N.Y. Tax Law § 171-h: State directory of new hires

§ 171-h. State directory of new hires. (1) Establishment. The

department shall establish an automated directory known as the "State

Directory of New Hires" which shall contain information supplied by

employers in accordance with subdivision three of this section,

regarding each newly hired or re-hired employee.

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the terms

"employer," "employee," and "business day" shall have the following

meanings:

(a) "employee" means an individual who is an employee within the

meaning of chapter twenty-four of the internal revenue code of 1986,

including an individual under an independent contractor arrangement with

contracts in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars, and does not include

an employee of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or

counterintelligence functions if the head of such agency has determined

that a report made pursuant to this section with respect to the

individual could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an

ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

(b) "employer" means an individual or entity within the meaning given

the term employer in section three thousand four hundred one (d) of the

internal revenue code of 1986 and includes:

(i) any governmental entity, and

(ii) any labor organization as defined in section two (5) of the

national labor relations act, including any entity (also known as a

"hiring hall") which is used by such labor organization and an employer

to carry out the requirements described in section eight (f)(3) of the

national labor relations act with respect to any agreement that may

exist between the labor organization and the employer.

(c) "business day" means a day on which state offices are open for

regular business.

(3) Employer reporting requirements:

(a) General. Employers shall furnish to the state directory of new

hires a report that contains the name, address, and social security

number of each newly hired or re-hired employee who works in the state,

and the employer's name, address, and identification number as assigned

pursuant to section six thousand one hundred nine of the internal

revenue code of 1986. Employers also shall report if dependent health

insurance benefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for

the benefits.

(b) Format. Each report shall be submitted on a W-4 (employee's

withholding allowance certificate) form or, at employer option, an

equivalent form and transmitted by first class mail, magnetically, or

electronically to the state directory of new hires. In addition, if each

report is submitted on a W-4, an additional form as prescribed by the

department shall be submitted to report if dependent health insurance

benefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for the

benefits. That additional form shall be transmitted by first class mail,

magnetically, or electronically to the state directory of new hires.

(c) Timing. Employers must submit reports to the state directory of

new hires within twenty calendar days of the employer's hiring or

re-hiring of the employee. However, in the case of an employer

transmitting reports magnetically or electronically, by two monthly

transmissions (if necessary), such reports shall be transmitted not less

than twelve calendar days nor more than sixteen calendar days apart.

(d) Multistate employers. An employer that has employees who work in

New York and employees who work in one or more other states, and

transmits reports magnetically or electronically, may designate New York

or one of the other states in which such employer has employees as the

state to which the employer will transmit the report to the state

directory of new hires. Any employer which transmits reports by this

method must notify the secretary of the federal department of health and

human services in writing as to which state such employer designates for

the purpose of sending reports.

(e) Federal government employers. Any department, agency, or

instrumentality of the federal government shall transmit new hire

reports as required by section four hundred fifty-three A (b)(1)(C) of

the social security act.

(4) The department shall:

(a) notify all employers of the requirements for reporting information

to the state directory of new hires as provided in subdivision three of

this section;

(b) enter information into the database maintained by the state

directory of new hires within five business days of receipt from an

employer pursuant to subdivision three of this section;

(c) make automated comparisons of social security numbers between the

state directory of new hires and the state case registry maintained by

the office of temporary and disability assistance for administration of

the child support enforcement program and, where there is a match,

provide the office of temporary and disability assistance with the name,

address, and social security number of the employee to whom the social

security number is assigned, and the name and address of the employer

and the employer's identifying number assigned to the employer under

section six thousand nine of the internal revenue code of 1986, within

one business day after the date the information is entered into the

state directory of new hires;

(d) transmit new hire information to the national directory of new

hires maintained by the federal department of health and human services

within three business days after the date the information is entered

into the state directory of new hires;

(e) conduct matches with the office of temporary and disability

assistance, the department of health, and the department of labor to

verify individuals' eligibility for the various programs specified under

section one thousand one hundred thirty-seven (b) of the social security

act and for other public assistance programs authorized by state law,

and for the purposes of administering state employment security

programs, and with the workers' compensation board for the purpose of

administering workers' compensation programs;

(f) on or before October first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven, enter

into written agreements with the commissioners of the office of

temporary and disability assistance, health, and labor on behalf of the

office of temporary and disability assistance and the departments of

health and labor respectively and the chair of the workers' compensation

board on behalf of such board, which shall:

(i) provide for the disclosure of information obtained from the

reports required to be submitted pursuant to this section to such

departments and board for the purposes set forth in this section;

(ii) specify the frequency with which the department shall furnish

information obtained from such reports to such office, departments, and

board, which shall be within one business day after the date the

information is entered into the state directory of new hires;

(iii) set forth the procedure for reimbursement of the department by

such office, departments, and board subject to the approval of the

director of the budget for the additional costs of carrying out the

provisions of this section;

(iv) include such other matters as the parties to such agreement shall

deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section; and

(g) furnish to the national directory of new hires, on a quarterly

basis, extracts of the reports required under paragraph six of

subsection (a) of section three hundred three of the federal social

security act to be made to the secretary of labor concerning wages and

unemployment compensation paid to individuals, by such dates, and in

such manner as the secretary of health and human services shall specify

by regulations. The state department of labor shall, consistent with the

authority contained in paragraph e of subdivision three of section five

hundred thirty-seven of the labor law, disclose to the state directory

of new hires, such wage and unemployment compensation information as may

be necessary to allow such state directory to comply with the provisions

of this paragraph.