N.Y. Tax Law § 171-a*2: Statewide wage reporting system

* § 171-a. Statewide wage reporting system. (1) The department shall

design, develop, implement and operate a wage reporting system within

the department utilizing information submitted by employers as defined

under article eighteen of the labor law. The department is authorized to

require submission of a report, in such form and in such manner as

prescribed by regulations for not more frequently than four times per

annum, of the name, social security account number, and gross wages paid

to each employee who resides or is employed in this state, whether or

not such employee is a resident for purposes of this chapter and whether

or not the wages of such employee are subject to withholding of tax or

payments of tax under article twenty-two of this chapter. Employers also

shall report if dependent health insurance benefits are available. No

report shall be filed with respect to an employee of a state or local

agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, if the

head of such agency has determined that filing such a report could

endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing

investigation or intelligence mission.

(2) Such system shall be designed in a manner compatible with existing

reporting requirements, to the extent possible, while remaining

consistent with the goals of such system, and shall be consistent with

the provisions of article eighteen of the labor law. Not later than

January first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, the department shall,

pursuant to regulation, begin to collect such data in such manner for

the first quarter of calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-six and for

all subsequent quarters.

(3) (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner of

taxation and finance shall maintain cooperative agreements with the

state office of temporary and disability assistance, which shall

provide:

(i) for the utilization by the office of temporary and disability

assistance of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this

section, for the purpose of verifying eligibility for and entitlement to

amounts of benefits under the social services law, locating absent

parents or other persons legally responsible for the support of

applicants or recipients of public assistance and care under the social

services law and persons legally responsible for the support of a

recipient of services under section one hundred eleven-g of the social

services law and, in appropriate cases, establishing support obligations

pursuant to the social services law and the family court act, and for

the purpose of evaluating the effect on earnings of participation in

employment or training programs authorized pursuant to the social

services law by current recipients of public assistance and care and by

former recipients of public assistance and care, such agreement shall

further provide to the degree required by federal law for the

commissioner and the office of temporary and disability assistance to

provide information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this section

to the federal social security administration or to public agencies in

other states which administer programs under the food stamp act of

nineteen hundred seventy-seven or title I, II, IV-A, IV-D, X, XIV, XVI,

or XIX of the federal social security act and to take such other steps

as may be required by section one thousand one hundred thirty-seven of

the social security act or federal regulations promulgated thereunder;

and

(ii) for the utilization by the office of temporary and disability

assistance of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this

section, with respect to the parents, the stepparents, the child and the

siblings of the child who were living in the same household as a child

who is in the custody, care and custody or custody and guardianship of a

local social services district or of the office of children and family

services during the month that the court proceedings leading to the

child's removal from the household were initiated, or the written

instrument transferring care and custody of the child pursuant to the

provisions of section three hundred fifty-eight-a or three hundred

eighty-four-a of the social services law was signed, provided however,

that the office of temporary and disability assistance shall only use

the information obtained pursuant to this subdivision, for the purpose

of determining the eligibility of such child for federal payments for

foster care and adoption assistance pursuant to the provisions of title

IV-E of the federal social security act. Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the office of temporary and disability assistance is

authorized to share information obtained pursuant to this subdivision

with any applicable social services district, provided however, that if

such information is shared, that such social services district shall

only use the information obtained for the purpose of determining the

eligibility of such child for federal payments for foster care and

adoption assistance pursuant to the provisions of title IV-E of the

federal social security act.

(b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary and not later than ninety

days after the effective date of this paragraph, the commissioner of

taxation and finance shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the

commissioner of social services for the delivery to the state department

of social services of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one

hereof, which information shall be utilized for the purpose of enabling

such department to fulfill obligations and responsibilities otherwise

incumbent upon the state department of labor under section one hundred

twenty-four of the federal family support act of nineteen hundred

eighty-eight by giving the federal parent locator service, maintained by

the federal department of health and human services, prompt access to

certain wage information for use by such latter department for the

purpose of complying with such act.

(4) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary and not later than

September first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven, the commissioner shall

enter into a cooperative agreement with the state department of labor to

allow the information obtained by the department pursuant to subdivision

one of this section to be made available to the department of labor, or

other individuals designated by the commissioner of labor, for

administration of such department's employment security programs, public

assistance work programs, or for other purposes deemed appropriate by

the commissioner of labor consistent with the provisions of the labor

law, as well as for the evaluation of the effect on earnings of

participation in training programs with respect to which the department

of labor has reporting, monitoring, administering, or evaluating

responsibilities.

5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the

commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the

department of health, which agreement shall provide for the utilization

of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this section, for

the purpose of verifying eligibility for child health insurance plan

subsidy payments and required premium payments under sections two

thousand five hundred ten and two thousand five hundred eleven of the

public health law, and for the purpose of verifying eligibility for the

program for elderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage under title three

of article two of the elder law, when requested by the department of

health.

(6) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the

commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the office of

vocational and educational services for individuals with disabilities of

the education department, the commission for the blind and any other

state vocational rehabilitation agency, which agreement shall provide

for the utilization of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one

of this section, for purposes of obtaining reimbursement from the

federal social security administration for expenditures made by such

office, commission or agency on behalf of disabled individuals who have

achieved economic self-sufficiency.

(6-a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the

commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the New York

state higher education services corporation, which agreement shall

provide for the utilization of information obtained pursuant to

subdivision one of this section, for purposes of default prevention and

collection of defaulted education loan debt, including judgments, owed

to the federal or New York state government that is being collected by

the New York state higher education services corporation.

(6-b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the

commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the state

comptroller, which agreement shall provide for the utilization of

information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this section, for

purposes of determining the amount a retired member of a retirement

system or pension plan administered by the state or any of its political

subdivisions who returns to public employment has earned for the

purposes of sections one hundred two, two hundred eleven, two hundred

twelve and four hundred two of the retirement and social security law.

(7) No employer shall be subject to any civil or criminal liability by

reason of his disclosure to the department of any information required

to be disclosed pursuant to this subdivision unless such information is

knowingly and wilfully reported incorrectly.

(8) The provisions of the state freedom of information act shall not

apply to any personally identifiable information obtained by any agency

or any public official pursuant to the provisions hereof.

(9) Cross-references. (a) For the applicable penalty for failure to

comply with wage reporting requirements, see subsection (v) of section

six hundred eighty-five of this chapter.

(b) See paragraph four of subsection (a) of section six hundred

seventy-four of this chapter for requirements relating to the filing of

quarterly combined withholding, wage reporting and unemployment

insurance returns.

* NB There are 2 § 171-a's