CALIFORNIA – State Disability Insurance Taxable Wage Base being Eliminated in 2024
California Employment Development Department (EDD) announced the State Disability Insurance (SDI) taxable wage base is being eliminated effective in tax year 2024. All employment income will be subject to the SDI tax. SDI is an employee paid payroll tax. For more information on Senate Bill 951 and the other changes to the Disability Insurance program, please visit https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB951.
FLORIDA – Additional Counties Added to DUA Programs
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is available to Florida businesses and residents in FEMA disaster-declared counties including Brevard, Hendry, Monroe, Okeechobee, and Palm Beach, whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a direct result of Hurricane Ian and are not eligible for regular state or Federal Reemployment Assistance benefits. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is accepting applications for DUA from residents and businesses in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia.
WASHINGTON – Health Care Workers May Qualify for Benefits During Public Health Emergencies
Washington recently adopted rules that would make health care workers eligible for unemployment during a public health emergency. Specifically, a health care worker is considered to be available for work while isolated or under quarantine as directed by a medical professional, local health official, or Secretary of Health if the individual will be available to work after their isolation or quarantine ends or if the individual can perform work from home. This ruling only applies to individuals who are directly involved in the delivery of health services at a health care facility.
WISCONSIN– 2023 Tax Rates Will Remain at the Lowest Rate Schedule
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development announced that the 2023 unemployment tax rates will be assigned using the lowest rate schedule, Schedule D, for 2023. This schedule has been in effect in WI since 2018 and the taxable wage base will remain at $14,000 for 2023. The new employer rates for 2023 will remain unchanged for non-construction employers (3.05% for employers with $500,000 or less in taxable payroll or 3.25% for large employers with over $500,000 in taxable payroll). The construction new employer rate will increase slightly to 2.9% for small employers and 3.10% for large employers.
WISCONSIN – Fast Forward Grants Available to Employers to Train Unemployed, Underemployed, and Existing Workers
Wisconsin employers can apply for a Fast Forward Program grant to help provide customized training to fill open positions with employers who have a critical need for skilled workers. The deadline to apply for the last round of funding is 3 p.m. CST on Wednesday, November 16. For more information on the program and to learn if your business may qualify, please visit Wisconsin Fast Forward Program.
2023 Social Security Changes
The Social Security Administration issued a Cost-of-Living Adjustment announcement this past week. Social Security beneficiaries will see an 8.7% increase starting with the benefits for December 2022, which is paid in January 2023. The wage base, subject to taxation under FICA and SECA is increasing to $160,200, $13,200 higher than 2022.
• The employee/employer Social Security tax rate remains at 7.65% for 2023, including 6.2% for the OASDI portion and 1.45% for the hospital insurance portion.
• For the self-employed, the rate continues to be 15.3%.
• For 2023, there is a $200 increase in the amount of wages a domestic worker may earn without being subject to FICA taxes.
• Workers who attain age 65 in 2023 will have to wait to retire if they wish to receive their full retirement benefit. A gradual rise in the full retirement age began in 2000 resulting from the 1983 amendments to the Social Security Act, which increased the full retirement age from age 65 to age 67
