TAX UPDATES
MISSOURI – TAXABLE WAGE BASE DECREASES WHILE TAX RATES REMAIN THE SAME
In Missouri, the taxable wage base can be increased by $1,000 or decreased by $500 for any year, depending on the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. In 2025, the taxable wage base will decrease for the third straight year – decreasing from $10,000 to $9,500.
Meanwhile, Missouri tax rates will remain the same in 2025. For new tax paying employers, tax rates will remain at 2.376% while nonprofit employers’ tax rates will remain at 1.00%.
DISASTER RESPONSE
GEORGIA – DUA BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO ADDITIONAL COUNTIES
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is available to individuals who were affected by Hurricane Helene that recently impacted Georgia. McIntosh County was recently added to the DUA declaration.
Benefits may also be available to individuals who live or work in any of the following counties originally included in the declaration: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Bryan, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Camden, Candler, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Colquitt, Columbia, Cook, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Elbert, Emanuel, Evans, Fulton, Glascock, Glynn, Hancock, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lanier, Laurens, Liberty, Lincoln, Long, Lowndes, McDuffie, McIntosh, Montgomery, Newton, Pierce, Rabun, Richmond, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Tift, Thomas, Toombs, Treutlen, Ware, Warren, Washington, Wayne, and Wheeler.
Individuals are encouraged to apply online at dol.georgia.gov. Applications may also be filed in person at any GDOL career center, if necessary. The application deadline for impacted individuals for McIntosh County, along with Bryan, Butts, Camden, Charlton, Dodge, Glynn, Hancock, Long, Newton, Thomas, Warren, and Wayne counties is December 6, while the deadline remains December 2 for all other impacted areas.
LOOKING AHEAD – 2025
DELAWARE – PAID LEAVE IS COMING TO DELAWARE
Delaware has begun to implement a Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (Delaware Paid Leave) with important dates in the upcoming months. In September 2024, the Delaware Department of Labor opened access for account set up in Delaware LaborFirst, the system through which employers will manage the Delaware Paid Leave. Registration is available through December 1, 2024. Once registered, required employers are automatically enrolled.
Beginning January 1, 2025, payroll deductions will begin for employers who have elected employee contributions to the program. For 2025 and 2026, the required contributions total 0.80% of an employee’s annual wages, including Parental Leave (.32%), Medical Leave (.40%), and Family Caregiver/Qualified Exigency Leave (.08%). Employers may require employees to contribute up to 50% of the total amount due.
April 30, 2025, marks the first due date for PFML contributions. Then, beginning January 1, 2026, employees can begin to submit claim applications for payments. To be eligible for benefits, employees may have been employed for at least one year and worked at least 1,250 hours with a single employer. If approved, employees will receive up to 80% of their wages (or $900 per week) to cover the care of a new child, care of a family member with a serious health condition, address a personal serious health condition/injury, or assist while loved ones are on overseas military deployment. Employees are limited to a maximum of 12 weeks of combined leave per year.
MASSACHUSETTS – HB 4890 ADDS PAY DATA REPORT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENT
House Bill 4890, otherwise known as the Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act, will add several additional requirements for Massachusetts employers when it goes into effect.
Employers with more than 100 employees who are already subject to EEO-1 filing will now be required to submit annual pay data reports to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. EEO-3 and EEO-5 employers will be required to submit these reports in odd-numbered years, while EEO-4 employers will be required to submit reports in even-numbered years. Reports must include pay data by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category and must be submitted by February 1 of each year. The new requirements will go into effect on February 1, 2025 for EEO-1, EEO-3, and EEO-5 employers and February 1, 2026 for EEO-4 employers. A copy of the employer’s federal EEO report will satisfy this requirement.
Furthermore, the HB 4890 will introduce pay transparency in the state, requiring employers with more than 25 employees to include a pay range in all job postings. This portion of the bill is effective July 31, 2025.
TENNESSEE – MODERNIZATION PHASE TWO INFORMATION
The Tennessee Department of Labor has announced information associated with the second phase of their UI system modernization, scheduled to roll out around Memorial Day Weekend 2025. This phase will work to integrate UI tax into the Jobs4TN website to create a fully integrated system, including tax rate information, registrations, transfers, protests, etc. associated with UI tax.
This integration will include several key changes of which employers should be aware:
- Employer account numbers will move from 8 digits to 10 digits. Please note, this will impact ACH Credit payments and all electronic uploading filing options.
- Paper applications will no longer be accepted (unless granted a waiver by law). This change will go into effect approximately one month prior to system rollout with specific dates and additional details to be communicated in the future.
- “Applied for” accounts will no longer be accepted when filing. Accounts will need to be established prior to filing a report.
As a reminder, these changes will be implemented in 2025 and do not impact any filings that occur in 2024 or 2025 prior to the changes. Additional information will be shared as details are finalized by the state.
