Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-223 (2025)

(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. For the purposes of subdivisions (5) and (7) of subsection (a) of this section, 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) of this section, 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.

(f) Employer not previously subject to chapter. Notification to administrator. Any employer not previously subject to this chapter, that becomes subject to this chapter pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section, shall provide electronic notice of the same to the administrator, in a manner prescribed by the administrator, not later than thirty days after becoming subject to this chapter.

(g) Employer acquisitions. Notification to administrator. Any employer acquiring substantially all of the assets, organization, trade or business of another employer subject to this chapter shall provide electronic notice of such acquisition to the administrator, in a manner prescribed by the administrator, not later than thirty days after such acquisition. For purposes of this subsection, trade or business includes an employer's employees.

(h) Civil penalty. Any employer that fails to provide electronic notice as required by subsections (f) and (g) of this section shall be liable to the administrator for a civil penalty of fifty dollars for each violation.

(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; P.A. 13-288, S. 1; P.A. 14-42, S. 6.)

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)”); P.A. 13-288 added Subsec. (f) re employer not previously subject to chapter to provide electronic notice to administrator upon becoming subject to chapter, added Subsec. (g) re employer that acquires assets of another employer subject to chapter to provide electronic notice to administrator, and added Subsec. (h) re civil penalty for failure to provide notice as required in Subsecs. (f) and (g); P.A. 14-42 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (e), effective May 28, 2014.

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. Does not qualify definition of employment in Sec. 31-222(a). 136 C. 387. Cited. Id., 389. Reason for including former Subsec. (a)(4)(a) in act was to insure contributions from all employers falling within the terms of Subsec. 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 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 supermarket deemed to have employed individuals of “leased departments” for purposes of act. 11 CS 209. Cited. 12 CS 292. Plaintiff became subject to act by purchasing the land, buildings, equipment, machinery and good will of an employer subject to 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.

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