Section 192-310-040. How should employers report hours worked? (RCW 50.12.070.)

This section defines the hours that employers must include on the quarterly tax and wage report.

(1) Vacation pay. Report the number of hours an employee is on paid leave. Do not report payments made in place of vacation time as hours worked.

(2) Sick leave pay. As provided in RCW 50.04.330(1), any payments made to an employee under a qualified plan for sickness or accident disability, insurance or annuities, medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability, death or retirement are not considered wages or compensation. Do not report these as hours or wages. For payments under a nonqualified plan, report both wages and hours.

(3) Overtime. Report the number of hours actually worked for which overtime pay or compensatory time is provided, without regard to the amount of wages or compensation paid.

(4) Commissioned or piecework employees. Report the actual number of hours worked by employees paid by commission or by piecework. If there are no reliable time keeping records, report a full-time commissioned or piecework employee for forty hours worked for each week in which any of their duties were performed.

(5) Wages in lieu of notice. When an employee is paid wages in lieu of notice of termination, report the actual number of hours for which they were paid. Wages in lieu of notice of termination pays the employee whose services have been terminated by the employer for the amount of wages they would have earned during the notice period.

(6) Employees on salary. If a salaried employee works other than the regular forty-hour week, report the actual number of hours worked. If there are no reliable time keeping records, report forty hours for each week in which a full-time salaried employee worked.

(7) Faculty employees. Faculty members of community and technical colleges must teach at least fifteen classroom or laboratory hours to be considered full-time. A teaching load of less than fifteen hours of instruction is considered part-time.

(a) If there is no reliable hourly information, report the hours of instruction as part-time based on fifteen credits as a full-time teaching load and thirty-five hours as full-time employment for a week. For example, an instructor teaches twelve credits per week. Twelve divided by fifteen equals eighty percent. Thirty-five hours times eighty percent equals twenty-eight hours. The employer should report the twenty-eight hours to the department on the employer's quarterly tax and wage report.

(b) Any part-time salaried instructor who does not establish a valid claim because of this formula may provide the department with evidence of hours worked that exceeds the hours reported by the employer.

(8) Severance pay. Do not report additional hours for severance pay. Report only the dollar amount paid to the employee. Severance pay is taxable because it is based on past service and compensates the employee upon job separation.

(9) Payment in kind. Report the actual hours worked for performing services which are compensated only by payment in kind.

(10) Bonuses, tips and other gratuities. Do not report additional hours for bonuses, tips or other gratuities if they are received by an employee who is working regular hours if bonuses, tips and gratuities are the only sources of compensation.

(11) Fractions of hours. If the employee's total number of hours for the quarter results in a fraction amount, round the total to the next higher whole number.

(12) Practice, preparation, and rehearsal time. If an employee who is part of a performing group is paid for a performance, but is also required by the employer to attend practice, preparation, and rehearsal on an organized group basis, report the hours spent in the required practice, preparation, and rehearsal as well as the performance.

(13) On-call and standby hours. Do not report hours if an employee is paid for a shift of on-call or standby hours in which the employee was not actually called in and did not perform services. If the employee was called in or performed services, report the hours actually worked. If the employer has no records of the number of hours actually worked, report the duration of the shift up to eight hours per day.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040. WSR 10-23-064, § 192-310-040, filed 11/12/10, effective 12/13/10; WSR 07-23-127, § 192-310-040, filed 11/21/07, effective 1/1/08. Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 50.12 RCW, RCW 50.12.070 and 50.04.330(1). WSR 99-20-141, § 192-310-040, filed 10/6/99, effective 11/6/99.]

RCW 50.12.010, 50.12.040. WSR 10-23-064, § 192-310-040, filed 11/12/10, effective 12/13/10; WSR 07-23-127, § 192-310-040, filed 11/21/07, effective 1/1/08. Statutory Authority: Chapters 34.05 and 50.12 RCW, RCW 50.12.070 and 50.04.330(1). WSR 99-20-141, § 192-310-040, filed 10/6/99, effective 11/6/99.