Section 8.85.440. Adjustment of quarterly decline quotients.

	(a)  An employer who makes wage payments that cause artificial peaks and declines in quarterly payroll, or whose quarterly payroll is affected by a labor dispute, may request that the director adjust the quarterly payroll in computing the quarterly decline quotient. Requests must be made on forms provided by the director.  
	(b)  The director may adjust an employer's quarterly payroll if  
		(1) the employer paid wages in the form of an annual bonus;  
		(2) the employer paid wages in the form of a lump-sum payment for service performed over a period of more than three months;  
		(3) the employer made seven bi-weekly wage payments per employee in a calendar quarter;  
		(4) the employer reported wages for services excluded from the definition of "employment" under AS 23.20.526 and for which an election has not been approved under AS 23.20.325;  
		(5) the employer's quarterly payroll was affected by unemployment that was not compensable under the labor dispute provisions of AS 23.20.383; or  
		(6) the employer had a change in accounting practices.  
	(c)  The employer's payroll may be adjusted as follows:  
		(1) at the employer's option, annual bonuses and lump-sum wage payments may be deleted from the payroll or apportioned equally among the quarters in the calendar year in which the artificial peaks or declines occur;  
		(2) at the employer's option, the seventh bi-weekly wage payment may be deleted from the payroll or apportioned equally among the quarters in the calendar year in which the payment was made;  
		(3) excluded employment reported by the employer and for which an election has not been approved under AS 23.20.325 may be deleted from the payroll in the calendar quarter in which the payment was reported;  
		(4) a decline in payroll that is caused by unemployment that is not compensable under the labor dispute provisions of AS 23.20.383 may be adjusted by adding to the payroll the wages that would have been earned during the quarter by the employees involved in the dispute;  
		(5) a decline in payroll caused by a change in an employer's accounting practices may be adjusted by adding wages that would have been reported in the quarter if an accounting change affecting the employer's payroll had not occurred; a change in wages in one quarter must have an offsetting amount as a correction to another quarter.  
	(d)  If an employer elects to exercise an option under (c)(1) or (2) of this section, the employer may not revoke that option without the approval of the director.  
	(e)  In this section, "annual bonus" means something that is given or paid once a year, and that is over or in addition to what is due or expected, unlike a commission or an incentive payment.  

Authorities

23.20.045;23.20.285;23.20.325

Notes

Authority

AS 23.20.045 AS 23.20.285 AS 23.20.325

History

Eff. 3/27/82, Register 81; am 5/23/2003, Register 166; am 6/27/2014, Register 210