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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Exclusions

    This information will help you identify exceptions to what is considered "covered employment" under the Pennsylvania (PA) UC Law.

    Sole Proprietorships / Partnerships

    Owners of an individual entity (a sole proprietorship) and owners of a partnership are considered self-employed businesspersons. These individuals are considered the "employer entity" and cannot be the "employee". Therefore, payment made to these owners is not considered "wages" and is not covered for PA UC tax purposes.

    Family Employment

    Family employment is excluded from coverage IF

    • an individual is employed by a son, daughter, or spouse, or
    • a child under the age of 18 is employed by a parent.

    In addition to "blood relatives", "family" also includes:

    • Stepchildren and their parents
    • Foster children and their parents
    • Adopted children and their parents.

    Refer to Pamphlet UCP-35 for more information on Family Employment.

    Agricultural Employment

    An agricultural employer has covered employment if the entity:

    • employs at least 10 full-time or part-time employees for any part of a day in 20 or more calendar weeks during the current or preceding calendar year, or
    • pays $20,000 or more in cash wages in any calendar quarter of the current or preceding calendar year.

    Domestic Employment

    Individual homeowners, local college clubs, fraternities or sororities paying $1,000 or more in cash wages during any quarter of the current or preceding calendar year are subject to the PA UC Law.

    Church Employment

    501(c)(3) non-profit churches, as well as certain 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations operated primarily for religious purposes are not covered under the PA UC Law. Services performed by a duly ordained, commissioned or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of his ministry are also not covered under the PA UC Law.

    Elected vs. Appointed Officials

    Services of an elected official are excluded from coverage under the PA UC Law.

    The PA UC Law does not contain an exclusion for appointed officials; however, services performed by the following individuals are not covered under the PA UC Law:

    • Individuals serving in positions which are designated as a major non-tenured policy-making or advisory position; and
    • Individuals serving in positions which are designated as a policy-making position the performance of the duties of which ordinarily does not require more than eight hours per week.