When the Worker's Comp Board goes overboard

After the man left her porch, she texted me a photo of his business card with a phone number scribbled in pen. "This is a scam, right?" 

I was sure it was. "Let me make a call," I said.

A man claiming to represent the New York Workers' Comp Board had shown up at my client's home in upstate New York, demanding proof of coverage. It would have been laughable, except that it was real.

My client hadn’t even opened for business yet. She hadn’t paid a single employee. She didn't even have any employees besides herself. And as the sole owner, she should have been exempt from NY’s Workers' Comp requirements.

So what was this goon from the State doing banging on her door?

Turns out that a payroll company who will remain nameless (let’s call them Play Czechs)—a payroll company with no association to my client—had transposed a few digits on someone else's quarterly tax filing. 

Suddenly, my client's fledgeling practice looked like a massive employer to the state tax agencies. 'And were were all these employees 3 months ago?' they wondered. Very suspicious. 

One agency notified another, and before long Biff was at the door.

It doesn't matter if the error wasn't her fault. Once the tax agencies find a violation, you have to jump through their hoops prove it was a mistake. Or pay up.

"Not my problem" doesn't cut it, but that's exactly what your payroll provider or PEO will say in these situations. As if everyone has infinite time to unravel a dumpster fire like this one. Play Czechs wouldn't even return our calls—Fair enough, since we used a different payroll provider anyway. 

That's why you need someone who understands the regulations and how to respond. Someone just as dogged as ol' Biff in New York. 

Hi. I'm Claire. 👋 ↘️

"Oh yeah. Play Czechs is the worst," the lady on the phone sighed. "They're behind like half of the errors we need to fix around here. Here's what you need to do..."

• We pulled reports to prove that no payroll had ever been run. 

• We filed a Power of Attorney to have me work with the agencies on the client's behalf. 

• We tracked down the exemption rules and drafted a letter of explanation. 

• We had it notarized.

• We pulled the company's incorporation documents to prove that my client was the lawful owner and therefore exempt from the Worker's Comp requirement. 

And about a month and a half later, with a clean record, we had the penalties reversed.

Payroll providers aren't perfect. Mistakes happen. And when the wheels fall off, they leave you high and dry.

That’s why we built Tax E Driver—to avoid messes like this and fix the ones you didn’t see coming. 

Are you getting nastygrams from the state? Hit me up. Maybe I can help.

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