Recent updates
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DRS Reporting Notices
Updated onArticlePeriodically, the WA state DRS issues notices to help employers with reporting wages and hours. Here is the link to those notices: https://www.drs.wa.gov/employer/news/ There is an email subscription field on that page to sign up for these notices via email.
Oregon State DRS notices can be seen here: https://www.oregon.gov/pers/pages/index.aspx
The latest WA state DRS notice is shown below:
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DRS Notice 23-019, Roth Option Now Available in DCP
Posted on October 20, 2023
DRS Notice 23-019
Date: October 20, 2023
Applies to: All DCP Employers
Subject: DRS Notice 23-019, Roth Option Now Available in DCP
Roth is now live for all Deferred Compensation Program (DCP) customers. You could start seeing Roth deferral changes for your employees on your deferral change report soon.
How do employees add Roth?
Current DCP participants can now elect the Roth option within DCP by logging into their account or by calling Voya at 888-327-5596.
If an employee is not yet enrolled in DCP, they can sign up with this form. The DCP enrollment form has been updated with the new option.
Employer Resources
These resources are available to help you prepare for the Roth option:
Prior Roth notices
- DRS Notice 23-0012, Reporting Training Available for DCP Roth, released Sept. 7, 2023
- DRS Notice 23-007, Preparing for October DCP Roth Option, released July 6, 2023
- DRS Notice 23-003, Roth Update for DCP Employers, released Feb. 3, 2023
- DRS Notice 22-004, New Roth 457 option coming to DCP, released April 7, 2022
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DRS Notice 23-018, Holiday Leave Banks
This notice is provided to clarify the rules for reporting data to DRS regarding holiday leave banks.
Certain employees whose duties entail providing essential or emergency services (such as firefighters, police officers, correctional officers, 911 dispatchers, etc.) are often required to work on recognized holidays. Some employers create holiday leave banks for these employees and if an employee works the holiday, it is considered a regular workday. Later, the employee may use hours from the holiday leave bank to take a day off and/or cash out all or some of the hours in the future.
First, we will answer some FAQs (frequently asked questions) on this topic; then, we will present scenarios based on an example of a holiday leave for 10 standard state holidays, plus a federal holiday (Christmas Eve).
FAQs
What are recognized holidays for purposes of this email notice?
- Holidays recognized by either the State of Washington, the federal government, or formalized by an organization; and tied to a specific date.
- If an employer utilizes a holiday leave bank; the employer must identify the recognized holidays associated with the hours that are added to the holiday leave bank.
Are personal or floating holidays considered recognized holidays for purposes of holiday leave bank cash outs?
No. Personal or floating holidays are not tied to a specific date and are not considered recognized holidays for the purposes of holiday leave bank cash outs.
Is a cash out of a personal or floating holiday treated the same way as a cash out of holiday leave?
- A cash out of a personal or floating holiday is considered a cash out of leave and is not reportable for most DRS plans (leave cash outs are reportable only for certain TRS 1 and PERS 1 members).
- A cash out of a recognized holiday from a holiday leave bank is considered overtime.
If employees are allowed to cash out hours from a holiday leave bank; do not include non-recognized holidays in the holiday leave bank. Don’t combine these different types of leave into the same bank because each type of leave must be treated differently if cashed out.
How are holiday leave bank hours used as leave different than holiday leave bank hours cashed out?
- Used as leave: If hours from the bank are used as leave, report the hours used and compensation earned to DRS just as you would for any other leave used, such as vacation or sick leave.
- Cashed out: When an employee receives an additional payment because he or she works on a recognized holiday, the payment is considered overtime. Therefore, if an employee cashes out hours from the holiday leave bank, treat it as a deferred payment of overtime and report it as regular earnings using status code A. Report no service (hours) because you should have already reported the hours when the employee worked the holiday(s).
Are cash outs of a holiday leave bank considered reportable compensation?
Cash outs for recognized holidays are considered overtime; therefore, it depends upon whether overtime is considered reportable compensation for the employee’s retirement system/plan. Overtime is considered reportable compensation for members of:
- LEOFF Plan 2 WAC 415-104-370
- All PERS Plans RCW 41.40.10(8)
- PSERS Plan 2 WAC 415-106-220
How should employers report cash outs from a holiday leave bank (for hours related to recognized holidays)?
Report compensation only with an “A” code in the month of the associated holiday. Examples to follow.
Sample Holiday Leave Bank and Scenarios
This sample holiday leave bank is for 10-hour shift workers who work Monday - Thursday. At the beginning of the year, the workers are credited with 10 hours per holiday for the following 11 holidays for a total of 110 hours in the holiday leave bank. The employer offers the option of cashing out unused holiday leave bank hours in December of each year.
Payroll Payroll Maintenance Maintenance
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How Do I Create PFML & Long Term Care Reports?
Updated onArticle*** Please note: If the basis for LTC is different than the PFML basis, one of 2 things happened. ***
1. Was Long Term Care deducted from employee's paychecks starting July 1st, regardless of when the hours were actually worked? If there was no deduction the first payroll of July, this will cause the long term care basis to be different than PFML. The district or city or town is responsible for what wasn't deducted from employee's paychecks.
2. Maybe PFML has a custom earning item basis that's different than LTC's earning item basis. In the payroll setup, under benefits and deductions, click on PFML then click the Custom Basis button toward the top of the window. Is the Custom Basis earning items blank or does a list of earning items come up?
If the earning items are blank (Image 1 below), exit the custom basis, click the LTC deduction and click custom basis and make sure the LTC custom basis is also blank.
If earning items are listed (image 2 below) when the custom basis button is clicked under PFML, click the selected head to sort the list then make note of all the earning items selected. Exit the Custom Basis window, click the Long Term Care deduction then click Custom Basis. Make sure the same earning items that were selected under PFML are also selected under Long Term Care list of earning items in the custom basis.
If any help is needed, please contact support.
Payroll State Reporting PFMLA
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DCP Roth & PFML/LTC Reporting
Updated onArticleTrending Current Webinars DCP Roth & PFML/LTC Reporting
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DCP Roth Setup - Basic Payroll
Updated onArticleStarting Oct 1st, 2023, the WA state Department of Retirement has a new DCP Roth plan that is available for employees to contribute into. This article shows how to setup the DCP Roth plan in Basic Payroll
Payroll Payroll Maintenance Maintenance
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DCP Roth Setup - Advanced Payroll
Updated onArticleStarting Oct 1st, 2023, the WA state Department of Retirement has a new DCP Roth plan that is available for employees to contribute to. This article shows how to setup the DCP Roth plan in Advanced Payroll
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How do I update DRS Rate Changes in Basic Payroll
Updated onArticleWashington State DRS has published new PERS and LEOFF2 rates for hours worked starting Sept 1st, 2023. Go to drs.wa.gov to stay current on any possible changes. Rates can be found here: https://www.drs.wa.gov/employer/ch6/#contribution-rate-tables-index
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How do I update DRS Rate Changes in Advanced Payroll
Updated onArticleWashington State DRS has published new PERS Employer rates for hours worked Starting Sept 1, 2023. Go to drs.wa.gov to stay current on any possible changes. Rates can be found here: https://www.drs.wa.gov/employer/ch6/#contribution-rate-tables-index
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