Definitions.

As used in this act: (a) "Commissioner" or "director" means the director of the department of labor and economic opportunity. (b) "Employ" means to engage, suffer, or permit to work. (c) "Employee" means an individual not less than 16 years of age employed by an employer on the premises of the employer or at a fixed site designated by the employer, and includes a minor employed subject to section 15(1) of the youth employment standards act, 1978 PA 90, MCL 409.115. (d) "Employer" means a person, firm, or corporation, including this state and political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities of this state, and a person acting in the interest of the employer, that employs 2 or more employees at any 1 time within a calendar year. An employer is subject to this act during the remainder of that calendar year. Except as specifically provided in the franchise agreement, as between a franchisee and franchisor, the franchisee is considered the sole employer of workers for whom the franchisee provides a benefit plan or pays wages.