Integrity Payroll Services and Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Despite everything going on in the world in regards to COVID-19, the staff at Integrity Payroll Services is still committed to being the easy employment solution for your small business needs.
Below are some of the changes that may be impacting your business. Call us today to get more information on anything here or on anything you're hearing/reading about in the news!
How can I help my staff apply for unemployment?
Normally when an employee files for unemployment they are required to show that they are actively looking for work. MI Unemployment has created the Seeking Work Waiver for employers to complete so their temporarily laid off employees can file for unemployment and not have to show they are actively looking for work. The Waiver allows the employees to draw unemployment from Federal money and not have it affect the employers reserve fund or unemployment tax rate. At this time, employees are allowed to be laid off for 45 days, but then must return to work after that or show that they are actively looking for work.
If Integrity Payroll Services processes your payroll and you currently or will have employees file for unemployment, please let your payroll advisor know so they can submit the Seeking Work Waiver on your behalf. Once an employee files for unemployment, you will receive a Monetary Determination and Request for Information letter from State of MI UIA. It is important to look at the 2nd page of that letter to see whether your account is being charged or not. We have seen many letters already that say employers account is being charged because employees did not file correctly, or employers did not file the Seeking Work Waiver.
To make sure your account is not being charged, you should see the following on the 2nd page of your State of MI UIA letter. If the second bullet point is not on your letter, please let your payroll advisor know as soon as possible, otherwise your account and tax rate for next year WILL be affected.
Employer Charging Messages
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Total Potential Maximum Charge is the full amount charged to your account if the
claimant is paid the full weeks of benefits (no earnings/remuneration to reduce
any benefit payments and all weeks allowed are paid). -
Charges to your account are transferred to the Non-chargeable Benefit Account
(NBA) through 18-Apr-2020 because of Executive Order 2020-10 (COVID-19). -
Your account is not being charged effective March 22, 2020.
In order for the waiver to apply, employees filing for unemployment must use the same Last Date Worked and Back to Work Date as what the employer filed on the Seeking Work Waiver. This is important so that the employer’s reserve fund and unemployment tax rate are not affected. The Seeking Work Waiver will not let you put a Last Date Worked in the past, so time is of the essence.
What can you do to help your staff apply for Michigan Unemployment?
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Log into your MI WAM Account (Go Here and Click/Select "For Employers") or call your payroll provider--if we are your provider we are happy to help--give us a call or shoot us an email.
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Enter Today's Date for the Last Date Worked and 45 days from now as the Back To Work Date (note this may be way later than it actually will be, but it makes filing easier for both parties if the pandemic continues).
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Fill out the attached notice and provide it to your employees. Be sure to include Last Day Worked and Back to Work dates, along with all information below the line.
What do your employees need to do to apply for Michigan Unemployment?
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Verify Last Date Worked and Back To Work Date with employer (note this may be way later than it actually will be, but it makes filing easier for both parties if the pandemic continues).
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Obtain your employers UIA # and Federal ID Number.
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File for unemployment with the Seeking Work Waiver (Go Here and Click/Select "For Employees")
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Call MARVIN at 1-866-638-3993 to report if you are still out of work or if you are back.
Click here to see the original image above.
Employee Retention Credit
Refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50 percent of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021.
Employers, including tax-exempt organizations, are eligible for the credit if they operate a trade or business during calendar year 2020 and experience either:
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The full or partial suspension of the operation of their trade or business during any calendar quarter because of governmental orders limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings due to COVID-19, or
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A significant decline in gross receipts.
A significant decline in gross receipts begins:
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on the first day of the first calendar quarter of 2020
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for which an employer’s gross receipts are less than 50% of its gross receipts
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for the same calendar quarter in 2019.
Please note there is no double-dipping. This means:
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If an employer receives a Small Business Interruption Loan under the Paycheck Protection Program, then the employer is not eligible for the Employee Retention Credit.
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Wages for this credit do not include wages for which the employer received a tax credit for paid sick and family leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
More Information on the FFCRA Paid Leave Act
If your business is OPEN, below are the qualifying reasons for leave. If you have employees that qualify, please let your payroll advisor know which employee(s) and which number below they qualify for. We will also need other documentation for when we request the reimbursement.
Qualifying Reasons for Leave
Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for paid sick time if the employee is unable to work (or unable to telework) due to a need for leave because the employee:
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is subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19 (Michigan is NOT under a State quarantine. We are under a Stay at Home Mandate);
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has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19;
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is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
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is caring for an individual subject to an order described in (1) or self-quarantine as described in (2);
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is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19; or
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is experiencing any other substantially-similar condition specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury.
Under the FFCRA, an employee qualifies for expanded family leave if the employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed (or child care provider is unavailable) for reasons related to COVID-19.
Click here for more information on
the FFCRA Paid Leave Act.
Find out what's going on in the Tax World:
Click the image to go to www.integritytaxgroup.com/coronavirus
Find out what's going on in the Small Business World:
Click the image to go to www.accountingwithintegrity.com/coronavirus
