Reporting wages of a worker to the proper state

This screen contains information showing to which state an employer should report a worker.

Localized Workers

An individual who performs all of his or her work within Missouri for an employer is a localized Missouri worker. Wages paid to localized workers must be reported to the state where the individual works, regardless of where the worker lives. Localized Missouri work could include occasional temporary work outside of the state that is incidental to an individual's regular work in Missouri.

Multi-State Workers

An individual whose services are not localized in any one state is referred to as a multi-state worker. Missouri law (RSMo., Section 288.034.2) sets up a three-part test to determine to which state a multi-state worker should be reported. The parts of the test are to be applied in order, and if a worker satisfies any part of the test, no subsequent parts should be applied. A multi-state worker is reportable to Missouri if:

1. The worker's base of operations is in Missouri.

   Example:   A truck driver performs significant service for her employer in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Nebraska. She departs from and returns to a terminal in Missouri. Because her base of operations is in a state in which she performs some service, her wages are reportable to Missouri.

2. The person had no fixed base of operations in any state where services are performed, but the employer directed and controlled the person's services from Missouri.

   Example:   A construction worker is employed by a company that does work in several states. The company's headquarters is in Missouri. The worker performs significant services in Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee and Iowa. Because his base of operations moves from state to state (the construction sites), and he performs some service in the state which contains the point of direction and control (the headquarters), his wages are reportable to Missouri, the state which contains the point of direction and control.

3. The person lived in Missouri and performed some services in Missouri, and the state of coverage cannot be determined by either of the first two tests.

   Example:   A salesman employed by an Oklahoma company lives in Missouri. His territory covers Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas. He receives instructions and is directed and controlled from the Oklahoma office but performs no service in Oklahoma. Because he performs no service in the state where his base of operations and his point of direction and control are located, and he performs some service in the state which contains his residence, his wages are reportable to Missouri, the state in which he resides.

A base of operations is a fixed place where a person receives work instructions, makes reports and normally departs to begin a tour of duty and returns when the tour is ended. It could be a worker's home or an employer's place of business where a worker reports with some regularity. It is not the place from where an employer directs, controls and generally transmits instruction and information to a worker by mail or telephone. Some multi-state workers have no fixed base of operations.

All states subscribe to these same tests to determine the correct state of coverage for a multi-state worker.

Interstate Reciprocal Coverage Arrangement

When an employee's service is not localized in any one state and none of the above tests for multi-state workers apply, an employer can usually elect to cover the entire service of the worker in:

• Any state in which the person works;
• Any state in which the employer maintains a place of business; or,
• The state in which a worker lives.

The election must be filed with the state unemployment insurance agency to which the employer wants to report wages. Elections must be approved by all interested state agencies. Most states can enter into the Interstate Reciprocal Coverage Arrangement. Application forms are available for employers wishing to elect to cover services of multi-state workers with the Missouri Division of Employment Security.

Maritime Interstate Reciprocal Agreement

The purpose of the Maritime Agreement is to establish that services of officers and members of a vessel's crew engaged in interstate operations are covered for unemployment insurance purposes and to identify the state which will assume jurisdiction over such services.

The state of coverage in regard to maritime service performed by officers and crew on a vessel operated by an employer is the state in which the employer maintains the operating office from which the operations of the vessel are ordinarily supervised, managed and controlled. The state which assumes jurisdiction for coverage collects contributions and is responsible for payment of benefits.

Foreign Services

Services performed outside the United States (except Canada) by a citizen of the United States for an American employer would be covered under the Missouri Employment Security Law if:

• The employer's principal place of business in the United States is located in Missouri; or
• The employer has no place of business in the United States, but
  • The employer is an individual who is a resident of Missouri; or
  • The employer is a corporation which is organized under the laws of Missouri; or
  • The employer is a partnership or trust and the number of partners or trustees who are residents of Missouri is greater than the number who are residents of any other state; or
  • The employer has elected coverage of the foreign workers in Missouri and none of the above criteria is met.