Purpose
Workers' compensation class codes classify the type of work each employee performs. Insurers use them to price your workers' comp coverage. In UZIO you set up your codes at the company level, assign them to employees, and then pull the Workers' Compensation Wages Report to give your insurer the wages per code for premium calculation. UZIO does not calculate or pay workers' comp premiums.
Who can do this: Any user whose role includes the Payroll permission. This is usually the Employer Admin, but other admin roles can be granted the same access.
Steps: Add a code at the company level
- Go to Payroll > Payroll Setup > Workers' Compensation. The Workers' Compensation Settings screen lists your codes with columns State-Code / Description / Linked Job(s) / Action. If none exist yet, the empty state prompts you to click Add Code.
- Click Add Code and fill out the form:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| State | The state the code applies to. |
| Workers' Compensation Code | The class code from your workers' comp policy or carrier documents. |
| Description | What the class covers (for example, "Clerical office employees"). |
| Employer Rate | Optional. The percentage rate for this code from your policy. Not shown for Washington. |
| Employer Hourly Rate / Employee Hourly Rate | (Washington only) Washington prices workers' comp per hour rather than as a percentage, so these two optional currency fields replace Employer Rate for WA codes. |
| Jobs | Optional. Link the code to one or more jobs. Linking a job auto-assigns this code to every employee on that job who is eligible for workers' comp and has a work location in the selected state. If you skip this, assign the code to employees manually in their profiles. |
| Effective Date | When the code takes effect. |
- Click Save & Exit, or Save & Add more to enter the next code.
[Screenshot: Workers' Compensation Settings list with the Add Code form]
How it fits together
- Company level: create your workers' compensation codes (above). This is a step on the payroll setup checklist.
- Employee level: assign the appropriate code to each employee on the Workers' Compensation Settings screen under the Payroll tab of the employee's profile. Codes are effective-dated. See Setting Up Employee Payroll.
- Reporting: pull the Workers' Compensation Wages Report after each payroll to see the wages per code, and send them to your insurer for premium calculation.
What happens downstream
- Payroll blocker: an employee whose assigned code is not valid for their current work location state stops payroll from starting for their pay group: "[Employee] worker's compensation code is not valid for their work location." Reassign a code for the correct state. See Troubleshooting: I Can't Start or Approve Payroll.
- Which wages count: each company earning has a Subject to Workers' Compensation setting. Only earnings flagged Yes are included in the report. Owner's Draw defaults to No. See Setting Up Company Level Earnings.
- General Ledger: workers' comp does not appear as a Pay Type in General Ledger mapping because UZIO does not calculate the premium. Record the expense in your accounting software from the report.
- Wyoming salaried employees: the Owner Details question on the Federal Taxation screen ("Do you have employees who are owners/ corporate officers/ executive members?") feeds Wyoming's workers' comp tax calculation. See Adding Federal Tax Information.
Note: Do not confuse the three code systems: workers' comp codes (insurance risk classification), SOC codes (federal occupational statistics, required on some states' SUTA returns; see SOC Codes), and NAICS codes (industry classification of the business).
Common mistake: Adding workers' comp codes at the company level but never assigning them to employees. The report can only break wages down by class if each covered employee carries a code.
Expected outcome
- Your codes appear in the Workers' Compensation Settings list (State-Code, Description, Linked Job(s)), and the setup step shows complete on your checklist.
- The Workers' Compensation Wages Report breaks payroll wages down by class code for premium calculation and carrier audits.
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