2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVII - Public Welfare › Chapter 119a - Child Support Enforcement › Section 1a - Definitions

Section 1A. For purposes of administering the child support enforcement program pursuant to this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
''Business day'', a day on which offices of the commonwealth are open for regular business.
''Employee'', an individual who performs any service, of whatever nature, for wages or other compensation, including services (i) under an independent contractor arrangement, (ii) as an officer of a corporation, or (iii) as an officer, employee or elected official of the United States, a state, or any political subdivision thereof, or any city or town, or the District of Columbia, or any agency or instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing; and any person included under chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code.
''Employer'', the person for whom an individual performs or performed any service, of whatever nature, as the employee of such person, except that—
(a) if the person for whom the individual performs or performed the services does not have control of the payment of the wages for such services, the term ''employer'' means the person having control of the payment of such wages, and
(b) in the case of a person paying wages on behalf of a nonresident alien individual, foreign partnership, or foreign corporation, not engaged in trade or business within the United States, the term ''employer'' means such person.
''Employer'' shall include the United States, a state, or any political subdivision thereof, or city or town, or the District of Columbia, or any agency or instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing, and any person included under section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. ''Employer'' shall also include any entity also known as a hiring hall, which is used by a labor organization described in section 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act 29 USC 152(5) and an employer to carry out requirements of agreements that require the employer to notify the labor organization of opportunities for employment with such employer, or that give such labor organization an opportunity to refer qualified applicants for such employment, and any entity through which a labor organization provides health care coverage or other benefits to its members.
''Income'', any periodic form of payment due to an individual, regardless of source, including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, unemployment and workers' compensation, disability payments, payments pursuant to a pension or retirement plan, military pay, other payments made in lieu of periodic payments including severance pay and salary advance, and interest.
''IV–D services'', child support enforcement services provided by the IV–D agency relating to the location of obligees and obligors, the establishment of paternity or the establishment, modification, or enforcement of child support obligations and health care coverage, the collection and disbursement of child support payments, and any other services and responsibilities required by Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act, as appropriate, with respect to each child for whom public assistance is provided under Title IV, Parts A and E, and Title XIX, of the Social Security Act, or under other public assistance programs as required by federal or state law, or for whom such assistance was provided and the IV–D agency continues to provide child support enforcement services; and any other child, if an individual applies for such services with respect to the child.
''Obligee'', an individual to whom support is or may be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment of paternity has been, or may be, rendered or a state or political subdivision to which rights under a child support obligation have been assigned or which has independent claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee.
''Obligor'', an individual, or the estate of a decedent, who owes or may owe a duty of support, or who is liable under a child support obligation, or who is alleged, by sworn statement, to be the parent of a child to whom a duty of support is owed.
''Pension or retirement plan'', any program providing payments or benefits to former employees, including programs pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 USC 1001, et seq.; any other private pension or retirement program, including intrastate pension plans and church pension plans; any federal employee retirement system pursuant to 5 USC 8401, et seq., civil service retirement and disability system pursuant to 5 USC 8301, et seq., or United States military pension or retirement plan pursuant to Title 10, Subtitles A, B, C and D of the United States Code; any program pursuant to chapter 484 of the acts of 1950; and any other public contributory retirement system, pursuant to any other codified or uncodified statute, for the benefit of employees of any governmental unit or political subdivision of the commonwealth, any district or public unit created within one or more political subdivisions of the commonwealth for the purpose of providing public services or conveniences, any public school district, the general court, the judiciary, any military department of the commonwealth, any public commission or board, any public authority including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Port Authority and any municipal or regional housing authority, or any other public entity.
''Support order'', a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state, which provides for monetary support, health care coverage, arrearages, or reimbursement, and which may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorneys' fees, and other monetary relief. For purposes of enforcement only, ''support order'' includes an order for the support of a parent with whom the child is living.