The authorized representative is the preferred contact when investigating a B-27 assignment. Some employers designate a bookkeeper or accountant as an authorized representative, and it is acceptable to obtain information from those representatives in a routine investigation.

If a question arises regarding employment status, wage amounts, employee leasing, or any other situation affecting the employer's liability or amount of contributions due, the Accounts Examiner should communicate directly with the authorized representative or responsible party.

The claimant is a good source of information on a B-27 investigation. The examiner should attempt to contact the claimant if the employer's records significantly differ from the amount claimed by the claimant, the examiner is unable to locate or contact the employer, or the employer alleges contract labor.

The claimant can provide:

• Possible location of the business or employer.
• Reason he/she disagrees with the amount of wages reported to TWC.
• Copies of payroll checks/check stubs, W-2's or 1099 that were issued by the employer.
• Information regarding contract labor issues.

As previously mentioned, if there is a significant difference between the requested wages and the wages actually awarded, an Outcome Reason is required. It is important to choose a reason that closely applies to the situation. A letter to the claimant is produced when the assignment is completed. The letter will note the amount awarded and the outcome reason.

Section 201.043 of the Act details the performance of service both within and outside the state of Texas.

If service is performed entirely within Texas, the service is said to be localized within Texas. The person performing the service is not engaged in multi-state employment, and Texas is the state of jurisdiction.

If a person performs service both within Texas and outside of Texas, but the service performed outside of Texas is incidental to the service performed within Texas (for example, is temporary or transitory in nature or consists of isolated transactions), the person's service is said to be localized in Texas. Again, the person is not engaged in multi-state employment, and Texas is the state of jurisdiction.

If service is not localized in Texas or in any other state, and the person performed services both in Texas and outside of Texas, the person is said to be in multi-state employment.

If a person is engaged in multi-state employment, as defined above, the service is considered employment under the jurisdiction of Texas if the employer's base of operations is located in this state. The base of operations is considered to be where the worker returns after performing the work, where the worker receives instructions from the employer, or where the worker receives remuneration for the service performed.

In the situation described above, except that the employee does not have a base of operations (such as a traveling salesman), the fact, which determines jurisdiction, is the location of the place from which the employee's service is directed or controlled. If such location is in Texas, Texas has jurisdiction. However, if the base of operations and the place from which the service is directed or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the service is performed, the location of the employee's residence determines the state of jurisdiction. The employee's residence is construed to be the permanent residence rather than temporary addresses while traveling.

If an employee's services are not localized in any state, and the worker belongs to a class of employees who are required to travel in performance of their duties and the employee's base of operations is in Texas, Section 201.043 authorizes services to be Texas employment even though all of the employee's services are performed outside of Texas (but within the United States). This is likewise true for an employee in this category if the employee does not work from a base of operations but is directed, or controlled from a location, which is in Texas.

If the service of an individual is not covered by a provision of Section 201.043 of the Act, and it is not service performed on or in connection with an American vessel or an American aircraft, the service is Texas employment if contributions are not required under the unemployment compensation law of any other state, provided:

1. The individual is a resident of Texas.
2. The Commission approves an election by the employer that the services shall be deemed employment under the Texas law.

The state of Texas participates in an exchange of claimant information with many other states. The state of Maine and U.S. territories of Samoa, Canal Zone, Guam, and Virgin Islands do not participate in the program. Wage information reported to these states is accessible to Accounts Examiners.

The Accounts Examiner may be unable to obtain wage information because the employer cannot be located, or the business records have been lost or destroyed. In this situation, the examiner will use the best information available to award wages to the claimant.

Even though wages may be reported for a claimant, the claimant may file a disagreement requesting additional wages for a particular quarter(s).

B-27 assignments originate in the local claims office. Assignments are often issued under an incorrect account number, such as a predecessor account, a duplicate account, or even another employing entity totally unrelated to the correct employer. The accounts examiner will award wages to the claimant under the correct employer account number.

A B-27 assignment is keyed showing one employer for a claimant. In the course of the investigation it may be determined that the claimant actually worked for two employers, such as the predecessor for the first and second quarters and the successor for the third and fourth quarters.

When such a situation occurs, the examiner will award wages to the claimant for the proper quarters under the appropriate account and document both accounts.

If a request for wages involves the misclassification of wages, such as contract labor, the Accounts Examiner will conduct a thorough investigation of the performance of services.

The investigation should include:

• Reviewing the twenty common law factors with the authorized representative of the entity and the claimant. If appropriate, an Independent Contractor Questionnaire should be completed by the employer and the claimant.
  
  
• An audit of the business records may be necessary to determine the employment status.
  
  
• Documentation for the account will include the services performed by the claimant and the reasons for employment or independent contractor status. This will be done prior to the completion of the B-27 assignment.