52306 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and

Families

Office of Child Support Enforcement

45 CFR Part 303

RIN 0970–AB67

Child Support Enforcement Program

Quarterly Wage and Unemployment

Compensations Claims Reporting to

the National Directory of New Hires

AGENCY: Office of Child Support

Enforcement (OCSE), HHS.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

implement section 453A(g)(2)(B) of the

Social Security Act (the Act), as added

by section 313(b) of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA)

and amended by section 5533 of Public

Law 105–33, section 303(h) of the Act,

in part, as amended by section 316(g) of

PRWORA, and section 3304(a)(16) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as

amended by section 316(g) of PRWORA.

These provisions require certain State

entities to furnish quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation data to

the National Directory of New Hires or

to the Secretary of Health and Human

Services.

DATES: Consideration will be given to

comments received by December 8,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Director,

Office of Child Support Enforcement,

Administration for Children and

Families, 370 L’Enfant Promenade,

S.W., 4th floor, Washington, D.C. 20447.

Attention: Director, Policy and Planning

Division, Mail Stop: OCSE/DPP.

Comments will be available for public

inspection Monday through Friday, 8:30

a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 4th floor of the

Department’s offices at the above

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Anne Benson, Policy Branch, OCSE

(202) 401–1467, e-mail:

abenson@acf.dhhs.gov. Deaf and

hearing-impaired individuals may call

the federal Dual Party Relay Service at

1–800–877–8339 between 8:00 a.m. and

7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Statutory Authority

This proposed regulation is published

under the authority of section

453A(g)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act

(the Act), 42 U.S.C. 653A(g)(2)(B), as

added by section 313(b) of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA),

Public Law 104–193 and amended by

section 5533 of Public Law 105–33,

section 303(h) of the Act, in part, 42

U.S.C. 503(h), as amended by section

316(g) of PRWORA, and section

3304(a)(16) of the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. 3304(a)(16), as

amended by section 316(g) of PRWORA.

This regulation is also proposed

under the authority granted to the

Secretary of Health and Human Services

(Secretary) by section 1102 of the Act,

42 U.S.C. 1302. Section 1102 of the Act

authorizes the Secretary to publish

regulations that may be necessary for

the efficient administration of the

functions for which she is responsible

under the Act.

Section 453A(g)(2)(B) of the Act

requires the State Directory of New

Hires to furnish, on a quarterly basis,

data concerning the wages and

unemployment compensation paid to

individuals to the National Directory of

New Hires. Pursuant to section

453A(g)(2)(B) of the Act, the Secretary of

the Department of Health and Human

Services is required to publish

regulations to identify the dates, format,

and data elements necessary for the

State Directory of New Hires to furnish

the quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation data to the National

Directory of New Hires.

Section 3304(a)(16) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986 contains

requirements that must be included in

State Unemployment Compensation

laws for employers in the State to

receive Federal Unemployment Tax

credits. Section 316(g) of Public Law

104–193 amended section 3304(a)(16) of

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to

provide that the wage and

unemployment compensation

information contained in the records of

the State agency administering that

program shall be furnished to the

Secretary of Health and Human

Services, in accordance with regulations

promulgated by the Secretary, as may be

necessary for the purposes of the

National Directory of New Hires under

section 453(i)(1) of the Act. The

Secretary intends to maintain the

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation data reported pursuant to

section 3304(a)(16) in the National

Directory of New Hires (NDNH), which

is being established pursuant to section

453 of the Act.

Section 303(h)(1)(A) of the Act, as

amended by section 316(g) of Public

Law 104–193, requires the State agency

charged with the administration of the

unemployment compensation program,

on a reimbursable basis, to disclose

quarterly, to the Secretary of Health and

Human Services, wage and claim

information, as required pursuant to

section 453(i)(1) of the Act, that is

contained in the records of such agency.

As is the case with information reported

pursuant to section 3304(a)(16) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the

Secretary intends to maintain any

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation data reported pursuant to

section 303(h) of the Act in the NDNH.

Section 303(h)(3)(A) of the Act defines

‘‘wage information’’ as ‘‘information

regarding wages paid to an individual,

the social security account number of

such individual, and the name, address,

State, and the Federal employer

identification number of the employer

paying such wages to such individual.’’

Section 303(h)(3)(B) defines ‘‘claim

information’’ as ‘‘information regarding

whether an individual is receiving, has

received, or has made application for,

unemployment compensation, the

amount of any such compensation being

received (or to be received by such

individual), and the individual’s current

(or most recent) home address.’’ Title III

of the Act, Grants to States for

Unemployment Compensation

Administration, is directly administered

by the Department of Labor. We are

referencing section 303(h)(1)(A) of the

Act because this provision references

information required pursuant to

section 453(i)(1) of the Act. Section

453(i)(1) is administered by the

Department of Health and Human

Services, and the information that is

required pursuant to that section (which

in turn references information supplied

pursuant to section 453A(g)(2)) is being

established in this proposed rule. The

Secretary also adopted the definitions

included in section 303(h) in the

proposed rule in order to enable the

implementation of the provisions in an

integrated and complementary manner.

Background

The Federal Parent Locator Service

(FPLS) is a computerized network

established pursuant to section 453 of

the Act, 42 U.S.C. 653, through which

States may request information from

Federal and State agencies to find

noncustodial parents and/or their

employers for purposes of establishing

paternity and securing support. The

Personal Responsibility and Work

Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

requires the Secretary to develop an

expanded FPLS to improve States’

ability to locate child support obligors

and to establish and enforce child

support orders, as well as for other

specified purposes in Title IV-D of the

Act. The Office of Child Support
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Proposed Rules 52307

Enforcement (OCSE), within the

Administration for Children and

Families (ACF), is charged with the task

of developing, implementing, and

maintaining the expanded FPLS. The

Secretary will house the expanded FPLS

in the Social Security Administration’s

National Computer Center, because

locating the expanded FPLS there will

provide the most efficient and costeffective mechanism for developing the

expanded FPLS, as well as ensuring

state-of-the-art standards for system

security and confidentiality of the data.

The expanded FPLS will include the

National Directory of New Hires

(operational no later than October 1,

1997) and a Federal Case Registry

(operational no later than October 1,

1998), and will maintain the capability

to seek information from existing FPLS

data sources, including, but not limited

to, the Internal Revenue Service, Social

Security Administration, Department of

Defense, and Department of Veterans

Affairs. The expanded FPLS will

perform regular cross matches between

the National Directory of New Hires and

the Federal Case Registry. With these

new FPLS resources, the interstate

matching of child support obligors and

employment, earnings, and benefits data

will flow more efficiently and quickly

between States.

The NDNH will contain three types of

information. First, the NDNH will

maintain employment data on newlyhired employees (new hire reporting)

submitted by State Directories of New

Hires pursuant to section 453A(g)(2)(A)

of the Act, and by federal agencies

pursuant to section 453A(b)(1)(C) of the

Act. Second, the NDNH will maintain

quarterly wage information on

individual employees received pursuant

to sections 453A(g)(2)(B) and 303(h) of

the Act, and section 3304(a)(16) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as well

as quarterly wage information on federal

employees received pursuant to 453(n)

of the Act. Third, the NDNH will

maintain unemployment compensation

claims data received pursuant to

sections 453A(g)(2)(B) and 303(h) of the

Act, and section 3304(a)(16) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986. States

will be required to transmit new hire,

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims data electronically

to the NDNH. This proposed rule

addresses specifically quarterly wage

and unemployment compensation

claims reporting to the National

Directory of New Hires. Policy guidance

and program instructions on new hire

reporting will be forthcoming (see also

OCSE Action Transmittal 97–04, March

12, 1997).

The purpose of the NDNH is to

develop a repository of information on

newly-hired employees, and on the

earnings and unemployment

compensation claims data of employees.

The purpose of including quarterly

wage and unemployment compensation

claims data in the NDNH is to provide

States with the ability to quickly locate

information on the address of,

employment of, and unemployment

compensation being paid to, parents

with child support obligations who are

residing or working in other States.

States will be seeking to locate these

parents and their employers to either

establish or enforce a child support

order. Quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation claims

data will provide information on

continuously employed and

unemployed individuals who would not

be located solely by new hire reporting.

Most States have been matching their

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims data against their

respective State child support caseloads

since the 1980’s. In addition, since 1990

the Federal Parent Locator Service has

conducted cross-matches between State

child support locate requests and State

Employment Security Agencies,

although such matches are currently

limited to 250,000 cases per State per biweekly cross-match. The information

generated from cross-matches between

quarterly wage, claims and child

support data, both at the State level and

in the more limited FPLS context, has

proven extremely beneficial for the

location of child support obligors and

their wages. The inclusion of quarterly

wage and unemployment

compensations claims data in the NDNH

will allow for a substantially higher

volume of interstate cross-matching

than is currently possible.

The Federal Case Registry will be a

national registry of individuals involved

in child support cases, constructed from

abstracts of child support case and order

information that State Case Registries

will transmit to the Federal Case

Registry. The expanded FPLS, through a

matching process between NDNH and

the Federal Case Registry, will be able

to automatically provide States with

information on address, employment,

and unemployment compensation

claims data on parents owing child

support. The expanded FPLS will also

alert States to other States that have

registered the same individual.

In an effort to be responsive to the

President’s Memorandum of March 4,

1995 to heads of Departments and

Agencies which announced a

government-wide Regulatory

Reinvention Initiative to reduce or

eliminate burdens on States, other

governmental agencies or the private

sector, OCSE formed an FPLS

workgroup which held three meetings

between September, 1996 and March,

1997. The purpose of the FPLS

workgroup is to provide consultation

regarding the design, development, and

regulatory requirements for the

expanded FPLS. This group is

comprised of representatives from State

Child Support Agencies, State

Employment Security Agencies, the

Federal Office of Child Support

Enforcement, the U.S. Department of

Labor, the Social Security

Administration, the Interstate

Conference of State Employment

Security Agencies, employer groups,

payroll associations, and other

interested individuals. The workgroup

members provided information

regarding quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation claims

reporting which was considered in

developing these proposed regulations.

Description of Regulatory Provisions

We are proposing to implement the

three new statutory reporting

requirements by adding a new section,

45 CFR 303.108, ‘‘Quarterly Wage and

Unemployment Compensations Claims

Reporting to the National Directory of

New Hires,’’ to existing rules governing

the child support enforcement program

under Title IV–D of the Act. Although

there are three separate reporting

provisions, the information required to

be reported is substantially the same for

all three. Therefore, OCSE proposes to

address the Secretary’s responsibilities

under all three provisions by a single

regulation which will permit the data

required to be furnished under the three

provisions to be supplied in a single,

quarterly submission. Further, OCSE

will consider the reporting requirements

to have been satisfied if any one of the

required reporting entities submits the

information in accordance with the

provisions of the regulation. OCSE

intends to leave the decision as to

which entity will report up to the

individual States. Accordingly, the

regulation refers to the ‘‘State’’ as the

entity that must transmit data to the

NDNH. However, if data is not reported

as required under the proposed

regulation, OCSE intends to hold the

State Title IV–D agency accountable for

the failure of the State Directory of New

Hires to report as required under section

453A(g)(2)(B). Section 454(28) of the

Act, as added by section 313(a) of

PRWORA, added a new State plan

requirement for Title IV–D agencies to

operate a State Directory of New Hires

in accordance with section 453A of the
52308 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Act. The failure to report as required

pursuant to section 303(h) of the Act or

section 3304(a)(16) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986 may also result

in actions being taken by the Secretary

of Labor.

The proposed 45 CFR 303.108(a)

contains definitions designed to clarify

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims reporting.

Paragraph (a)(1) defines ‘‘Reporting

period’’ as the time elapsed during a

calendar quarter, e.g. January–March,

April–June, July–September, October–

December. ‘‘Wage information’’ is

defined in paragraph (a)(2) as: (1) the

name of the employee; (2) the

employee’s social security number; (3)

aggregate wages of the employee during

the reporting period; and (4) the name

and address (and optionally, any second

address for wage withholding purposes)

and Federal employer identification

number of the employer reporting

wages. In the event that an individual is

working more than one job, the State

must transmit separate quarterly records

containing the ‘‘wage information’’ for

each job an individual has held. The

information being included as wage

information is the minimal amount of

data needed to meet the purposes of the

NDNH. OCSE is requesting data on the

names of employees in order to meet the

requirements of section 453(j)(1) of the

Act, 42 U.S.C. 653(j)(1). Section 453(j)(1)

requires the Secretary of Health and

Human Services to transmit the

information in the NDNH to the Social

Security Administration to verify the

accuracy of the name, social security

number, and birth date of each

individual. ‘‘Unemployment

compensation or claim information’’ is

defined in paragraph (a)(3) as: (1)

Whether an individual is receiving, has

received or has applied for

unemployment compensation; (2) the

individual’s name and current (or most

recent) home address; (3) the

individual’s social security number; and

4) the aggregate gross amount of

compensation the claimant received

during the reporting quarter.

The proposed paragraph (b) of 45 CFR

303.108 contains the requirements for

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims reporting. Under

proposed paragraph (b), the State would

be required to disclose quarterly, to the

National Directory of New Hires, wage

and claim information, as defined in

paragraph (a), that is collected pursuant

to a State’s unemployment

compensation program referenced in

Title III of the Act or pursuant to section

1137 of the Act. OCSE does not propose

to require the collection or reporting of

any additional wage information for

purposes of the NDNH beyond that

which is currently being collected.

Wage and unemployment claim

information is currently reported to

agencies administering unemployment

compensation laws under title III of the

Act or to other agencies pursuant to

section 1137(a) of the Act as part of the

income and eligibility verification

program, so proposed paragraph (b) will

not impose an additional information

requirement. OCSE is also aware that

some States’ compensation records

either do not include employee names

or record only a partial set of the letters

in the employee’s name. Similarly,

OCSE is aware that State unemployment

compensation laws do not require all

employers to report information. In the

proposed regulation, the State is only

required to supply wage information

which is already contained in the

records of the State. Therefore, in the

case of employee names or wages, a

State is required to send us as much

information on employee names or

wages as exists in the unemployment

compensation records, or in the records

maintained for purposes of section 1137

of the Act if the information is

maintained by another agency. The

reference to section 1137 has been

included to cover those situations where

States have alternate data collection

systems to make it clear that the data in

such alternate systems would be

covered by the regulation.

Similarly, the State is only required to

supply claim information which is

already contained in the records of the

State agency administering the

unemployment compensation program

or the records maintained for purposes

of section 1137 of the Act. There is no

requirement being imposed to collect

additional claim information for

purposes of the NDNH. In addition, the

State is only being required to furnish

the NDNH with claim information that

is processed electronically. OCSE

believes that it is neither feasible nor

cost effective to require that States

transmit claims data for those relatively

few benefit programs which are

processed manually. State Employment

Security Agencies and the Department

of Labor have indicated that manually

processed claims comprise a very small

portion of total claims. We understand

that the unemployment compensation

programs being administered by States

cover any compensation payable under

State unemployment compensation law

(including amounts payable in

accordance with agreements under any

Federal unemployment compensation

law) and extended benefits,

unemployment compensation for

Federal employees, unemployment

compensation for ex-servicemen, trade

readjustment allowances, and disaster

unemployment assistance. We invite

comment regarding the regulatory

language and whether it appropriately

covers these benefits.

The proposed 45 CFR 303.108(c) sets

the time frames for quarterly wage and

claims reporting. The State would be

required to report wage information for

the reporting period no later than the

end of the fourth month following the

reporting period. For the reporting

period of July-September, 1997, the first

period for which wage reporting would

be required, the State would be required

to furnish wage information to the

Secretary no later than January 31, 1998.

Currently, State laws generally allow

employers one month following the

reporting period to report quarterly

wages to the State agency administering

the unemployment compensation

program. We believe that the time frame

for States to report wage information to

the Secretary for the purposes of the

NDNH will ensure that States have

adequate time to enter, edit, and

transmit wage information to the

Secretary. Given the necessity and

importance of maintaining accurate

wage data in the NDNH, the proposed

schedule for reporting allows States

ample time to work with employers to

correct inaccurate wage reports and to

submit complete and comprehensive

wage information on employees within

a State.

The State would be required to report

claim information for the reporting

period no later than the end of the first

month following the end of the

reporting period. The State would be

required to begin the reporting of claim

information for the reporting period of

October-December, 1997. We believe

that a shorter time frame for submitting

claim information, as opposed to wage

information, is appropriate because the

State agency charged with administering

the unemployment compensation

program maintains this data on an

ongoing basis. Also, as noted above, the

collection of wage information lags

behind the collection of claim

information because of the time

required to ensure that wage

information submitted is accurate.

In order to ensure the effective

implementation of the NDNH, the

Secretary is planning a staggered

schedule for initial data submissions to

the NDNH. The reporting of new hire

data will begin on October 1, 1997,

followed by initial quarterly wage and

claims information submissions on

January 31, 1998. For this reason, the

Secretary will require that claims
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Proposed Rules 52309

information be submitted for the period

beginning October–December, 1997,

rather than July–September, 1997.

The proposed 45 CFR 303.108(d)

provides that the Secretary will

establish standardized formats for

reporting quarterly wage and claim

information and that the States will be

required to adhere to such formats for

reporting purposes. The formats identify

the data elements, descriptions and tape

specifications for reporting quarterly

wage and claim information. These

formats were published in the Federal

Register for comment on July 25, 1997

(62 FR 40092).

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

Sections 453A(g)(2)(B) and 303(h) of

the Act and section 3304(a)(16) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986 contain

information collection requirements. As

required by the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the

Administration for Children and

Families has submitted a copy of this

section to the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) for its review.

As discussed earlier, sections

453A(g)(2)(B) and 303(h) of the Act, and

section 3304(a)(16) of the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986, require various

State entities to furnish to the Secretary

of Health and Human Services or the

National Directory of New Hires, on a

quarterly basis, data concerning the

wages and unemployment

compensation paid to individuals. The

Secretary of the Department of Health

and Human Services is required to

publish regulations to identify the dates,

format, and data elements necessary for

States to furnish this data. The purpose

of these requirements is to develop a

repository of information on the

earnings and unemployment

compensation claims data on all

employees to provide the necessary

information to locate individuals for

child support purposes, as well as for

other specified purposes in Title IV–D

of the Act. This data will be combined

with new hire data to be reported to the

NDNH pursuant to section 453A of the

Act. Quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims data will provide

for the location of continuously

employed and unemployed individuals

who would not be located by new hire

reporting.

All 50 States, as well as the District

of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and

Puerto Rico, will be required to report

quarterly wage and unemployment

compensation claims data to the NDNH.

The proposed regulation requires the

State to disclose quarterly, to the NDNH,

wage and claim information that is

currently being collected pursuant to a

State’s unemployment compensation

program referenced in Title III of the Act

or pursuant to section 1137 of the Act.

Wage information is defined to include:

(1) the name of the employee; (2) the

employee’s social security number; (3)

aggregate wages of the employee during

the reported period; and, (4) the name,

address (and optionally, any second

address for wage withholding purposes),

and Federal employer identification

number of the employer reporting wages

under a State unemployment

compensation law. Claim information is

defined as: (1) The status of an

individual’s claim for unemployment

compensation (i.e., is receiving, has

received, or has made application for

benefits); (2) The individual’s name and

current (or most recent) home address;

(3) the individual’s social security

number; and, (4) the aggregate gross

amount of compensation the claimant

received during the reporting quarter.

To ensure that public comments have

maximum effect in developing the final

regulations, ACF urges that each

commenter clearly identify the specific

section or sections of the regulations

that the comment addresses and that

comments be in the same order as the

regulations.

Because all quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation claims

data will be reported from the State to

the NDNH electronically and will be

limited to data already being collected,

the burden on the States will be

minimal. The average burden per

response is estimated to be 2 minutes

(.03 hours). States may also have a onetime initial start-up burden of two

weeks (80 hours) for reprogramming

their systems to comply with Federal

reporting requirements. The total annual

reporting and recordkeeping burden that

will result from the collection of

information is estimated to be 7.13

hours.

The Administration for Children and

Families will consider comments by the

public on this proposed collection of

information in:

• Evaluating whether the proposed

collection is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of ACF,

including whether the information will

have practical utility;

• Evaluating the accuracy of ACF’s

estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information, including the

validity of the methodology and

assumptions used;

• Enhancing the quality, usefulness,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and

• Minimizing the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technology, e.g., permitting nonelectronic submission of responses.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the collection of information

contained in these proposed regulations

between 30 and 60 days after

publication of this document in the

Federal Register. Therefore, a comment

is best assured of having its full effect

if OMB receives it within 30 days of

publication. This does not affect the

deadline for the public to comment to

the Department on the proposed

regulations. Written comments to OMB

for the proposed information collection

should be sent directly to the following:

Office of Management and Budget,

Paperwork Reduction Project, 725 17th

Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20503,

Attn: Ms. Wendy Taylor.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

The Secretary certifies, under 5 U.S.C.

605(b), as enacted by the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–354), that

this proposed regulation will not result

in a significant impact on a substantial

number of small entities. The primary

impact is on State governments and

individuals. State governments are not

considered small entities under the Act.

Executive Order 12866

Executive Order 12866 requires that

regulations be reviewed to ensure that

they are consistent with the priorities

and principles set forth in the Executive

Order. The Department has determined

that this proposed rule is consistent

with these priorities and principles. The

proposed rule implements the statutory

provisions by specifying the wage and

unemployment compensation claims

information that must be reported to the

Secretary of Health and Human

Services.

Unfunded Mandates Act

The Department has determined that

this proposed rule is not a significant

regulatory action within the meaning of

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995 (P.L. 104–4).

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 303

Child support, Grant programs/social

programs, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Programs No. 93.563, Child Support

Enforcement Program)
52310 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 7, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Dated: July 8, 1997.

Olivia A. Golden,

Principal Deputy Assistant, Secretary for

Children and Families.

Approved: August 14, 1997.

Donna E. Shalala,

Secretary, Department of Health Human

Services.

For the reasons discussed above, we

propose to amend title 45 CFR Chapter

III of the Code of Federal Regulations as

follows:

PART 303—STANDARDS FOR

PROGRAM OPERATIONS

1. The authority citation of Part 303

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 651 through 658, 660,

663, 664, 666, 667, 1302, 1396a(a)(25),

1396(d)(2), 1396b(o), 1396b(p) and 1396(k).

2. A new 303.108 is added to read as

follows:

§ 303.108 Quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation claims

reporting to the national directory of new

hires.

(a) What definitions apply to quarterly

wage and unemployment compensation

claims reporting? When used in this

section:

(1) Reporting period means time

elapsed during a calendar quarter, e.g.

January–March, April–June, July–

September, October–December.

(2) Wage information means:

(i) The name of the employee;

(ii) The social security number of the

employee;

(iii) The aggregate wages of the

employee during the reporting period;

and

(iv) The name, address (and

optionally, any second address for wage

withholding purposes), and Federal

employer identification number of an

employer reporting wages.

(3) Unemployment compensation or

claim information means:

(i) Whether an individual is receiving,

has received or has applied for

unemployment compensation;

(ii) The individual’s name and current

(or most recent) home address;

(iii) The individual’s social security

number; and

(iv) The aggregate gross amount of

compensation the claimant received

during the reporting quarter.

(b) What data must be transmitted to

the National Directory of New Hires?

The State shall disclose quarterly, to the

National Directory of New Hires, wage

and claim information as defined in

paragraph (a) that is collected pursuant

to a State’s unemployment

compensation program referenced in

Title III of the Act or pursuant to section

1137 of the Act.

(c) What time frames apply for

reporting quarterly wage and

unemployment compensation claims

data? The State shall report wage

information for the reporting period no

later than the end of the fourth month

following the reporting period. The

State shall report claim information for

the reporting period no later than the

end of the first month following the

reporting period.

(d) What reporting formats will be

used for reporting data? The State must

use standardized formats established by

the Secretary of Health and Human

Services for reporting wage and claim

information.

[FR Doc. 97–26538 Filed 10–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4184–01–U