FINAL BILL REPORT

HB 2393

C 109 L 12

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Concerning employer reporting to the state support registry.

Sponsors: Representatives Rodne, Pedersen, Moscoso and Condotta; by request of Department of Social and Health Services.

House Committee on Judiciary

House Committee on Health & Human Services Appropriations & Oversight

Senate Committee on Human Services & Corrections

Background:

As a condition of receiving federal funds for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the state's child support enforcement program, states must comply with federal requirements regarding child support laws.

For the purposes of enforcing child support obligations, states must have employer "new hire reporting" requirements. The new hire reporting requirements have been in effect since the 1990s.

All employers doing business in Washington must report to the state support registry (registry) the hiring of any new employee and the rehiring of any employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay, or terminated from employment. The employer must provide the employee's name, Social Security number, and date of birth. Employers may report by mailing a copy of the employee's W-4 form or by other means authorized by the registry, including electronically.

The registry retains information on an employee only if the registry is responsible for establishing, enforcing, or collecting a support debt of the employee. The registry may keep information on an employee for as long as may be necessary to share the information with the national directory of new hires as required under federal law or to provide the information to other state agencies for comparison with records possessed by those agencies. For example, the Employment Security Department obtains information in the new hire registry to help monitor the unlawful collection of unemployment benefits. Information that is not permitted to be retained is destroyed.

In 2011 federal legislation was enacted requiring states to amend their new hire reporting registry laws in two ways: (1) employers must report the employee's hire date; and (2) states must use the federal law's definition of "newly-hired employee."

Summary:

Employers must report to the state support registry (registry) the hiring of any person who has not previously been employed by the employer or who was previously employed by the employer but has been separated from that employment for at least 60 consecutive days. Employers must report the date the employee first performed services for pay.

Employers must report, to the extent practicable, by W-4 form, or at the option of the employer, an equivalent form, and may mail the form, or may transmit it electronically, or by other means authorized by the registry.

Votes on Final Passage: