Vision Payroll

The Iowa Department of Human Services has amended Chapter 97, “Collection Services Center,” Iowa Administrative Code to require submission of child support payments by means of electronic funds transfer (EFT) no later than June 30, 2015, unless an exemption applies.

Phased-in Implementation Schedule for EFT

The schedule for implementation is based on the number of employees and is as follows:

• Employers with 1000 or more employees must be compliant by December 31, 2011,
• Employers with 500 or more employees must be compliant by December 31, 2012,
• Employers with 200 or more employees must be compliant by December 31, 2013,
• Employers with 100 or more employees with an agent for payroll processing must be compliant by December 31, 2013.

Contact Vision Payroll for Further Information

Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions, including areas such as waiver requests and the alternative use of a secure website.

Governor Deval Patrick recently signed legislation that will provide immediate relief to Massachusetts’ businesses by freezing employer contributions to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund at current levels. This new law prevents a scheduled rate hike from taking effect, helping to save businesses $402 million this year. Although the legislation freezes the rate schedule for 2011, individual employer’s rates may increase or decrease from 2010. The rate change is determined by the change in the employer’s Experience Rating.

Legislation Said to Position State for Continued Economic Recovery

“Without this legislation employers would have seen an average increase of $228 per employee,” said Governor Patrick. “We want to encourage a positive climate for employers and by signing this bill we are helping to position the state for continued economic recovery.”

Employer Contributions Tied to Trust Fund Levels

Employer contributions into the UI Trust Fund are tied to the amount of reserves in the trust fund. By law, a scheduled increase was triggered on January 1, 2011, which would have caused an increase in the average contribution per employee of $228 for 2011. In order to reduce costs for Massachusetts businesses, Governor Patrick and the Legislature agreed to freeze the contribution at a lower rate schedule (Schedule E). This measure will not impact benefit levels or eligibility for persons currently collecting unemployment benefits.

Notice of Employer’s Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rate for 2011 to Be Released

Now that the legislation has been passed, the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is expected to release through QUEST the Notice of Employer’s Unemployment Insurance Contribution Rate for 2011. This notice contains information on each employer’s contribution rates, including the following:

• Unemployment Insurance (UI) Rate,
• Universal Health Insurance (UHI) Rate,
• Workforce Training Fund (WTF) Rate, and
• Experience Rating

Contact Vision Payroll for Further Information

Contact Vision Payroll for further information on the unemployment tax rate schedule in Massachusetts for 2011.

The Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has released the UHI contribution rates for 2011. According to MGL c. 151A, §14G(f):

There shall be a rate review board composed of the commissioner of medical assistance or his designee, the deputy director of employment and training or his designee and the commissioner of insurance or his designee. The rate review board shall determine if the unemployment health insurance contribution rate and the unemployment health insurance contribution wage base established in this section shall be adequate to provide for the estimated costs for the subsequent year of unemployment health insurance programs established pursuant to subsection (j) provided by said division of employment and training. If in the opinion of said board the unemployment health insurance contribution wage base or the unemployment health insurance contribution rate as established above would be inadequate to properly fund the unemployment health insurance program, said rate of health insurance inflation or the unemployment health insurance contribution rate shall be appropriately adjusted in order to properly fund said unemployment health insurance program.

On or before November 30 of each year, the deputy director of employment and training shall certify to said board the estimated costs for the subsequent year of health insurance programs provided by the division of employment and training for individuals and their families who are eligible for the health insurance program established by subsection (j) for individuals receiving unemployment insurance compensation. Such estimated costs shall be exclusive of amounts to be covered by premiums, co-payments, deductibles and co-insurance to be paid by covered individuals and any anticipated appropriations. The rate review board shall further adjust such estimated costs to reflect prudent levels of reserves sufficient to carry out the responsibilities of the division of employment and training for said unemployment health insurance program. If in the opinion of said board the rate of health insurance inflation on the unemployment health insurance contribution wage base as established or calculated above would be inadequate to properly fund said unemployment health insurance program, said rate of health insurance inflation or the unemployment health insurance contribution rate shall be appropriately adjusted in order to properly fund said health insurance programs.

2011 Rates to Increase for Most Employers

According to the DUA, for 2011 rates will be as follows:

The health insurance contribution rate is a flat rate of 0.36% for calendar year 2011 for all subject employers—except for those meeting the exempt or reduced rate criteria. (Employers operating within two calendar years following the “newly subject” status pay at rates of 0.04% and 0.08%, respectively.)

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the 2011 UHI contribution rates.

According to statistics released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in January 2011, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 20.1. By comparison, the percentage of persons with no disability in the labor force was 69.5.

Table A-6 Provides Further Details on Employment Levels by Disability Status

Table A-6 shows further details on employment status of the civilian population by sex, age, and disability status, not seasonally adjusted.

Definition of a Person with a Disability

In compiling the data, the BLS defines a person with a disability as a person having at least one of the following conditions: is deaf or has serious difficulty hearing; is blind or has serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; has serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; has serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs; has difficulty dressing or bathing; or has difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition.

Updated Population Controls Introduced

The BLS introduces updated population controls annually with the release of the January data.

Visit VisionPayroll.com Monthly for Updated Disability Employment Statistics

Each month, Vision Payroll will provide updates disability employment statistics as they become available.

This week’s question comes from Jennifer, an office manager. One of the users in our company tried to login using the new multi-factor authentication and received an error message. Why did an employee receive an error message trying to logon to VisionPayroll.com? Answer: Error messages are generated for a variety of situations. Below is a list of error codes that explain the errors and the steps needed to resolve them:

Error Code/Message	Description	Resolution
600	Inactive User	Instruct employee to click on “Create an account now” to set up a login.
610	Locked Out User	Payroll Administrator should reset lock out and employee can then change forgotten password by using the Forgot Password link.
620	User Access Denied	Payroll Administrator should contact Vision Payroll.
700	User locked out for failing to answer Challenge Questions correctly	Payroll Administrator should contact Vision Payroll.
800	User locked out for failing to correctly enter password	Payroll Administrator should reset lock out and employee can then change forgotten password by using the Forgot Password link.
900	User Not Found	Instruct employee to click on “Create an account now” to set up a login.
910	Inactive User	Instruct employee to click on “Create an account now” to set up a login.
920	Locked Out User	Payroll Administrator should reset lock out and employee can then change forgotten password by using the Forgot Password link.
eFraud Network Match	eFraud Network Match	Payroll Administrator should contact Vision Payroll.

Contact Vision Payroll for Further Assistance with Logon Errors

Contact Vision Payroll if you cannot resolve your errors using the above table.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending February 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 410,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 385,000. The 4-week moving average was 417,750, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 416,000.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Rate Remains Unchanged

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.1% for the week ending February 5, unchanged from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.1%.

Advance Seasonally Adjusted Insured Unemployment Decreases

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending February 5 was 3,911,000, an increase of 1,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,910,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,941,500, an increase of 3,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 3,938,000.

Effective February 17, 2011, Vision Payroll will partner with RSA, the Security Division of EMC, to bring multi-factor authentication to its Online Employer portal.

Authenticated Device Will Be Required to Sign-on

In addition to a username and password, users will now also be required to confirm an authentication image and phrase in order to sign-on.

Enrollment Is a Four-Step Process

Users will be required to complete a four-step enrollment process the first time signing on after multi-factor authentication is implemented. The four required steps are:

1. Select a personal image and message.
2. Select and answer secret questions.
3. Review account information.
4. Review enrollment data and submit.

Contact Vision Payroll for Assistance

Contact Vision Payroll if you need assistance with multi-factor authentication.

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire recently signed Engrossed House Bill 1091 and Senate Bill 5135 into law. As a result, most employers will have their rates reduced from the already announced 2011 employer tax rates.

Washington Employment Security Department Releases Fact Sheet

According to a fact sheet released by the Washington Employment Security Department (ESD):

Tax rates for 2011 will be reduced for 90 percent of Washington employers. In fact, about half of them will pay lower rates than in 2010. The reduction will save employers $300 million in 2011, with a total savings of about $360 million from 2011 through 2017.

Going into 2011, unemployment tax rates were projected to increase by an average of 36 percent due to widespread layoffs during the recession. Even employers with few or no layoffs faced high increases because the shared (social) costs of the insurance system had increased substantially. Meanwhile, Washington’s unemployment trust fund has remained among the healthiest in the country. This provided a unique opportunity to provide tax relief to employers without jeopardizing the benefits fund.

The new law caps the social-cost component of the unemployment tax and lowers the multipliers that set the social-cost tax rate for rate classes 1-20 (rate classes 21-40 were unchanged). [ESD] will send revised tax-rate notices to affected businesses in March.

Vision Payroll Will Use Revised Rates in First Quarter Returns

Once issued by the ESD, Vision Payroll will adjust the rates for its clients in Washington to reflect the revised rates.

Due to the increase in the Illinois individual income tax rate from 3% to 5%, the Illinois Department of Revenue has released an updated Booklet IL-700-T, Illinois Withholding Tax Tables.

New Rate Effective January 1, 2011

Because the increase is retroactive to January 1, 2011, the new rate applies immediately to the following types of income:

• Employee compensation (i.e., wages and salaries) paid in Illinois,
• Unemployment paid to an Illinois resident who has asked to have Illinois taxes withheld, and
• Gambling or lottery winnings in Illinois paid to an Illinois resident.

Automated Payroll Method Formula

For payers who use an automated payroll method to calculate their withholdings, an updated formula is provided to calculate the revised withholding amounts.

Vision Payroll Has Implemented New Withholding Tables

Vision Payroll has already updated its tax tables and will calculate the increased Illinois income tax withholding for all remaining 2011 paychecks.

The New York Department of Labor has announced the taxable wage base for 2011. The wage base will remain at $8,500 for 2011.

Employer Rates for 2011 Announced

Employer rates will go from a low of 1.5% to a high of 9.9%. The new employer rate is 4.1% for 2011. All these rates include the 0.075% re-employment tax.

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 New York unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.