Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
(1) Examples of
wages reportable to the department for premium assessment purposes include, but
are not limited to:
(a) Salary or hourly
wages;
(b) Cash value of goods or
services given in the place of money;
(c) Commissions or piecework;
(d) Bonuses;
(e) Cash value of gifts or prizes;
(f) Cash value of meals and lodging when
given as compensation;
(g) Holiday
pay;
(h) Paid time off, including
vacation leave and sick leave, as well as associated cash outs, unless these
wages are considered supplemental benefit payments provided by the
employer;
(i) Separation pay
including, but not limited to, severance pay, termination pay, and wages in
lieu of notice;
(j) Value of stocks
at the time of transfer to the employee if given as part of a compensation
package;
(k) Compensation for use
of specialty equipment, performance of special duties, or working particular
shifts; and
(l) Stipends/per diems
unless provided to cover a past or future cost incurred by the employee as a
result of the performance of the employee's expected job functions.
(2) Examples of what the
department will not consider wages include, but are not limited to:
(a) A payment from an employer benefit that
is not part of the employee's standard compensation.
Example: While on paid medical leave, an
employee receives sixty-one percent of the employee's typical weekly wage from
the state. Through an internal short-term disability benefit, the employer pays
the employee the remaining thirty-nine percent of the employee's typical weekly
wage as a supplemental benefit payment, bringing the employee's total benefit
to one hundred percent of the employee's typical weekly wage. Since this
supplemental benefit payment is not part of the employee's standard
compensation, it is not considered a wage, and should not be reported on either
the employee's weekly claim or the employer's quarterly report.
(b) Any payment made to an
employee to cover a past or future cost incurred by the employee related to the
performance of the employee's expected job functions. Such costs include, but
are not limited to, costs of meals and travel.
Example: An employer pays a per diem to an
employee on a business trip to cover the cost of local travel and meals. This
amount is not considered a wage, even if the per diem exceeds the actual cost
incurred.
(c) The amount of
any payment made (including any amount paid by an employer for insurance or
annuities, or into a fund to provide for any such payment) to, or on behalf of,
an individual or the individual's dependents under a plan or system established
by an employer which makes provision generally for individuals performing
service for the employer (or for such individuals generally and their
dependents) or for a class or classes of such individuals (or for a class or
classes of such individuals and their dependents) on account of:
(i) Retirement;
(ii) Short-term or long-term
disability;
(iii) Medical or
hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability;
or
(iv) Death.
