• TWC Accepts Credit Cards for Unemployment Insurance Tax Payments
• National Employ Older Workers Week Celebrated September 23-29
• TWC Executive Director Larry Temple Leads National Workforce Association
• Texas Receives National Award for Child Support Initiative

TWC Accepts Credit Cards for Unemployment Insurance Tax Payments

Texas employers now have the option of paying their quarterly Unemployment Insurance (UI) taxes by credit card, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced today.

“Texas employers requested this expanded service, and we are pleased to make the online credit card payment system available to them,” TWC Commissioner Representing Employers Ron Lehman. “By utilizing the latest technology, TWC can make the quarterly UI tax payment system more efficient for employers.”

TWC collects UI taxes from Texas employers for the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund, which funds UI benefits to workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own and who are actively seeking work. Employers subject to UI taxes include those paying $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter or having at least one employee during 20 different weeks in a calendar year.

Previously, Texas employers made quarterly UI payments by check, bank debit or electronic funds transfer. Now most of the state’s more than 400,000 employers have the credit card option. Larger employers, such as those paying $250,000 or more in UI taxes annually, still are required to pay by electronic funds transfer.

To make payments by credit card, employers need to register on the TWC Web site Unemployment Tax Services.

The TWC site offers secure, encrypted payment processing. TWC will not retain credit card information between financial quarters. For the third quarter ending October 1, employers have until October 31, 2007, to make payment.

The strong economic climate has helped to decrease demands on the UI trust fund, with UI claims down more than 50 percent over the past four years. Over the past 12 months, Texas employers have added 229,000 jobs, representing a 2.3 percent annual growth rate - nearly double the national rate of 1.2 percent for the same period.

National Employ Older Workers Week September 23-29

Mature Workers Valuable to Texas Employers

Texas joins the rest of the nation promoting the hiring of older workers during

Employ Older Workers Week September 23 through 29. Established by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), this special week recognizes the contributions that older Americans continue to make to our nation’s economy and to acknowledge employers who establish age-friendly work environments by training and recruiting qualified older workers.

With the growing population of older people and the anticipated shortages of skilled workers, many seniors are choosing to remain in the workplace well past retirement age. Data released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that 23.2 percent of people between ages 65 and 74 were either working or job hunting in 2006, an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to 2000 statistics.

“Employers recognize that mature workers contribute strong work ethic and valuable experience to their businesses,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chair Diane Rath. “Older workers benefit from the opportunity to acquire newer skills necessary to meet the demands of today’s changing workforce needs.”

Census bureau statistics suggest that the number of Texans age 55 and older is expected to increase from its current 4.6 million to more than 5.1 million by 2010 and 10.3 million by 2040. The Texas economy is expected to mirror the rest of the nation’s efforts in relying significantly on the contributions of workers in this talent pool.

In Program Year 2006, DOL allocated more than $23 million to Texas for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), which provided on-the-job training and employment opportunities to more than 6,500 qualified older Texans. SCSEP was established more than 40 years ago to serve the employment needs of people age 55 or older with limited financial resources.

Participants provide community services for public entities and nonprofit organizations such as libraries, workforce centers, museums, hospitals, recreation centers, social service agencies, school districts and public housing agencies while they prepare to transition into full- or part-time employment in the public and private sectors. Federal grants are issued to states and a broad network of organizations to operate the program nationwide.

TWC Executive Director Larry Temple Leads National Workforce Association

AUSTIN – Larry Temple, executive director of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), is the new president of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), installed during the NASWA 2007 Annual Conference in Hartford, Conn., from September, 18 through 21, 2007.

“NASWA works to strengthen workforce systems across the nation, and it’s an honor that my peers have selected me as president of this important organization,” Temple said. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with my colleagues over the coming year to enhance services for employers and workers.”

NASWA is a national organization of state administrators of publicly funded workforce systems, which provide employment services, training programs, employment statistics and labor market information, and Unemployment Insurance (UI). In addition to serving as the organization’s president-elect over the past year, Temple has been a member of the NASWA Board of Directors since 2003. He has served as chair of the organization’s Administration and Finance Committee and co-chair of the Communications Committee.

As TWC executive director since September 2003, Temple directs the day-to-day operations of the agency, which oversees employment, training, welfare reform, child care and UI programs in Texas. TWC has an annual operating budget of approximately $1.2 billion and UI in the amount of more than $1 billion annually.

Temple joined TWC in 1997 as director of the Office of Welfare Reform and was named deputy executive director in 2002. Prior to his career with TWC, Temple was deputy director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which he had joined in 1992.

Temple’s career also includes more than 20 years of private-sector management experience in energy, retail and real estate development. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from St. Edward’s University in Austin, where he serves as a member of the university’s Advisory Council.

Texas Receives National Award for Child Support Initiative

TWC and Office of Attorney General Recognized by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families

AUSTIN – The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), in partnership with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), received the Commissioner’s Award for Innovative Partnership from the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Support Enforcement. The OAG accepted the award on behalf of the State of Texas at the 17th National Child Support Enforcement Training Conference held in Washington DC September 9-12 for the Texas Non-Custodial Parent (NCP) Choices Project. The project is designed to assist parents who are not working and not able to pay child support with an innovative combination of employment and support services tied to increased monitoring and accountability.

“Participants have been able to fulfill their commitments to their families and become more self-sufficient,” TWC Chair and Commissioner Diane Rath said. “Through this collaboration with the OAG and the local court systems, this project has achieved significant results.”

Since the pilot project began two years ago, more than $2.6 million has been collected to date from 1,261 project participants. Approximately 60 percent of those who participated in the NCP program found jobs, and among those, 50 percent remained employed.

“With the help of NCP Choices, Texas parents are empowered by jobs and the ability to provide much-needed support for their children,” said Attorney General Greg Abbott. “Our partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission helps parents, children--and the taxpayers, who benefit when parents take financial responsibility for their kids. We will continue developing innovative solutions that help Texas families.”

The custodial parents associated with NCP Choices participants were 10 percent less likely to rely on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, which assist low-income individuals and families. County courts in Bexar, Galveston, Brazoria, Hidalgo, Tarrant and El Paso counties participated in the pilot-stage of the program.

The U.S. Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) is a federal/state/local partnership to help families by promoting family self-sufficiency and child well-being.

For more information on the Non-Custodial Parent (NCP) Choices Project, also contact Janece Rolfe at the OAG at 512-460-6414.

The Texas Workforce Commission is a state agency dedicated to helping Texas employers, workers and communities prosper economically. For details on TWC and the programs it offers in unison with its network of local workforce development boards, call (512) 463-8556 or visit www.texasworkforce.org.