§ 51:2453 — Definitions

Louisiana § 51:2453

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 51: Trade and Commerce

Text

§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 that pay at least eighteen dollars per hour, the benefit
rate shall be four percent.
(b) For new direct jobs created that pay at least twenty-one dollars and sixty-six cents
per hour, the benefit rate shall be six percent.
(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 whom it employs
in new direct jobs in this state which shall be determined by the Louisiana Economic
Development to be in compliance with federally mandated healthcare requirements or, if no
federally mandated healthcare requirements exist, shall be determined 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 healthcare, and 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. 201 et seq.
(b) To qualify for a contract pursuant to this Chapter, employers must meet one of the
following provisions:
(i) The employer is one of the following industries: biotechnology; biomedical and
medical industries serving rural hospitals; micromanufacturing; software, Internet, and
telecommunications technologies; clean energy technology; food technologies; and advanced
materials.
(ii) The employer is 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) The employer is an oil and gas field services business as defined in North
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 213112 which has Louisiana as the
national or regional headquarters of a multi-state business whose service territory includes
at least Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.
(iv) The employer has, 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. An independent Louisiana-certified public
accountant shall annually verify that the contract site meets the out-of-state sales
requirement.
(v) The employer is located in a parish which is within the lowest twenty-five
percent of parishes based on per capita income. An employer that qualifies for a contract
under this Item at the time of the initial quality jobs contract executed pursuant to this
Chapter shall remain qualified for a contract through and during the renewal period
regardless of any change in the per capita income of the parish.
(vi) The employer is the corporate headquarters of a multi-state business.
(vii) The employer is a business that spends fifty percent or more of its time
performing services for its out-of-state parent company. These services include but are not
limited to legal, marketing, finance, information technology, order management, distribution
center operation, or overall operations support.
(viii) The employer is in the business of maintenance, repair, and overhaul operations
for commercial transport aircraft.
(ix) The employer is a COVID-19-impacted retail business that has no more than
fifty employees nationwide including affiliates on the date of the filing of the advance
notification and which is assigned a North American Industry Classification Code of 44, 45,
721, or 722 and the COVID-19-impacted retail business files or enters into an advance
notification on or after July 1, 2020, and on or before December 31, 2021. However, no
COVID-19-impacted retail business employer assigned a North American Industry
Classification Code of 44, 45, 721, or 722 shall be eligible to earn benefits pursuant to the
provisions of this Chapter after June 30, 2023. For purposes of this Section,
"COVID-19-impacted retail business" means a for-profit corporation, a limited liability
company, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship that had a physical and active operation in
Louisiana on March 13, 2020, and ceased operations due to either one of the governor's
public health emergency proclamations or a mayor's proclamation or executive order related
to the public health emergency, or a decrease in customer activity or the inability to retain
sufficient staff due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
(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)(aa) Retail employers as identified by the North American Industry Classification
System code sections 44 and 45.
(bb) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subitem (aa) of this Item,
COVID-19-impacted retail employers identified by the North American Industry
Classification Code of 44 and 45 that have no more than fifty employees nationwide
including affiliates on the date of the filing of the advance notification shall be eligible to
participate in this rebate program if such employers file or enter into an advance notification
on or after July 1, 2020, and on or before December 31, 2021. However, no
COVID-19-impacted retail business employer assigned a North American Industry
Classification Code of 44 and 45 shall be eligible to earn benefits pursuant to the provisions
of this Chapter after June 30, 2023.
(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 Louisiana 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) Professional Services firms assigned a North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) code beginning with 54 unless the business can demonstrate that more than
fifty percent of its services are provided to out-of-state customers or for the corporate
headquarters of a multi-state business or if the employer can demonstrate that the company
has 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.
(x) Construction companies, unless the company is the corporate headquarters of a
multi-state business or can demonstrate that the company has, or will have within one year,
sales of at least fifty percent of its total sales to either out-of-state customers or the federal
government.
(xi) All businesses assigned a North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) code beginning with 5613.
(xii) Medical professionals assigned a North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS) code beginning with 62, except for those medical professionals engaged
in one of the following:
(aa) Biomedical or biotechnology industries.
(bb) Servicing rural hospitals.
(cc) Providing services, or will be providing services within one year, to a patient
base that the medical professionals are able to demonstrate is made up of at least fifty percent
of out-of-state patients.
(d) Louisiana 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 least
the average hours per week provided for in R.S. 51:2455(E)(2), who earns at least the benefit
rate as defined in this Section and, 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 that the application
was filed by the employer with Louisiana 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) "Healthcare 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.
NOTE: This Section is updated through the 2020 First Extraordinary
Session, but is subject to final technical revisions by the Louisiana State Law
Institute.

Legislative History

Acts 1995, No. 1238, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1996, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 39, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 2002, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 110, §1, eff. July 1, 2002; Acts 2002, 1 st 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; Acts 2017, No. 386, §3, eff. June 23, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 624, §1; Acts 2020 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 29, §1, eff. July 1, 2020.