§ 850. Definitions. For purposes of this article:

(a) Employer. Employer means an employer that is required by section
six hundred seventy-one of this chapter to deduct and withhold tax from
wages.

(b) Electing employer. Electing employer is an employer that has made
the election provided for in section eight hundred fifty-one of this
article.

(c) Payroll expense. Payroll expense means wages and compensation as
defined in sections 3121 and 3231 of the internal revenue code (without
regard to section 3121(a)(1) and section 3231(e)(2)(A)(i)), paid to all
covered employees.

(d) Covered employee. Covered employee means an employee of an
electing employer who is employed in New York, who is required to have
amounts withheld under section six hundred seventy-one of this chapter,
and who receives annual wages and compensation from his or her employer
of more than forty thousand dollars annually. The determination of
whether an employee is a covered employee under this article will be
made by utilizing the rules applicable to the jurisdiction of employment
for purposes of the statewide wage reporting system under section one
hundred seventy-one-a of this chapter.