Sec. 401.012.  DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE.  (a)  In this subtitle, "employee" means each person in the service of another under a contract of hire, whether express or implied, or oral or written.
(b)  The term "employee" includes:
(1)  an employee employed in the usual course and scope of the employer's business who is directed by the employer temporarily to perform services outside the usual course and scope of the employer's business;  
(2)  a person, other than an independent contractor or the employee of an independent contractor, who is engaged in construction, remodeling, or repair work for the employer at the premises of the employer;  and
(3)  a person who is a trainee under the Texans Work program established under Chapter 308.
(c)  The term "employee" does not include:
(1)  a master of or a seaman on a vessel engaged in interstate or foreign commerce;  or
(2)  a person whose employment is not in the usual course and scope of the employer's business.
(d)  A person who is an employee for the purposes of this subtitle and engaged in work that otherwise may be legally performed is an employee despite:
(1)  a license, permit, or certificate violation arising under state law or municipal ordinance;  or
(2)  a violation of a law regulating wages, hours, or work on Sunday.
(e)  This section may not be construed to relieve from fine or imprisonment any individual, firm, or corporation employing or performing work or a service prohibited by a statute of this state or a municipal ordinance.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 456, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.