GUIDE TO THE ILLINOIS U. I. ACT Part III
G-7 (01/09)
Any individual who is a member of a crew furnished by a crew leader to perform agricultural services for any other employing unit
shall be treated as employed by the crew leader if the leader holds a valid certificate of registration under the Farm Labor Contractor
Registration Act of 1963 or substantially all of the members of such a crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or
crop dusting equipment or any other mechanized equipment provided by the crew leader.
Furthermore, any individual furnished by a crew leader for service in agricultural labor for an employing unit who does not fall
within the employ of a crew leader will be treated as performing services in the employ of the other employing unit. Such
employing unit will be treated as paying cash wages equal to the amount paid by the crew leader. (Section 211.4)
Under Section 214 of the Act, “agricultural labor” means all services performed as follows:
a. On a farm, in the employ of any person, in connection with cultivating the soil or in connection with raising or harvesting any
agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training and management of
livestock, bees, poultry, and fur-bearing animals and wildlife;
b. In the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator of a farm, in connection with the operation, management, conservation,
improvement, or maintenance of such farm and its tools and equipment;
c. In connection with the ginning of cotton, or the operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or waterways not owned
or operated for profit, used exclusively for supplying and storing water for farming purposes;
d. In the employ of the operator of a farm, or a group of operators of farms (or a cooperative organization of which such operators
are members), in handling, planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading, storing or delivering to storage
or to market or to a carrier for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured state, any agricultural or horticultural commodity;
but only if such operator or operators produced more than one-half of the commodity with respect to which such service is
performed.
The definition of “agricultural labor” shall not include services performed in connection with commercial canning or commercial
freezing or in connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for
consumption. (Section 214)
The term “farm” as used in this Section includes stock, dairy, poultry, fruit, furbearing animals, and truck farms, plantations,
ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural
commodities and orchards. (Section 214)
The term “aquacultural labor” means all services per-formed in connection with the production of aquatic products as defined in the
Aquacultural Development Act
If you are in doubt as to whether you are required to count an individual in a specific situation, consult the Field Auditor at your
local unemployment insurance office or write to:
Department of Employment Security
Employer Hot Line 33 S. State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60603
If you have a more complex legal question, such as one about “employee leasing” (additional information on this subject can be
found on the IDES website), contact the Office of Legal Counsel, 9
th
Floor, Department of Employment Security, in Chicago.
