(1) Service performed in agricultural labor on and after January 1, 1978, for a farm operator or crew leader will be deemed services in employment if the farm operator or crew leader:

(a) Paid twenty thousand dollars or more as remuneration to individuals employed in agricultural labor during any calendar quarter in the current or preceding calendar year; or

(b) Employed ten or more individuals in agricultural labor for some portion of the day in each of twenty different calendar weeks in either the current or preceding calendar year regardless of whether they were employed at the same moment of time or whether or not the weeks were consecutive.

(2) A farm operator is the owner or tenant of the farmlands who stands to gain or lose economically from the operations of the farm. Employment will be considered employment by the farm operator unless it is established to the satisfaction of the commissioner that the services were performed in the employ of a crew leader. The risk of nonpersuasion is upon the farm operator. The operator will nonetheless be liable for contributions under RCW 50.24.130 even though services performed on the operator's farmlands would not be sufficient to bring the services under the term employment if services performed on the operator's land in the employ of a crew leader would be covered and the crew leader has failed to pay contributions on the services. For the purposes of the preceding sentence and RCW 50.24.130, all moneys paid or payable to the crew leader by the farm operator shall be deemed paid for services unless there is a written contract clearly specifying the amounts of money to be attributed to items other than services of the crew leader or the crew leader's employees.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a crew leader is a person who furnishes individuals to perform services in agricultural labor for the benefit of any other person, who pays for the services performed in agricultural labor (either on his or her own behalf or on behalf of the other person), and who has not made a written agreement making himself or herself an employee of the other person: PROVIDED, That no person shall be deemed a crew leader unless he or she is established independently of the person for whom the services are performed and either has a valid certificate of registration under the farm labor contractor registration act of 1963 or substantially all the members of his or her crew operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or crop dusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment which is provided by the crew leader.

Effective dates—1977 ex.s. c 292: See note following RCW 50.04.116.