§ 171-H — State directory of new hires

§ 171-h. State directory of new hires. (1) Establishment. The\ndepartment shall establish an automated directory known as the "State\nDirectory of New Hires" which shall contain information supplied by\nemployers in accordance with subdivision three of this section,\nregarding each newly hired or re-hired employee.\n (2) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the terms\n"employer," "employee," and "business day" shall have the following\nmeanings:\n (a) "employee" means an individual who is an employee within the\nmeaning of chapter twenty-four of the internal revenue code of 1986,\nincluding an individual under an independent contractor arrangement with\ncontracts in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars, and does not include\nan employee of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or\ncounterintelligence functions if the head of such agency has determined\nthat a report made pursuant to this section with respect to the\nindividual could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an\nongoing investigation or intelligence mission.\n (b) "employer" means an individual or entity within the meaning given\nthe term employer in section three thousand four hundred one (d) of the\ninternal revenue code of 1986 and includes:\n (i) any governmental entity, and\n (ii) any labor organization as defined in section two (5) of the\nnational labor relations act, including any entity (also known as a\n"hiring hall") which is used by such labor organization and an employer\nto carry out the requirements described in section eight (f)(3) of the\nnational labor relations act with respect to any agreement that may\nexist between the labor organization and the employer.\n (c) "business day" means a day on which state offices are open for\nregular business.\n (3) Employer reporting requirements:\n (a) General. Employers shall furnish to the state directory of new\nhires a report that contains the name, address, and social security\nnumber of each newly hired or re-hired employee who works in the state,\nand the employer's name, address, and identification number as assigned\npursuant to section six thousand one hundred nine of the internal\nrevenue code of 1986. Employers also shall report if dependent health\ninsurance benefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for\nthe benefits.\n (b) Format. Each report shall be submitted on a W-4 (employee's\nwithholding allowance certificate) form or, at employer option, an\nequivalent form and transmitted by first class mail, magnetically, or\nelectronically to the state directory of new hires. In addition, if each\nreport is submitted on a W-4, an additional form as prescribed by the\ndepartment shall be submitted to report if dependent health insurance\nbenefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for the\nbenefits. That additional form shall be transmitted by first class mail,\nmagnetically, or electronically to the state directory of new hires.\n (c) Timing. Employers must submit reports to the state directory of\nnew hires within twenty calendar days of the employer's hiring or\nre-hiring of the employee. However, in the case of an employer\ntransmitting reports magnetically or electronically, by two monthly\ntransmissions (if necessary), such reports shall be transmitted not less\nthan twelve calendar days nor more than sixteen calendar days apart.\n (d) Multistate employers. An employer that has employees who work in\nNew York and employees who work in one or more other states, and\ntransmits reports magnetically or electronically, may designate New York\nor one of the other states in which such employer has employees as the\nstate to which the employer will transmit the report to the state\ndirectory of new hires. Any employer which transmits reports by this\nmethod must notify the secretary of the federal department of health and\nhuman services in writing as to which state such employer designates for\nthe purpose of sending reports.\n (e) Federal government employers. Any department, agency, or\ninstrumentality of the federal government shall transmit new hire\nreports as required by section four hundred fifty-three A (b)(1)(C) of\nthe social security act.\n (4) The department shall:\n (a) notify all employers of the requirements for reporting information\nto the state directory of new hires as provided in subdivision three of\nthis section;\n (b) enter information into the database maintained by the state\ndirectory of new hires within five business days of receipt from an\nemployer pursuant to subdivision three of this section;\n (c) make automated comparisons of social security numbers between the\nstate directory of new hires and the state case registry maintained by\nthe office of temporary and disability assistance for administration of\nthe child support enforcement program and, where there is a match,\nprovide the office of temporary and disability assistance with the name,\naddress, and social security number of the employee to whom the social\nsecurity number is assigned, and the name and address of the employer\nand the employer's identifying number assigned to the employer under\nsection six thousand nine of the internal revenue code of 1986, within\none business day after the date the information is entered into the\nstate directory of new hires;\n (d) transmit new hire information to the national directory of new\nhires maintained by the federal department of health and human services\nwithin three business days after the date the information is entered\ninto the state directory of new hires;\n (e) conduct matches with the office of temporary and disability\nassistance, the department of health, and the department of labor to\nverify individuals' eligibility for the various programs specified under\nsection one thousand one hundred thirty-seven (b) of the social security\nact and for other public assistance programs authorized by state law,\nand for the purposes of administering state employment security\nprograms, and with the workers' compensation board for the purpose of\nadministering workers' compensation programs;\n (f) on or before October first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven, enter\ninto written agreements with the commissioners of the office of\ntemporary and disability assistance, health, and labor on behalf of the\noffice of temporary and disability assistance and the departments of\nhealth and labor respectively and the chair of the workers' compensation\nboard on behalf of such board, which shall:\n (i) provide for the disclosure of information obtained from the\nreports required to be submitted pursuant to this section to such\ndepartments and board for the purposes set forth in this section;\n (ii) specify the frequency with which the department shall furnish\ninformation obtained from such reports to such office, departments, and\nboard, which shall be within one business day after the date the\ninformation is entered into the state directory of new hires;\n (iii) set forth the procedure for reimbursement of the department by\nsuch office, departments, and board subject to the approval of the\ndirector of the budget for the additional costs of carrying out the\nprovisions of this section;\n (iv) include such other matters as the parties to such agreement shall\ndeem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section; and\n (g) furnish to the national directory of new hires, on a quarterly\nbasis, extracts of the reports required under paragraph six of\nsubsection (a) of section three hundred three of the federal social\nsecurity act to be made to the secretary of labor concerning wages and\nunemployment compensation paid to individuals, by such dates, and in\nsuch manner as the secretary of health and human services shall specify\nby regulations. The state department of labor shall, consistent with the\nauthority contained in paragraph e of subdivision three of section five\nhundred thirty-seven of the labor law, disclose to the state directory\nof new hires, such wage and unemployment compensation information as may\nbe necessary to allow such state directory to comply with the provisions\nof this paragraph.\n