In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce Commission.
(2) "Day" means a calendar day.
(3) "Employee" means an individual who is employed by an employer for compensation. The term does not include:
(A) a person related to the employer or the employer's spouse within the first or second degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573, Government Code; or
(B) an independent contractor.
(4) "Employer" means a person who:
(A) employs one or more employees; or
(B) acts directly or indirectly in the interests of an employer in relation to an employee.
(5) "Employment" means any service, including service in interstate commerce, that is performed for wages or under a contract of hire, whether written or oral or express or implied. The term does not include any service performed by an individual for wages if it is shown that the individual is free from control or direction in the performance of the service, both under any contract of service and in fact.
(6) "Mail" means to deposit for mailing with the United States Postal Service.
(6-a) "Payroll card account" means an account that is directly or indirectly established by an employer into which each participating employee's wages, salary, or other form of compensation is deposited on a recurring basis and for which the employee receives a payroll card to access the funds in the account.
(7) "Wages" means compensation owed by an employer for:
(A) labor or services rendered by an employee, whether computed on a time, task, piece, commission, or other basis; and
(B) vacation pay, holiday pay, sick leave pay, parental leave pay, or severance pay owed to an employee under a written agreement with the employer or under a written policy of the employer.