Fla. Stat. § 409.2576 — Florida Code / Title XXX / Chapter 409 / Part I / Section 409.2576
409.2576 State Directory of New Hires.
Status: in_force

(1) DIRECTORY CREATED. — The State Directory of New Hires is hereby created and shall be administered by the Department of Revenue or its agent. All employers and service recipients in this state shall furnish a report consistent with subsection (3) for each newly hired or rehired employee or individual who is not an employee but is provided payment for services rendered, unless the employee or individual is employed by or under contract with a federal or state agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions and the head of such agency has determined that reporting pursuant to this section could endanger the safety of the employee or individual or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

(2) DEFINITIONS. — For purposes of this section: (a) “Date of hire” is the first day of work for which the employee is owed income. (b) “Employee” is defined as an individual who is an employee within the meaning of chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (c) “Employer” has the meaning given such term in s. 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes any government entity and labor organization. (d) “Labor organization” has the meaning given such term in s. 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act and includes any entity which is used by the organization and an employer to carry out requirements described in s. 8(f)(3) of such act of an agreement between the organization and employer. (e) “Service recipient” means a person engaged in a trade or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the course of such trade or business.

(3) EMPLOYERS AND SERVICE RECIPIENTS TO FURNISH REPORTS. — (a) All employers shall furnish a report to the State Directory of New Hires of the state in which the newly hired or rehired employee works. The report required in this section shall be made on a W-4 form or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent form, and can be transmitted magnetically, electronically, by first-class mail, or other methods which may be prescribed by the State Directory. Each report shall include the name, address, date of hire, and social security number of every new and rehired employee and the name, address, and federal employer identification number of the reporting employer. If available, the employer may also include the employee’s date of birth in the report. Multistate employers that report new hire information electronically or magnetically may designate a single state to which it will transmit the above noted report, provided the employer has employees in that state and the employer notifies the Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing to which state the information will be provided. Agencies of the United States Government shall report directly to the National Directory of New Hires. (b) A service recipient shall report to the State Directory of New Hires an individual who is not an employee in the same manner as described in paragraph (a) but who the service recipient, while engaged in a trade or business, pays in an amount of $600 or more per calendar year for services rendered in the course of the trade or business. The report must include the name, address, and social security number or other identifying number assigned to the individual under s. 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; the date services for payment were first rendered by the individual; and the name, address, and employer identification number of the service recipient. (c) Pursuant to the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, each party is required to provide his or her social security number in accordance with this section. Disclosure of social security numbers obtained through this requirement shall be limited to the purpose of administration of the Title IV-D program for child support enforcement and those programs listed in subsection (9).

(4) TIME FOR REPORTS. — (a) Employers must report new hire information, as described in subsection (3), within 20 days of the hire date of the employee, or, in the case of employers that report new hire information electronically or by magnetic tape, by two monthly transmissions, if necessary, not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart. (b) Service recipients must report on individuals subject to reporting under paragraph (3)(b) within 20 days after the earlier of: 1. The date of the first payment made which requires an information return in accordance with s. 6041A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 2. The date on which a contract providing for such payments is entered into. If service recipients report individuals under this paragraph electronically or by magnetic tape, the reports may be made by two monthly transmissions, if necessary, but may not be less than 12 days or more than 16 days apart.

(5) ENTRY OF DATA. — The State Directory of New Hires shall enter information reported under this section into an automated database within 5 business days of receipt.

(6) MATCHES TO STATE REGISTRY. — The Department of Revenue or its agent must conduct automated matches of the social security numbers of employees reported to the State Directory of New Hires against the social security numbers of records in the State Case Registry. The Title IV-D agency shall use the new hire information received to locate individuals for the purposes of establishing paternity and establishing, modifying, and enforcing support obligations. Private entities under contract with the Title IV-D agency to provide Title IV-D services may have access to information obtained from the State Directory of New Hires and must comply with privacy safeguards.

(7) WAGE WITHHOLDING NOTICE AND NATIONAL MEDICAL SUPPORT NOTICE. — The department shall transmit a wage withholding notice consistent with s. 61.1301 and, when appropriate, a national medical support notice, as defined in s. 61.046, within 2 business days after entry of the new hire information into the State Directory of New Hires’ database, unless the court has determined that the obligor’s wages or other income is not subject to withholding or, for purposes of the national medical support notice, the support order does not contain a provision to provide health insurance. The withholding notice shall direct the employer or other payor of income to withhold income in accordance with the income deduction order, and the national medical support notice shall direct the employer to withhold premiums for health insurance.

(8) PROVIDING INFORMATION TO NATIONAL DIRECTORY. — The State Directory of New Hires must furnish information regarding newly hired or rehired employees and other individuals subject to reporting to the National Directory of New Hires for matching with the records of other state case registries within 3 business days of entering such information into the State Directory of New Hires. The State Directory of New Hires shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Commerce or its tax collection service provider for the quarterly reporting to the National Directory of New Hires information on wages and reemployment assistance taken from the quarterly report to the Secretary of Labor, now required by Title III of the Social Security Act, except that 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.

(9) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION. — (a) Information reported under this section shall be disclosed to the state agency administering the following programs for the purposes of determining eligibility under those programs: 1. Any state program funded under part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act; 2. The Medicaid program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act; 3. The reemployment assistance or unemployment compensation program under s. 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; 4. The food assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008; and 5. Any state program under a plan approved under Title I (Old-Age Assistance for the Aged), Title X (Aid to the Blind), Title XIV (Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled), or Title XVI (Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled; Supplemental Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social Security Act. (b) Information reported under this section shall be disclosed to the state agencies operating employment security and workers’ compensation programs for the purposes of administering such programs.

History: s. 55, ch. 97-170; s. 30, ch. 98-397; s. 13, ch. 2002-173; s. 8, ch. 2009-90; s. 10, ch. 2010-209; s. 301, ch. 2011-142; s. 21, ch. 2011-213; s. 63, ch. 2012-30; s. 55, ch. 2013-18; s. 10, ch. 2021-103; s. 137, ch. 2024-6.