs accept the health care benefits offered.

(b) For new direct jobs created which pay at least nineteen dollars and ten cents per hour inclusive of wages and the value of the health care benefits paid or offered in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Section, the benefit rate shall be six percent, provided that at least fifty percent of the employees holding new direct jobs accept the health care benefits offered.

(2) "Employer" shall mean a legal person who executes a contract with the department pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and who offers, or will offer within ninety days of the effective date of qualifying for the incentive rebates pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, a basic health benefits plan to the individuals it employs in new direct jobs in this state which shall be determined by the Department of Economic Development to have a value of at least one dollar and twenty-five cents per hour.

(a) The "basic health benefits plan" or the "health insurance coverage" required to be offered or provided by this Paragraph shall also include coverage for basic hospital care, and coverage for physician care, as well as coverage for health care, which shall be the same coverage as is provided to employees employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity by the employer who are exempt from the minimum wage and maximum hour requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.A. §201, et seq.

(b) To qualify for a contract pursuant to this Chapter, employers must meet one of the following provisions:

(i) Must be one of the following six Vision 2020 cluster industries: biotechnology, biomedical, and medical industries serving rural hospitals; micromanufacturing; software, auto regulation, Internet, and telecommunications technologies; environmental technology; food technologies; and advanced materials. Any cluster of industries added after May 1, 2002, shall qualify for a contract pursuant to this Chapter, if it qualifies under Items (ii) through (vi) of this Subparagraph.

(ii) Must be a manufacturer, as defined by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes 113310, 211, 213111, 541360, 311-339, 511-512, and 54171, as the employer's primary function.

(iii) Must be an oil and gas field services business as defined in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 213112 which has new direct jobs that pay not less than thirty thousand dollars per year and meet the health insurance benefits required under this Paragraph and have Louisiana as the national or regional headquarters of a multistate business whose service territory includes at least Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

(iv) Must have, or will have within one year, sales of at least fifty percent of its total sales to out-of-state customers or buyers, to in-state customers or buyers if the products or service is resold by the purchaser to an out-of-state customer or buyer for ultimate use, or to the federal government.

(v) Must be located in an area designated by the Department of Economic Development as a distressed region. A distressed region shall be either of the following:

(aa) A parish which is within the lowest twenty-five percent of parishes based on per capita income.

(bb) A census tract block group that is below the state median per capita income, based upon the latest federal decennial census.

(cc) If an area is designated a distressed region, such designation shall be maintained for the period of the initial quality jobs contract executed pursuant to this Chapter and during the renewal period of any such contract. To qualify, an employer shall either be located in a distressed region or at least fifty percent of the new direct jobs of the employer shall be filled by persons who reside in a distressed region.

(c) The following employers or persons engaged in the following professions or service industries shall not be eligible for any rebate under this Chapter:

(i) Retail employers as identified by the North American Industry Classification System code sections 44 and 45.

(ii) Business associations and professional organizations as defined in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 8139.

(iii) State and local government enterprises.

(iv) Real estate agents, operators, and lessors.

(v) Automotive rental and leasing.

(vi) Local solid waste disposal, local sewage systems, and local water systems businesses.

(vii) Nonprofit organizations, unless the Department of Economic Development determines that the new direct jobs created by the organization would have a significant impact on Louisiana.

(viii) Employers engaged in the gaming industry as identified by the North American Industrial Classification System code sections 713210 and 721120.

(ix) Attorneys.

(d) The Department of Economic Development may promulgate rules annually listing other employers, professions, or service industries which are eligible and are not eligible for any rebate pursuant to this Chapter and such rules shall not take effect unless presented to and approved by both the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs in a public meeting held for such purpose.

(3) "Gross payroll" means wages for the new direct jobs as defined herein upon which the particular benefit rate is calculated.

(4) "New direct job" means employment in this state of an employee working at the average hours per week provided for in R.S. 51:2455(E)(2), who was not previously on an employer's payroll in Louisiana, nor previously on the payroll of such employer's parent entity, subsidiary, or affiliate in Louisiana, or previously on the payroll of any business whose physical plant and employees are substantially the same as those of the employer in Louisiana. Such job shall be with an employer that has qualified to receive a rebate pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, which job did not exist in this state prior to the effective date the application was filed by the employer with the Department of Economic Development pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 51:2455 and which job is filled by an individual domiciled in the state of Louisiana. "New direct job" shall not mean any job that is a result of job shifts due to the gain or loss of an in-state contract to supply goods and services. "New direct job" shall not mean any employees who were retained following the acquisition of all or part of an in-state business by an employer.

(5) "Wages" means all remuneration for services from whatever source, including commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all remuneration in any medium other than cash, and dismissal payments which the employer is required by law or contract to make. Gratuities customarily received by an individual in the course of his work from persons other than his employer shall be treated as wages received from his employer. The reasonable cash value of remuneration in any medium other than cash and the reasonable amount of gratuities shall be estimated and determined in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and its rules and regulations. The term "wages" shall not include the following:

(a) The amount of any payment with respect to services performed after January 1, 1951, to or on behalf of an individual in its employ under a plan or system established by an employer which makes provision for individuals in its employ generally, or for a class or classes of such individuals, including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund to provide for any such payment, on account of:

(i) Retirement.

(ii) Sickness or accident disability.

(iii) Medical and hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability.

(iv) Death, provided the individual in its employ:

(aa) Has not the option to receive, instead of provision for such death benefit, any part of such payment or, if such death benefit is insured, any part of the premium or contributions to premiums paid by his employer.

(bb) Has not the right, under the provisions of the plan or system or policy of insurance providing for such death benefit, to assign such benefit or to receive cash consideration in lieu of such benefit either upon his withdrawal from the plan or system providing for such benefit or upon the termination of such plan or system or policy of insurance or of his services with such employer.

(v) A bona fide thrift or savings fund, providing:

(aa) Such payment is conditioned upon a payment of a substantial sum by such individuals in its employ.

(bb) Such sum paid by the employer cannot under the provisions of such plan be withdrawn by an individual more frequently than once in any twelve-month period, except upon an individual's separation from that employment.

(b) Any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or his beneficiary under a cafeteria plan of the type described in 26 U.S.C. 125 and referred to in 26 U.S.C. 3306(b)(5)(G).

(c) Any payment made, or benefit furnished, to or for the benefit of an employee if at the time of such payment or such financing it is reasonable to believe that the employee will be able to exclude such payment or benefit from income under an educational assistance program as described in 26 U.S.C. 127 or a dependent care assistance program as described in 26 U.S.C. 129 and as referred to in 26 U.S.C. 3306(b)(13).

(d) The payment by an employer, without deduction from the remuneration of the individual in its employ, of the tax imposed upon such individual in its employ under Section 3101 of the federal Internal Revenue Code with respect to domestic services in a private home of the employer or for agricultural labor performed after December 31, 1980.

(e) Dismissal payments which the employer is not required by law or contract to make.

(f) The value of any meals and lodging furnished by or on behalf of an employer to an individual in his employ, provided the meals and lodging are furnished on the business premises of the employer for the convenience of the employer.

(6) "Health care benefits" means the amount of any payment to or on behalf of an individual in its employ under a plan or system established by an employer which makes provision for individuals in its employ generally, or for a class or classes of such individuals, including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund to provide for any such payment for a basic health benefits plan or the health insurance coverage, or the value of the health benefits plan or health insurance coverage offered by the employer to an individual it employs. The value of health care benefits which are offered in accordance with Paragraph (2) of this Section shall be deemed as having been paid for purposes of determining a benefit rate, regardless of whether the employee accepts the plan or coverage offered, provided that at least fifty percent of the employees holding new direct jobs accept the health care benefits offered.

Acts 1995, No. 1238, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 39, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 110, §1, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 153, §1, eff. May 1, 2002; Acts 2003, No. 47, §1, eff. May 22, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 847, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 1240, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 899, §1; Acts 2005, No. 326, §1; Acts 2007, No. 387, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2009, No. 438, §11(A); Acts 2011, No. 353, §1, eff. June 29, 2011.