Vision Payroll

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending June 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 386,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 392,000. The 4-week moving average was 386,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 387,500.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Remains Unchanged

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6% for the week ending June 16, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 16 was 3,296,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,311,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,306,000, an increase of 9,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,296,750.

This week’s question comes from Savannah, a corporate controller.

Savannah asks:

Some of our employees are asking us about the Additional Medicare Tax and when we will start withholding it. What is the Additional Medicare Tax?

Answer: The Additional Medicare Tax was enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Additional Medicare Tax is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2012. The rate of the Additional Medicare Tax is 0.9% on wages subject to Medicare Tax that are in excess of an individual’s threshold based on the individual’s filing status for federal income taxes.

Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) Compensation Is Subject To Additional Medicare Tax

All RRTA compensation that is in excess of the applicable threshold for an individual’s filing status is subject to additional Medicare Tax if it is subject to Medicare Tax.

Individuals Liable for Additional Medicare Tax at Certain Thresholds

If an individual (or individual and spouse, if filing jointly) have qualified income in excess of the threshold for that individual’s filing status, the individual is labile for Additional Medicare Tax. Qualified income is wages, other compensation, and self-employment income.

Thresholds for Different Filing Statuses in 2013

The thresholds in 2013 are as follows:

Filing Status	Threshold
Married Filing Separately	$125,000
Single	$200,000
Head of Household with Qualifying Person	$200,000
Qualifying Widow or Widower with Dependent Child	$200,000
Married Filing Jointly	$250,000

More Information on the Additional Medicare Tax Will Be Forthcoming

Over the next few weeks, Vision Payroll will be providing more information on the Additional Medicare Tax. Be sure to check back regularly for further updates.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending June 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 387,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 389,000. The 4-week moving average was 386,250, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 382,750.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Remains Unchanged

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6% for the week ending June 9, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Remains Unchanged

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 9 was 3,299,000, unchanged from the preceding week’s revised level. The 4-week moving average was 3,293,750, an increase of 5,250 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,288,500.

Which smartphone tools are employees downloading about their workplace rights that can be used against their companies?

Smartphone Apps That Employees May Be Using Are Varied in Approach and Information

The first type of app are apps such as JobCompass™, a web and mobile job search application that searches millions of jobs, locating and plotting them on a map showing you exactly where the jobs are in relation to a certain location. Other apps help people determine how much a certain job should pay in a particular area, which can used both by job seekers to determine if a job offer is fair and by employees to determine if their pay is competitive with others in the same job.

A second type of app is intended to be used by people thinking about eating at a certain restaurant, staying at a certain hotel, or applying for a particular job. These apps will give information such as health or labor violations and can be searched on name, address, entity type and many other fields.

Other apps track things such as OSHA violations and which companies have sent jobs overseas.

As the use of smartphone apps expands, many different apps and types of apps will become available.

How Should Employers Train Managers and Communicate with Employees About These Items?

To learn the valuable tips for dealing with these issues and much more, be sure to listen to DOL-based Smartphone Apps Employees Might Use Against Employers in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

MyHRSupportCenter Provides Alerts, Best Practices, and HR Tools Every Day

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.

The Washington Employment Security Department has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2013. The wage base will increase from $38,200 for 2012 to $39,800 for 2013.

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 questions on the Washington unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 will be Independence Day, a federal holiday. The offices of Vision Payroll will close July 3 at 5 pm EDT and re-open Thursday July 5. Most banks will also be closed in observance of the holiday.

Date Paid	Process Deadline
7/05/2012	7/2/2012
7/06/2012	7/3/2012
7/09/2012	7/05/2012

Payroll Dates May Be Affected by Independence Day

Payrolls dated July 4 will be paid July 3 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 July 10.

Labor Day Is Next Federal Holiday

The next federal holiday will be Monday, September 3, 2012, Labor Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

Under recently enacted Illinois Public Act 097-0689, the Save Medicaid Access and Resources Together (SMART) Act, certain Illinois employers will be required to file wage reports on a monthly basis starting in 2013.

SMART Act Mandates Monthly Filing for Employers Required to File Electronically

The law states that:

For any month which begins on or after January 1, 2013, a report of the wages paid to each of an employer’s workers shall be due on or before the last day of the month next following the calendar month in which the wages were paid if the employer is required to report such wages electronically pursuant to the regulations of the Director; otherwise a report of the wages paid to each of the employer’s workers shall be due on or before the last day of the month next following the calendar quarter in which the wages were paid.

Vision Payroll Will File Monthly for Affected Illinois Clients

Vision Payroll has already made system adjustments to implement monthly filing for all impacted Illinois clients.

Monday, May 28, 2012 will be Memorial Day, a federal holiday. The offices of Vision Payroll will close Friday May 27 at 5 pm EDT and re-open Tuesday May 29. Most banks will also be closed in observance of the holiday.

Date Paid	Process Deadline
5/28/2012	5/23/2012
5/29/2012	5/24/2012
5/30/2012	5/25/2012

Payroll Dates May Be Affected by Memorial Day

Payrolls dated May 28 will be paid May 25 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 May 31.

Independence Day Is Next Federal Holiday

The next federal holiday will be Wednesday, July 4, 2012, celebration of Independence Day. Contact Vision Payroll as soon as possible to make changes to or for questions on your processing schedule.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending April 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 380,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 367,000. The 4-week moving average was 368,500, an increase of 4,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 364,250.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Remains Unchanged

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 % for the week ending March 31, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 31 was 3,251,000, a decrease of 98,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,349,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,334,250, a decrease of 35,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,370,000.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Doctor Robert J. Fallon, father of the president of Vision Payroll, Anne Leader and grandfather of Bob Leader and Dan Leader. He loved his wife Madeleine and was especially proud of the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. Dr. Fallon was a man loved and respected by many.

He made friends easily during his time serving our country in Japan after World War II, at the University of Pennsylvania, at the University of Montreal, and during his many years as a veterinarian in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. His warm personality was immediately apparent to all who met him. He could make friends in the checkout line at the grocery store, waiting for an open table at a restaurant, or playing tennis or golf, the latter of which he picked up later in life.

He left a trail of laughter wherever he went and loved and was loved by rich and poor, young and old, Red Sox fan and Yankees fan, (well, some anyway). He loved sports, especially baseball and his two favorite teams, the Boston Red Sox and the Florida Marlins. He enjoyed attending spring training games near his winter home in Vero Beach, Florida and never missed a game when the Red Sox or Marlins would visit. He was eagerly anticipating attending the first-ever opening day at Marlins Park.

His bright light has not been extinguished in the lives of those who knew and loved him. He is already missed and lovingly remembered by his family and many friends. We wish him a fond farewell; as Bob would say, “Go straight home now!”