Federal & State Regulations | Unemployment - Alaska | J. J. Keller® Compliance Network

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Coverage

In Alaska, state unemployment law covers employers of one or more workers at any time. The state definition of employer includes workers who spend any amount of time or payroll. Workers are considered employees unless:

The worker is free from control or direction in the performance of the work under the contract of service and in fact;
The service is performed either outside the usual course of the business for which it is performed or is performed outside of all places of business of the enterprise for which it is performed; and
The individual is customarily engaged in an independent trade, occupation, profession, or business.

Exclusions from the definition of employment in Alaska include:

Insurance agents on commission,
Real estate agents on commission,
Casual labor not in the course of employers business, and
Part-time service for nonprofit organizations exempt from federal income tax. This exclusion is limited to remuneration of less than $250 in Alaska.

Students working for schools are excluded from coverage.

Alaska does not exclude from coverage service by the spouse of a student when the spouse is employed by the school, college, or university. Student nurses and interns in employ of a hospital are also not excluded.

The services of corporate officers are exempt only if the corporation is not a non-profit or governmental entity and the employee is an executive officer of the corporation.

For state and local governments, policymaking and advisory positions are not excluded from coverage.