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Previous Updates
- Decreasing the taxable wage base to $9,500 (from $9,521); and
- Creating the Jobs and Reemployment Act, which:
- Requires individuals to conduct at least four work search activities weekly;
- Requires employers to report individuals who refuse to accept an employment offer or who leave employment within 6 weeks; and
- Allows individuals to work part-time at lower pay without reducing their benefits.
https://workforcewv.org/employers/unemployment-resources/report/
SB 841 Text (wvlegislature.gov)
Drivers must exercise due care in operating a motor vehicle and, with limited exceptions, may not engage in certain specified actions involving any stand-alone electronic device or wireless telecommunications device that distracts them from the safe operation of the vehicle.
Effective July 1, 2022, under the Unemployment Insurance Program Integrity Act, an employer may contact Workforce West Virginia when an employee who was previously laid off by that employer is given the opportunity to be rehired but declines to do so. Workforce West Virginia will investigate to determine whether the employee should continue to receive unemployment benefits. Clients should inform FrankCrum’s unemployment department (UnemploymentClaims@FrankCrum.com) and FrankCrum will contact the state.
- A written statement, signed by the person for whom the child expects to work, that he or she intends legally to employ the child;
- A brief written description of the job the child is expected to perform;
- A birth certificate, or attested transcript thereof, issued by the registrar of vital statistics or other officer charged with the duty of recording births;
- A certificate signed by the principal or registrar of the school attended showing that the child is attending school; and
- The written consent of the parent or parents, guardian or custodian of the child.
Beginning January 18, 2022, a covered employer that requires, as a condition of employment, that an employee or a prospective employee receive a COVID-19 immunization or present documentation of immunization from COVID-19 must exempt the individual from such immunization requirements.
An eligible employee or prospective employee can be exempted from having to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate of a covered employer as a condition of continued employment or hire by presenting:
- a notarized certification executed by a licensed physician or advanced practice registered nurse stating that a medical exemption is required due to the individual's physical condition or a specific precaution or because the individual has COVID-19 antibodies from a previous infection or has recovered from COVID-19; or
- a notarized certification executed by the individual stating that he or she holds religious beliefs that prevent him or her from taking the COVID-19 vaccination.
Once provided with such a certification, a covered employer "shall not be permitted to penalize or discriminate against [the] current or prospective employee [ ] … by practices including, but not limited to, benefits decisions, hiring, firing, or withholding bonuses, pay raises, or promotions."
The law will take effect on January 18, 2022, and it is not retroactive. Any enforcement of COVID-19 vaccination mandates by employers before this date will not be subject to this new law.
Employment Law Workers Classification Act
Effective June 9, 2021, the West Virginia Employment Law Worker Classification Act establishes that a worker may be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee under certain West Virginia statutes such as workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation, Human Rights Act rights, and wage payment and collection provisions of the West Virginia Code.
A person shall be classified as an independent contractor if the person:
- Signs a written contract that includes certain acknowledgments;
- Has filed (or is contractually required to file) an income tax return for the fees earned from the work or provides their services through a business entity;
- Actually and directly controls the manner and means by which the work is to be accomplished, with certain exceptions; and
- Satisfies at least three out of nine criteria noted below.
- The person has control over the amount of time personally spent providing services;
- The person has control over where the services are performed;
- The person is not required to work exclusively for one principal;
- The person is free to exercise independent initiative in soliciting others to purchase their services;
- The person is free to hire employees or to contract with assistants to perform all or some of the work;
- The person cannot be required to perform additional services without a new or modified contract;
- The person obtains a license or other permission from the principal to utilize any workspace of the principal in order to perform the work;
- The principal has been subject to an employment audit by the IRS and the IRS has not reclassified the person to be an employee;
- The person is responsible for maintaining and bearing all costs of any required business licenses, insurance, certification, or permits required to perform the work.
Nothing in the West Virginia Employment Law Worker Classification Act requires that a worker who meets the test be classified as an independent contractor. Businesses are always free to hire any worker as an employee.
