Vision Payroll

The Louisiana Workforce Commission has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2010. The wage base will increase from $7,000 for 2009 to $7,700 for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on Louisiana unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

This week’s question comes from Rick, a restaurant owner. I started my business in June of this year. Since I didn’t have a big payroll in June, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently informed me that I should file Form 944. Since my payroll will be much higher in 2010, I should file Form 941. How do I opt out of filing Form 944? Answer: In Rev. Proc. 2009-51, the IRS explained the procedure to opt out of filing Form 944. Employers who have previously filed Form 941 or Form 944 should call or write the IRS stating that they want to opt out of filing Form 944 before April 2, 2010. New businesses should call or write the IRS before the second day “of the month that the first required Form 941 for the current tax year is due.” In 2010, those days are April 2, 2010, July 2, 2010, October 2, 2010, and January 4, 2011 (due to automatic extensions for holiday and weekend days). Telephone numbers and mailing addresses are provided in Rev. Proc. 2009-51. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on opting out of Form 944.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending October 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 530,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 531,000. The 4-week moving average was 526,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 532,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.4% for the week ending October 17, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 4.5%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 17 was 5,797,000, a decrease of 148,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 5,945,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,960,750, a decrease of 78,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 6,039,500.

In News Release IR-2009-091, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the release of its new web-based IRS Retirement Plans Navigator to help small businesses find retirement plan information. The website offers assistance in the following areas:

• Choosing a Plan
• Maintaining a Plan
• Correcting a Plan
• Comparing Plans
• Helpful Links
• Glossary of Terms

Although some plans are meant to be maintained by an employer with little or no assistance, Vision Payroll strongly recommends the services of a qualified third-party administrator for employers maintaining more complex plans. Contact Vision Payroll if you need further information.

According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), employers in the county of San Bernardino directly affected by the damage resulting from the “Sheep Fire” may request up to a 60-day extension of time from EDD to file their State payroll reports and/or deposit State payroll taxes without penalty or interest. The written request for extension must be received within 60 days from the original delinquent date of the payment or return to file/pay. Contact Vision Payroll if you’ve been affected and need to file the extension request.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 will be Veterans Day, a federal holiday. Although the offices of Vision Payroll will be open and payrolls will be processed, most banks will be closed in observance of the holiday.

Payrolls dated November 11 will be paid November 10 unless a previous change in schedule has been submitted. Payrolls submitted after these processing deadlines will be pushed back until the next available processing day. No changes are required for payrolls dated November 16.

The next federal holiday will be Thursday, November 26, 2009, Thanksgiving Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

As a result of the recent law requiring changes to income tax withholding in California, new withholding tables have been released effective for November 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009. The new tables accelerate withholding and increase the rates for supplemental wages, stock options, and bonuses paid after October 31, 2009. Vision Payroll will automatically transition to the new withholding tables on November 1, 2009. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any further questions on the revised withholding tables in California.

Brad Avakian, Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries announced recently that, effective January 1, 2010, the minimum wage for the state of Oregon will remain at $8.40 per hour. As a result of Measure 25, which passed in 2002, an adjustment to the minimum wage must be calculated no later than September 30 of each year. The adjustment is based on any increase in the US City Average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for All Items (CPI). The 1.48% decrease in the CPI will result in no change since there is no provision to decrease the minimum wage. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Oregon minimum wage or visit our Minimum Wage Chart.

This week’s question comes from Ron, an HR director. We’ve been hearing that GINA is going to create problems for many employers. We have fifty-five employees. Will GINA cause problems for us? Answer: the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) is effective November 21, 2009 and creates a new set of rules for two types of entities: health insurance companies and private, state, and local government employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies, labor unions, and joint labor-management training programs. Health insurers are generally prohibited from using genetic information to determine eligibility, to determine premium levels, or in determining a pre-existing condition. For employers, GINA generally prohibits discrimination in the employment process because of genetic information. Although the rules are very complex, some limited protections are available when an employer may inadvertently learn information about an employee. For example, a question about a relative’s health may result in the employer learning about family medical history. This might be protected under some of the provisions of GINA. Conversely, state law may provide protection that is more beneficial to the employee and must be followed. Due to complex nature of the many new rules, Vision Payroll strongly recommends covered employers and employers that offer health insurance contact competent labor law attorneys for guidance in this area. If you need a referral to an attorney, contact Vision Payroll so that GINA doesn’t cause problems for you.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending October 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 531,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 520,000. The 4-week moving average was 532,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 533,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 4.5% for the week ending October 10, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s revised rate of 4.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 10 was 5,923,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 6,021,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,030,750, a decrease of 59,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 6,090,000.