We have a responsible and capable 15 year old (will be 16 in a couple of months) who would like to help out at our farm in exchange for some riding lessons. It would most likely be 3 1/2 hours per week. We would like her help, but are unsure what to do regarding this request vs what we have always done (on the books with worker’s compensation coverage). I’m not sure if there are laws on this or if there is flexibility due to ‘farm work’? Thoughts?
That’s not a volunteer, it’s a payment in kind. You should talk to your insurance company but legally the best thing to do would be to pay her and have her pay for her lessons.
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The income tax people want you to pay tax on barter. I doubt people often do, but that’s the law.
Google “unpaid employee” and your state. You can add “workers comp” and “barter” to further searches. I would think that you would be opening yourself up to a lot of liability if she is not on the books and covered by workers comp.
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The income tax people want you to pay tax on barter. I doubt people often do, but that’s the law.
that is once the compensation exceeds $600, then it is reportable here in the States
many, many of the states have farm labor laws that lower the worker ages, but that might not extend to a stable
Honestly when we had our farm set up we treated these people as invited guests, never charged them a penny and they were allowed to do no hazardous activities without a problem.
We had four kids who always had friends over who wanted to be around the horses.
Our farm was a C Corp so separated from us personally
Always check with your insurance provider and get their advise in writing rather than verbal
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Thanks all. On the books it is!
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