Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending December 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 480,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 473,000. The 4-week moving average was 467,500, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 472,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.9% for the week ending December 5, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.9%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 5 was 5,186,000, an increase of 5,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 5,181,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,318,250, a decrease of 106,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 5,425,000.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.722 million.

During this flu season, especially with H1N1 in mind, many employers are concerned with how to properly prepare for potential pandemic illness debilitating their employees and their business. There are three important areas employers must consider when preparing their action plan for dealing with pandemic outbreaks at work.

• Workplace Issues
• Employer Responsibilities
• Action Items

You’ll learn much more about these three areas in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

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’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

The Vermont Department of Labor has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2010. The wage base will increase from $8,000 for 2009 to $10,000 for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Vermont unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

Friday, December 25, 2009 will be Christmas Day, a federal holiday. The offices of Vision Payroll will close Christmas Eve, December 24 at 2 pm EST and re-open Monday December 28. Most banks will also be closed in observance of the holiday. Payroll changes and hours must be submitted before the processing deadlines as listed below.

Payrolls dated December 25 will be paid December 24 unless a previous change in schedule has been submitted.

Due to heavy USPS and UPS delivery requirements as well as limited bank hours and staffing, we strongly recommend submitting payrolls during this time as early as practicable. UPS does not ship ground deliveries received on December 24 until December 28 so we do not recommend submitting payrolls on that date. The next federal holiday will be January 1, 2010, New Year’s Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2010. The wage base will increase from $27,800 for 2009 to $28,300 for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Utah unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

The South Dakota Department of Labor has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2010. The wage base will increase from $9,500 for 2009 to $10,000 for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the South Dakota unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

This week’s question comes from Scott, a small-business owner. I own a business in Michigan. I’ve heard that for 2009, Michigan is a credit reduction state. What is a credit reduction state? Answer: For 2009, Michigan is the only “credit reduction state”. This means that employers in Michigan are not allowed the full credit against the federal unemployment tax act (FUTA) tax. Wages paid that are subject to the unemployment compensation laws of the state of Michigan do not receive the full credit of 5.4%; a credit reduction of 0.3% applies so that such wages receive a credit of 5.1% for 2009. Employers that have wages that are subject to the unemployment compensation laws of the state of Michigan must use Schedule A of Form 940 to calculate the FUTA due. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any further questions on credit reduction states.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending December 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 474,000, an increase of 17,000 from the previous week’s unrevised figure of 457,000. The 4-week moving average was 473,750, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 481,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.9% for the week ending November 28, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 4.1%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 28 was 5,157,000, a decrease of 303,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 5,460,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,416,500, a decrease of 123,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 5,540,000.

The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.767 million.

The holiday season brings great opportunities to celebrate – Thanksgiving, New Year’s Day, and the company holiday party! While some companies have decided to forego company-sponsored festivities due to increasing liability and costs, your company can still host a great event if you consider the following tips:

• Assess the Liability
• Communicate Casual and Careful
• Promote Policies and Practices
• Prepare the Disaster Plan
• Take the Lead

To learn more about each of these areas, be sure to read the featured article by the HR pros at MyHRSupportCenter, 5 Tips to Playing It Safe when Planning Company Events. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

The Oregon Employment Department has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2010. The wage base will increase from $31,300 for 2009 to $32,100 for 2010. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Oregon unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.