§ 58-89A-75. De minimis registration.
§ 58‑89A‑75. Deminimis registration.
(a) A person who seeksto offer limited professional employer services in this State shall be eligiblefor de minimis registration status upon compliance with this section and mayoperate as a de minimis registrant in this State upon notification pursuant tothis section. A person shall satisfy the requirements for a de minimisregistration only if the professional employer organization:
(1) Does not maintain aphysical professional employer organization office located in this State;
(2) Does not employsalespersons who reside or direct their sales activities in this State;
(3) Does not employdirectly or in common control with another person, as defined in G.S. 58‑89A‑5(12),more than 50 assigned employees in this State;
(4) Does not advertisethrough any media outlet physically located in this State;
(5) Is a licensed orregistered professional employer organization in at least one other state ofthe United States; and
(6) Is operated by andunder the control of persons of good moral character.
A professional employerorganization operating under a de minimis registration shall be subject to allof the responsibilities and authority of a licensee under this Article exceptfor G.S. 58‑89A‑50, 58‑89A‑60 and 58‑89A‑70(c),(d), and (e).
(b) A person seeking deminimis registration status shall notify the Commissioner, on a form prescribedby the Commissioner, attesting that the professional employer organizationmeets all of the eligibility requirements for de minimis registration statusunder this section and additionally provide, at a minimum, the followinginformation:
(1) The name of theprofessional employer organization, the address of its principal office, thename of the contact person, and the taxpayer or employer identification number;
(2) A list byjurisdiction of each name under which the registrant has operated in thepreceding five years, including any alternative names, names of predecessors,and, if known, successor business entities;
(3) A list of allofficers, directors, and controlling person(s) of the registrant and theirbiographical information in a form to be determined by the Commissioner; and
(4) The location of thebusiness records of the person.
(c) If the Commissionerfinds that the person seeking de minimis registration has not fully met therequirements for de minimis registration, the person shall not be eligible forde minimis registration status, and the Commissioner shall notify the person inwriting. Within 30 days after service of the notification, the person may makea written demand upon the Commissioner for a review to determine thereasonableness of the Commissioner's action. The review shall be completedwithout undue delay, and the person shall be notified promptly in writing as tothe outcome of the review. Within 30 days after service of the notification asto the outcome, the person may make a written demand upon the Commissioner fora hearing under Article 3A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes if theperson disagrees with the outcome.
(d) If the Commissionerdetermines that the notification of eligibility for de minimis registration isincomplete, the Commissioner shall notify the person of the deficiency, and theregistrant shall be allowed time, not to exceed 30 days from the date of thenotice, to correct the deficiency. Failure of the person to correct thedeficiency within the 30‑day time period shall result in the de minimisbeing deemed denied. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a personnotified of a deficiency under this section may continue to operate while thedeficiency is being corrected unless the Commissioner determines that theperson is ineligible for de minimis registration status or is otherwise notauthorized to operate in this State.
(e) After a de minimisregistrant's initial notification, a de minimis registrant shall annuallynotify the Commissioner of its continuing eligibility for de minimisregistration status no earlier than January 1 and no later than January 15 ofeach year. The annual notification shall include the attestation of eligibilityfor de minimis registration and any change in the information previouslyprovided to the Commissioner under this section.
(f) A person operatingunder a de minimis registration to engage in professional employer services inNorth Carolina that ceases to satisfy any of the requirements for de minimisregistration under this section shall apply for a professional employerorganization license. The de minimis registrant may continue to operate inNorth Carolina pending approval of the registrant's application for a licenseprovided the application is filed with the Commissioner no later than 30 daysafter the professional employer organization becomes ineligible for de minimisregistration. If the application for licensure is denied or is not filed asprescribed in this section, the de minimis registrant must cease engaging inprofessional employer services in North Carolina. (2004‑162, s. 1; 2005‑124,s. 3; 2007‑127, s. 14; 2009‑570, s. 9.)