Act 386-Act 386 of the 2017 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature
Affiliate -
1. any business entity that is: a. controlled by the employer;b. a controlling owner of the employer; orc. controlled by an entity described in Subparagraph a or b;2. control, for purposes of this definition, means owning either directly or indirectly through control of or by another business entity:a. a majority of the voting stock or other voting interest of such business entity or the employer; orb. stock or other interest whose value is a majority of the total value of such business entity or the employer;3. a controlled or controlling business entity will be deemed a non-affiliate (not an affiliate) if the department determines that neither the employer nor any of its controlling owners exercise authority over the management, business policies and operations of the business entity. Approved Rehire Employees-a former employee who was previously on the payroll of the Company, parent entity, subsidiary, or affiliate in Louisiana, but has been off such payroll for a period of at least 12 months, may be considered a New Direct Job if rehired into a position that is not part of the Baseline Jobs. When determining New Direct Job qualifications, the department shall consider all relevant factors including but not limited to; ES4's, W2's and Company re-hiring practices, and the intent of the program to permanently locate new or expand existing operations in Louisiana.
Basic Health Benefits Plan or the Health Insurance Coverage-that which is required to be offered shall include individual coverage for basic hospital care, coverage for physician care, and coverage for health care which shall be the same as that provided to executive, administrative, or professional employees. Coverage must become effective no later than the first day of the month 90 days after hire date. For companies subject to provisions of Act 386, the coverage shall be in compliance with federally mandated health care requirements but if no such federally mandated requirements exist, the coverage for the employer portion of employee only coverage shall have a value of at least one dollar and 25 cents per hour.
Benefit Rate-one of the following percentages:
1. contracts subject to the provisions of Act 386:a. the benefit rate shall be 4 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least $18 per hour in wages;b. the benefit rate shall be 6 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least $21.66 per hour in wages.2. contracts subject to the provisions of Act 387:a. the benefit rate shall be 5 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least $14.50 per hour in wages and health care benefits;b. the benefit rate shall be 6 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least $19.10 per hour in wages and health care benefits;c. health care benefits paid shall be the value of the health care benefits plan elected by an employee, as determined by the department.3. contracts not subject to the provisions of Act 386 or Act 387:a. the benefit rate shall be 5 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least 1 3/4 times the federal minimum hourly wage rate;b. the benefit rate shall be 6 percent for new direct jobs which pay at least 2 1/4 times the federal minimum hourly wage rate and meet one of the following criteria:i. the new direct jobs are located in a distressed region, or at least 50 percent of the new direct jobs shall be filled by persons who reside in a distressed region;ii. the new direct jobs are with an employer categorized in a traditional or seed cluster targeted by the department. Board - the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry.
Contract Effective Date - the day that the advance notification and fee were received by the department, or a later contract effective date specified on the application. The contract effective date cannot be earlier than the date the advance notification and fee are received by the department.
Contract Execution-means the date the contract is signed by the governor.
Corporate Headquarters of a Multi-State Business-a multi-state business whose primary function is identified by NAICS 55114.
COVID-19-Impacted Retail Business-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, as approved by the Department.
Department - the Louisiana Department of Economic Development.
Distressed Region-for companies subject to the provisions of Act 387, as designated by the department:
1. a parish with a per capita income in the lowest 25 percent of the parishes; or2. a census tract and block group that is below the state median per capita income, based on the most recent federal decennial census. Domicile-the place of a person's principal establishment or habitual residence. A change of domicile may be shown by positive and satisfactory proof of establishment of domicile as a matter of fact with the intention of remaining in the new place and of abandoning the former domicile. Such proof may include a sworn declaration of intent recorded in the parish to which a person intends to move, voter registration, or similar evidence of such intent. Workers in the United States who are working on an H-1B Visa are not deemed to be domiciled in Louisiana.
Employment Baseline-the median statewide number of employees of an employer, including affiliates, working the average hours per week required in §1105, excluding employees engaged in lines of business that the department determines are unrelated to the activities for which quality job program benefits are sought, during the payroll periods including the twelfth day of the month, in the last six months completed prior to the contract effective date (the median is calculated by discarding the months with the highest and lowest number of employees, and averaging the number in the remaining four months). The employment baseline must be maintained in any year for which the employer requests payroll rebates. The employment baseline may be reduced by the number of employees retained and continued in employment for at least one year by an unrelated third party business acquiring a site or line of business.
Employer - a legal person who applies for and executes a Quality Jobs Program contract with the department pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 51:2452-2462.
Gross Payroll -
1. wages for the new direct jobs upon which the specified benefit rate is calculated;2. for medical industries serving rural hospitals, gross wages shall include only those wages directly related to providing services to a rural hospital. Health Care Benefits - means the amount of any payment to or on behalf of an individual in its employ for individual coverage 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 the basic health benefits plan or health insurance coverage, or the value of the health plan or health insurance coverage offered by the employer to an individual it employs.
Hire Date - the first day of work for which the employer directly pays an employee.
Medical Industries - a person, or entity licensed or certified by this state to provide health care or professional services as a physician, hospital, nursing home, community blood center, tissue bank, dentist, registered or licensed practical nurse or certified nurse assistant, ambulance service, certified registered nurse anesthetist, nurse midwife, licensed midwife, pharmacist, optometrist, podiatrist, chiropractor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker, licensed professional counselor, licensed perfusionist.
LDR - the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
LED-the Louisiana Department of Economic Development
LWC - the Louisiana Workforce Commission, formerly the Louisiana Department of Labor.
Multi-State Business-a business entity operating in more than one state, with a physical presence in more than one state, as approved by the department.
NAICS - North American Industrial Classification System.
New Direct Job-employment at a Louisiana site:
1. of an employee: a. whose domicile is in the state of Louisiana;b. working the average hours per week required by §1105; andc. who prior to the contract effective date was not on the payroll in Louisiana of:ii. the employer's parent entity, subsidiary, or affiliate; oriii. any business whose physical plant and employees were or are substantially the same as those of the employer, unless either:(a). there has been an arm's length transfer of ownership between unrelated companies (not affiliates), and either the location has been out of operations for at least three months; or(b). the secretary determines that the jobs would have likely been lost to the state absent the transfer (under such circumstances jobs at the re-opened plant are deemed not to have previously existed for purposes of Subparagraph 2.b. below); or(c). the employee is an Approved Rehire Employee.2. in a job (a position of employment) that: a. is with an employer that has qualified for the incentive rebate;b. did not exist in this state prior to the advance notification being filed by the employer with the department pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 51:2455; andc. is not part of the employment baseline;d. is based at the project site, as determined by the department considering the employee's physical work site, the site to which the employee reports or which administers the employment, the site from which the employee receives work, and the nature of the business;3. the following jobs are not new direct jobs:a. jobs created as a result of the employer securing a contract to supply goods and services in the state of Louisiana, if another business was under an obligation to supply the same goods and services from a facility located in Louisiana and such obligation was terminated within three months prior to creation of the job by the employer;b. jobs transferred, or jobs associated with work or sales transferred, from other Louisiana sites as a result of the employer (including affiliates) acquiring a business operation, or substantially all of its assets, and continuing the business operation. Physical Presence-the department shall consider all relevant evidence in evaluating multi-state presence, including, but not limited to; the location of offices, facilities, tangible property and employees. Ancillary services provided through use of technology, without more, shall be insufficient to establish a physical presence.
Project Site - the single contiguous physical location shown on the application.
Rural Hospital - as defined by R.S. 40:1300.
Wages - 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 shall be estimated in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and its rules and regulations. Wages shall not include the following:
1. 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 of 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: b. sickness or accident disability;c. medical and hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability;d. death, provided the individual in its employment does not have the option to receive, instead of provision of 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 or does not have 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; ore. a bona fide thrift or savings fund, providing such payment is conditioned upon a payment of a substantial sum by such individuals in its employment and such sum paid by the employer cannot under the provisions of such plan be withdrawn by an individual more frequently than once in any 12 month period, except upon an individual's separation from that employment;2. 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);3. 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);4. 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;5. dismissal payments that the employer is not required by law or contract to make; or6. 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.La. Admin. Code tit. 13, § I-1103
Promulgated by the Department of Economic Development, Office of Commerce and Industry, Financial Incentives Division, LR 22:961 (October 1996), amended by the Department of Economic Development, Office of Business Development, Business Resources Division, LR 29:2306 (November 2003), amended by the Office of Business Development, LR 37:2588 (September 2011), Amended by the Department of Economic Development, Office of Business Development, LR 4925 (1/1/2023), Repromulgated LR 49339 (2/1/2023).AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 51:2451-2462 et seq.