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This week’s question comes from Charlie, a manufacturing plant manager. We have a third shift that works from 11 pm to 7 am the following day. Some of the workers will work this Saturday night into Sunday. Do we need to pay for eight hours of work because of the switch to Daylight Saving Time? Answer: Since Daylight Saving Time begins in most parts of the country at 2 am, Sunday, March 13, 2011 many workers on a third shift will only work seven hours. At 2 am on that day, clocks are turned ahead to 3 am.

FLSA Does Not Require Pay for Hour When Clocks Are Turned Ahead

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require employers to pay employees for the hour not worked. When Daylight Saving Time ends on November 6, 2011, employers will need to pay an extra hour since clocks are turned back.

Contact Vision Payroll for More Information

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any further questions on the switch to Daylight Saving Time.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending March 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 397,000, an increase of 26,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 371,000. The 4-week moving average was 392,250, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 389,250.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Remains Unchanged

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0% for the week ending February 26, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.0%.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 26 was 3,771,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,791,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,833,250, a decrease of 34,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,868,000.

In Technical Information Release 11-2, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) announced higher interest rates on overpayments and underpayments of tax.

Interest Rates Had Decreased for First Quarter

For all of 2010, interest rates on overpayments had been 3%, simple interest. In addition, for all of 2010, interest rates on underpayments had been 5%, compounded daily. These rates had decreased to 2%, simple interest and 4%, compounded daily, respectively, effective January 1, 2011.

Second Quarter Interest Rates Revert to 2010 Levels

Effective April 1, 2011, interest rates will revert to the 2010 rates of 3%, simple interest for overpayments and 5%, compounded daily on underpayments.

Contact Vision Payroll Today

Contact Vision Payroll for more information on interest rates on overpayments and underpayments of tax in Massachusetts.

According to the California Employment Development Department (EDD), employers in the county of Modoc directly affected by the melting snow pack causing flooding 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. This extension may be granted under Section 1111.5 of the California Unemployment Insurance Code (CUIC).

Modoc County in a Declared State of Emergency Due To Melting Snow Pack Causing Flooding

Written request for extension must be received within 60 days from the original delinquent date of the payment or return to file/pay.

Vision Payroll Can Assist Modoc County Clients with Extension Application

Contact Vision Payrollif you’ve been affected and need to file the extension request.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) has released the 2011 contribution rates. Employers apply the rates to taxable payroll to determine the amount of tax due.

Many 2011 Employer Rates Remain Unchanged

Although the new construction employer rate and the solvency assessment rate have both increased, the  new non-construction employer rate, the minimum rate, the maximum positive rate, and the maximum rate all remain unchanged. The following table provides rates for 2011 and 2010.

Rate	2011	2010
New non-construction employer rate	2.83%	2.83%
New construction employer rate	8.62%	7.84%
Minimum rate	1.26%	1.26%
Maximum positive rate	6.14%	6.14%
Maximum rate	12.27%	12.27%
Solvency assessment	1.71%	1.22%

Solvency Assessment Is not Paid Directly

The Solvency Assessment is applied by the Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) when calculating an employer’s Statement of Account Balance. It is applied to the employer’s taxable wages for the period.

Still Have Questions on 2011 Massachusetts Unemployment Tax Rates

Contact Vision Payroll for further information on 2011 Massachusetts unemployment tax rates.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released an updated Form M-274, Handbook for Employers. The handbook assists employers in completing Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

Form Has Eight Parts

Form M-274 is broken into eight parts, each dealing with a specific topic. The parts are:

1. Why Employers Must Verify Employment Authorization and Identity of New Employees
2. Completing Form I-9
3. Photocopying and Retaining Form I-9
4. Unlawful Discrimination and Penalties for Prohibited Practices
5. Instructions for Recruiters and Referrers for a Fee
6. E-Verify: The Web-based Verification Companion to Form I-9
7. Some Questions You May Have About Form I-9
8. Acceptable Documents for Verifying Employment Authorization and Identity

Establishing Identity and Employment Authorization

To establish both identity and employment authorization, a person must present to his or her employer a document or combination of documents, if applicable, from List A, which shows both identity and employment authorization; or one document from List B, which shows only identity, and one document from List C, which shows only employment authorization. Sample illustrations of acceptable documents are also presented.

Contact Vision Payroll for Further Information

Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions on Form M-274.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 192,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.9%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently. Job gains occurred in manufacturing, construction, professional and business services, health care, and transportation and warehousing.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons (13.7 million) and the unemployment rate (8.9%) changed little in February. The labor force was about unchanged over the month. The jobless rate was down by 0.9 percentage points since November 2010.

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.7%), adult women (8.0%), teenagers (23.9%), whites (8.0%), blacks (15.3%), and Hispanics (11.6 percent) showed little or no change in February. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.8%, not seasonally adjusted.

The number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, at 8.3 million, continued to trend down in February and has fallen by 1.2 million over the past 12 months. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 6.0 million and accounted for 43.9% of the unemployed.

Both the civilian labor force participation rate, at 64.2%, and the employment-population ratio, at 58.4%, were unchanged in February.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was essentially unchanged at 8.3 million in February. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

In February, 2.7 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, up from 2.5 million a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.0 million discouraged workers in February, a decrease of 184,000 from a year earlier. (These data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.7 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in February had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

This week’s question comes from April, an office manager. I’ve read that the taxable wage base has increased in New Hampshire for 2011, but I’m not sure of the impact. What is a taxable wage base? Answer: The taxable wage base is the amount of income that will be taxed in a particular year.

New Hampshire Taxable Wage Base Is $12,000

For 2011, the New Hampshire taxable wage base is $12,000. Therefore, all subject wages earned during 2011 by an employee up to $12,000 will be taxed for New Hampshire unemployment purposes. Once $12,000 of wages have been taxed for New Hampshire unemployment purposes, no additional New Hampshire unemployment tax will be due for that employee for the rest of 2011.

Taxable Wage Bases Range from $7,000 to $37,300

For 2011, the federal taxable wage base is $7,000. Three states, Arizona, California, Florida and Puerto Rico all have the lowest taxable wage base of $7,000. Washington has the highest taxable wage base at $37,300.

Find Out the Wage Base for All States by Visiting the Vision Payroll Unemployment Taxable Wage Base Page

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any further questions or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 368,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 388,000. The 4-week moving average was 388,500, a decrease of 12,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 401,250.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Decreases

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.0% for the week ending February 19, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the prior week’s revised rate of 3.1%.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February19 was 3,774,000, a decrease of 59,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,833,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,863,750, a decrease of 40,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,904,250.

Substantial enforcement developments from government agencies focusing on worker classification compliance are putting employers on notice. Learn about the issues affecting businesses nationwide and the key steps to take immediately.

Five Questions About Worker Misclassifications

1. What is the impact of the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (EMPA)?
2. What plans does the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have to audit certain industries?
3. What are the fines for misclassification of workers or recordkeeping violations?
4. What type of classification testing can be used to ensure proper employee classification?
5. What are five tips that can be used to help classify workers properly?

Learn How to Avoid Worker Misclassifications

To learn the answers to these questions and much more, be sure to listen to Worker Misclassifications and How to Avoid Them in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

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Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.