Who Should Complete the Multiple Worksite Report?

An employer should complete the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) when it reports employees in a state under one unemployment insurance (UI) account number, has more than one worksite or more than one economic activity in that state, and has 10 or more employees in total across its secondary worksites. If all three answers are yes, the report applies. The MWR is a Bureau of Labor Statistics program run with each state workforce agency, so the state that holds the UI account is the one that asks for it.

This post works through that test and the practical questions that follow. For what the report is used for and how the data feeds state and federal statistics, see payroll reporting: the Multiple Worksite Report.

The Three-Question Test

1. Are the employees reported under one UI account number?

The MWR exists because a single UI account can hide several separate establishments. If each location already reports under its own UI account, the state can see the distribution from the ordinary quarterly wage reports, and the MWR usually does not apply to those accounts. The test is applied state by state: an employer with one UI account in each of five states looks at each state separately.

2. Is there more than one worksite, or more than one economic activity?

Most employers meet this part through locations: a headquarters and a branch, several stores, a plant and a warehouse. The test also asks about economic activity. A business operating at a single address can still be engaged in distinct activities that would be classified in different industries, such as a manufacturer that also runs a separate distribution operation. Payroll rarely knows the answer to this part on its own; operations or finance usually does.

3. Are there 10 or more employees in the secondary worksites combined?

The primary worksite is the location with the greatest number of employees in the state. Every other location in that state is a secondary worksite. Add up employment at all secondary worksites. If the total is 10 or more, the report applies.

Note the common misreading: the threshold is not 10 employees at any single secondary location. Five branches with three employees each total 15 and meet it.

Worked Examples

• One office, 200 employees, one UI account. One worksite and one activity. No MWR.
• Headquarters with 80 employees and two branches with 4 employees each, one UI account. Secondary worksites total 8. Below the threshold; generally no MWR, but recheck each quarter as headcount changes.
• Three retail stores with 25, 12 and 9 employees, one UI account. The 25-person store is primary; the secondary worksites total 21. MWR applies.
• Two locations in two different states, each with its own UI account. Each state account has one worksite. No MWR for either, unless a state account also covers a second location.

Is Filing Mandatory?

Whether the MWR is mandatory or voluntary depends on the state, because the collection runs through state law and the state workforce agency. Employers that receive an MWR request from a state agency should treat it as a filing obligation until the agency confirms otherwise, and keep the correspondence.

How Often and When

The MWR is a quarterly report that generally follows the state's quarterly UI contribution and wage reporting cycle. Put it on the same payroll calendar as the quarterly UI filing so it is prepared from the same wage data. The payroll tax deadlines calendar is a useful place to anchor it.

What the Report Asks For

The report breaks out, for each worksite covered by the UI account, the location and a description of the establishment, monthly employment and total wages for the quarter.  Because the totals across all worksites must tie back to the UI wage report for the same account and quarter, the practical requirement for payroll is that every employee is assigned to a physical worksite in the payroll system, not just to a cost center or department.

Employers with operations in several states may be able to submit worksite data centrally rather than state by state. 

Setting Up Payroll to Produce It

• Assign a worksite code to every employee, reflecting where they physically work. Remote employees need a rule, agreed with the state agency if unclear.
• Tie the worksite total to the UI total every quarter before filing. A difference usually means an unassigned or mis-assigned employee.
• Update worksite records when locations open, close or move, and when a location changes what it does, so the industry classification stays accurate.
• Recheck the three-question test when headcount shifts. An employer that was below the secondary-worksite threshold can move above it through normal growth.

The worksite data an employer keeps for the MWR is not the same as the question of which state an employee's wages are reported to for unemployment insurance. That allocation follows its own four-factor test, covered in multi-state taxation and state unemployment insurance.

Common Mistakes

• Counting the threshold per location instead of across all secondary worksites combined.
• Treating the headquarters as the primary worksite when a branch actually has more employees.
• Assigning remote staff to headquarters by default without checking the state's instructions.
• Filing worksite totals that do not reconcile to the quarterly UI wage report.
• Ignoring a state agency's MWR request on the assumption that the report is optional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who decides which worksite is primary?

It follows from headcount. The primary worksite is the location in the state with the most employees; every other location in that state is secondary.

Does a single location ever need to file?

It can, if that one location carries on more than one distinct economic activity under a single UI account and the other criteria are met.

Is the MWR the same as the quarterly UI wage report?

No. It is a separate report, but its totals should tie to the UI wage report for the same account and quarter.

What if we have separate UI accounts for each location?

Then each account typically has a single worksite, and the MWR usually does not apply to it. Confirm with the state workforce agency.

Is filing required in every state?

No, it varies by state. Check with the state workforce agency that holds the UI account.

Related Reading and Training

For withholding across state lines, see multi-state payroll taxation. The multi-state payroll tax compliance webinar covers state reporting in more depth, and the Certified Payroll Administrator program covers payroll reporting as part of a full payroll credential. Terms used here are defined in the payroll glossary.