which state laws govern me?

[salesdiva]

I work for a company whose office is in MO and HQ is in TX. I live in IL and fly to MO most weeks to run the office. Which state's laws would govern my employment? I have an employment contract that states the laws of TX would be applicable but I'm not certain if that pertains to issues of unemployment or wage laws as well. I file state income tax in IL not MO. Can you please clarify for me so I can ask my additional questions in the correct forum? Thanks!

[cbg]

Sounds to me like Illinois law would apply.

[salesdiva]

Thank you. I will jump to the IL forum.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by cbg

Sounds to me like Illinois law would apply.

If she is earning money in Missouri, shouldn't she be paying income tax in Missouri?

[Pattymd]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

If she is earning money in Missouri, shouldn't she be paying income tax in Missouri?

Probably. OP, how much time do you spend working in Missouri? Do you do ANY work in Illinois?

[cbg]

A year or so ago, I was living in Boston and working in Washington DC. I still paid MA taxes and if I'd been fired, I'd have claimed UI in MA.

There was a DC form I had to sign specifying that I was not a resident of DC and that I acknowledged that I was responsible for paying taxes in my home state, but about 2/3rds of DC's workforce comes from out of state.

[Pattymd]

One of the problems is that Missouri and Illinois don't have reciprocal agreements.

[salesdiva]

I worked from a home office in IL every Fri. and generally at least one week every month. I flew to MO to work Mon. through Thurs. the rest of the time. I did not have MO state taxes withheld from my check...I believe I did sign something saying I was responsible for paying state taxes in IL.

I contacted the unemployment office in MO last week and they recommended I file in IL and let them sort things out. They said my employer had only filed wages with them through Sept and they will not be able to process an unemployment filing from me until April 1st (since that is the next reporting period where my wages in Q4 will show up) AND only if I'm STILL unemployed in April. They said that in Il, they will have to go to my previous employer and file a claim (which will be denied since I haven't worked their in over a year) but that will get my claim in process and they can then go to my current employer with a claim.

[cbg]

they recommended I file in IL and let them sort things out.

Which is what I believe I said from the beginning.

Thanks for the update.