Vision Payroll

The Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (DOS) issues prevailing wage schedules to cities, towns, counties, districts, authorities, and agencies of the Commonwealth for construction projects and several other types of public work. These prevailing wage schedules contain hourly wage rates that workers must receive when working on a public project.

The DOS regularly issues Prevailing Wage Opinion Letters and recently released PW-2010-09-07.20.10. This letter confirms “the job classification under the Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Law for workers who repair and replace components of source capture vehicle exhaust systems in public works projects at various fire stations.” The following categories of tasks were at issue:

1. The workers repair and replace “nozzles” and “pneumatic grabbers” which provide an airtight connection between the system and the vehicle exhaust pipe.
2. The workers repair and replace “airlines” which are housed inside the “system exhaust hose.” The “airlines” are connected to the grabber and facilities the air-tight fit, as well as facilitate the extraction of the exhaust fumes from the building via the system.
3. The workers repair and replace “upper exhaust hoses” and “lower exhaust hoses” on the system, which house the inner airlines, and connect the pneumatic grabber to the system duct work.
4. The workers repair and replace “uncoupling valves” and “quick release fittings” on the system, which facilitates the disconnection of the system from the vehicle, when the vehicle exits the fire station.
5. The workers repair and replace the “regulator”, which regulates the air flow.
6. The workers repair and replace the “balancer”, which keeps the hose elevated above the floor.
7. The workers repair and replace “shut off valves”, “pressure switch”, “compressors”, “pressure sensors”, “chrome elbows”, “five horse power motors”, safety disconnect mechanisms, “back draft dampers”, “drain cocks”, and various other components.
8. The workers repair and replace sheet metal duct work and/or fittings.

The DOS concluded that “the repair and replacement of components of source capture vehicle exhaust systems work, as described herein, is paid at the rate for ‘Sheet metal worker’ as indicated on the rate sheet”.

Vision Payroll is ready to assist employers in gathering information for certified weekly payroll reports. Vision Payroll can also prepare the certified weekly payroll reports for submission to the proper authorities. Contact Vision Payroll today to get started.

Due to the severe storms, flooding, and mudslides in Kentucky beginning July 17, 2010, President Barack Obama declared the following counties a federal disaster area: Carter, Lewis, Madison, Mason, Pike, and Rowan. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced recently that it will waive failure to deposit penalties for employment and excise taxes due after July 16, 2010 and before August 3, 2010 as long as the deposits are made by August 2, 2010. In addition, affected taxpayers will have until September 15, 2010 to file most tax returns. Contact Vision Payroll if you were affected by the severe storms, flooding, and mudslides and need further information on the relief provided by the IRS.

The Commonwealth of Virginia announced new electronic filing requirements, beginning January 1, 2011. The changes reduce the number of employee statements that may be filed on paper and the method by which taxpayers may file.

Legislation effective January 1, 2011 requires employers who furnish 150 or more employee withholding statements for calendar year 2010 to file their W-2 statements electronically. Employers with less than 150 employee W-2s may continue to file these on paper; however, we encourage you to file electronically also. In addition, the Department of Taxation (TAX) will no longer support the Magnetic Media method of filing W-2s for tape as of October 1, 2010, and for CD and diskette as of January 1, 2011.

Employers required to file W-2s electronically and those with less than 150 employees that choose to file their W-2s electronically must use Web Upload to submit W-2 information to TAX.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the new requirements.

The Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (DOS) issues prevailing wage schedules to cities, towns, counties, districts, authorities, and agencies of the Commonwealth for construction projects and several other types of public work. These prevailing wage schedules contain hourly wage rates that workers must receive when working on a public project.

The DOS regularly issues Prevailing Wage Opinion Letters and from time to time updates the related Topical Outline of Massachusetts Prevailing Wage Law. Information is available on many topics related to prevailing wage, including certified weekly payroll reports. In addition to discussion on the various topics, references are included to opinion letters that explain the topic in further detail.

Vision Payroll is ready to assist employers in gathering information for certified weekly payroll reports. Vision Payroll can also prepare the certified weekly payroll reports for submission to the proper authorities. Contact Vision Payroll today to get started.

This week’s question comes from Matthew, a business owner. I read that we need to cover employees for unemployment purposes based on “Localization of Services”. What is Localization of Services? Answer: The general rule for employees who work in more than one state is that employees should be covered by only one state to prevent employers from paying tax in two or more states for the same employee. To determine which state, employers should look at four factors, in the following order:

1. Localization of Services
2. Base of Operations
3. Place of Direction or Control
4. Place of Residence

The employee is covered by the state under which that employee first qualifies using these factors. For example, if an employee is determined to be covered by a state under the Localization of Services test, the results of the remaining tests are irrelevant. Only if a determination cannot be made under the Localization of Services test does the employer consider the Base of Operations.

For the Localization of Services test, first determine if the employee performs all services entirely in one state. If yes, that state is the state where the employee will be covered. If not, determine if the services performed out of any state where the employee works are incidental (e.g., temporary or transitory) to the services performed in that state. If yes, that state is the state where the employee will be covered. If not, go to the Base of Operations test.

Contact Vision Payroll if you have further questions.

According to the US Department of Labor, in the week ending July 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 464,000, an increase of 37,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 427,000. The 4-week moving average was 456,000, an increase of 1,250 from the previous week’s revised average of 454,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5% for the week ending July 10, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.7%.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 10 was 4,487,000, a decrease of 223,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 4,710,000. The 4-week moving average was 4,567,000, a decrease of 21,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,588,500.

The fiscal year-to-date average of seasonally adjusted weekly insured unemployment, which corresponds to the appropriated AWIU trigger, was 5.046 million.

While many employers have implemented English-only workplace policies, employers need to apply their rules appropriately in ways that avoid unfair discrimination claims.

Tennessee has enacted a new state law authorizing employers to impose an English-only workplace policy as long as it’s justified by a legitimate business purpose. The statute says that such a policy is not discriminatory under Tennessee law. Federal courts and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have found such policies to be unlawfully discriminatory on the federal level. There are some situations in which the EEOC has said that business necessity justifies an English-only policy.

To learn more about these situations, which businesses are impacted, and steps employers should take before implementing an English-only policy, be sure to listen to English Language in the Workplace 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 haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

The New Hampshire Department of Employment Security has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2011. The wage base will increase from $10,000 for 2010 to $12,000 for 2011. The taxable wage base will also increase to $14,000 for 2012. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on New Hampshire unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley recently announced a settlement with FedEx Ground over claims that FedEx Ground misclassified drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. As a result, it was alleged that FedEx Ground underpaid payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and unemployment assistance.

“We have made enforcement against employer misclassification a priority because employers who misclassify workers are gaining an unfair advantage over their competitors and unfairly depriving the Commonwealth of tax and other revenues,” AG Coakley said. “With today’s agreement, we have recovered $3 million owed to taxpayers and taken a step to level the playing field for businesses. I want to thank Governor Patrick and his Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Revenue for assisting in the investigation and resolution of this matter.”

In 2007, the Attorney General’s Office cited FedEx Ground for violation of the Independent Contractor Law, by misclassifying its drivers, failing to provide a proper paystub, failing to provide workers’ compensation, not paying overtime to certain drivers, and neglecting to deduct and withhold state income taxes. FedEx Ground appealed the matter to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA). The Attorney General’s Office citations against Fed Ex Ground included penalties of more than $190,000.

While FedEx Ground’s appeal was pending before DALA, the Attorney General’s Office coordinated further investigation with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Revenue into FedEx Ground’s business practices. The joint investigation revealed that FedEx Ground’s misclassification of employees had resulted in significant underpayments to the Department of Revenue, Division of Industrial Accidents and Department of Unemployment Assistance.

The settlement amount includes these significant underpayments. The settlement also provides for a payment for the 13 drivers named in the Attorney General’s citation. FedEx Ground drivers in Massachusetts have brought their own lawsuit against FedEx Ground that remains pending and is not affected by this settlement. FedEx Ground denies liability in the settlement.

Massachusetts uses a three-factor test to determine if service providers should be considered employees or independent contractors. Due to increased enforcement and significant penalties for misclassification, Vision Payroll strongly recommends employers consult with a competent labor law attorney to help determine status of workers as employees or independent contractors.

The Washington Employment Security Department has announced an increase in the taxable wage base for 2011. The wage base will increase from $36,800 for 2010 to $37,300 for 2011. Contact Vision Payroll if you have any questions on the Washington unemployment taxable wage base or visit our Unemployment Taxable Wage Base page.