Employer Medical Assistance Contribution (EMAC)

Massachusetts State Law

Employers Subject to EMAC

Any Massachusetts employer, including a not-for-profit employer, with 6 or more employees working in Massachusetts is subject to the EMAC.

An employee is considered to work in Massachusetts if he/she:

• Performs work entirely in Massachusetts; or
• Performs work in and out of Massachusetts, but the work out of state is incidental to the work within the state.

Determining Employee Count

The EMAC definition of employee is the same one used in in the Massachusetts’ unemployment insurance laws.Which covers most employees, except for certain designated types

Generally, employers should count any regular employee, regardless of full or part-time status. This may also include temporary/seasonal workers when applicable.

The employee count is determined each quarter by calculating the average number of employees who worked during or received wages for the pay period that includes the twelfth day of each month of the applicable quarter.

• Note that smaller employers are only be liable for payment in those quarters where the employee average is 6 or more.

Employee Information

The employee information reported via UI Online includes:

• Name
• Social security number
• Wages paid
• Hours worked
• Total amount of taxes withheld
• Amount of wages upon which the withholding was based
• The identification number assigned the employer by the DUI
• The corresponding federal employer identification number
• The identification number the employer is required to include on a withholding tax return.