2023 New York Laws › TAX - Tax › Article 8 - Department of Taxation and Finance; Commissioner of Taxation and Finance › 171-A*2 - Statewide Wage Reporting System.

* §  171-a.  Statewide wage reporting system. (1) The department shall
design, develop, implement and operate a wage  reporting  system  within
the  department  utilizing information submitted by employers as defined
under article eighteen of the labor law. The department is authorized to
require submission of a report, in such  form  and  in  such  manner  as
prescribed  by  regulations  for not more frequently than four times per
annum, of the name, social security account number, and gross wages paid
to each employee who resides or is employed in this  state,  whether  or
not such employee is a resident for purposes of this chapter and whether
or  not  the wages of such employee are subject to withholding of tax or
payments of tax under article twenty-two of this chapter. Employers also
shall report if dependent health insurance benefits  are  available.  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.
(2) Such system shall be designed in a manner compatible with existing
reporting   requirements,   to  the  extent  possible,  while  remaining
consistent with the goals of such system, and shall be  consistent  with
the  provisions  of  article  eighteen  of the labor law. Not later than
January  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-six,  the  department  shall,
pursuant  to  regulation,  begin to collect such data in such manner for
the first quarter of calendar year nineteen hundred ninety-six  and  for
all subsequent quarters.
(3)  (a)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner of
taxation and finance shall  maintain  cooperative  agreements  with  the
state  office  of  temporary  and  disability  assistance,  which  shall
provide:
(i) for the utilization by the  office  of  temporary  and  disability
assistance  of  information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this
section, for the purpose of verifying eligibility for and entitlement to
amounts of benefits under  the  social  services  law,  locating  absent
parents  or  other  persons  legally  responsible  for  the  support  of
applicants or recipients of public assistance and care under the  social
services  law  and  persons  legally  responsible  for  the support of a
recipient of services under section one hundred eleven-g of  the  social
services law and, in appropriate cases, establishing support obligations
pursuant  to  the  social services law and the family court act, and for
the purpose of evaluating the effect on  earnings  of  participation  in
employment  or  training  programs  authorized  pursuant  to  the social
services law by current recipients of public assistance and care and  by
former  recipients  of  public assistance and care, such agreement shall
further  provide  to  the  degree  required  by  federal  law  for   the
commissioner  and  the  office of temporary and disability assistance to
provide information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this section
to the federal social security administration or to public  agencies  in
other  states  which  administer  programs  under  the food stamp act of
nineteen hundred seventy-seven or title I, II, IV-A, IV-D, X, XIV,  XVI,
or  XIX  of the federal social security act and to take such other steps
as may be required by section one thousand one hundred  thirty-seven  of
the  social  security act or federal regulations promulgated thereunder;
and
(ii) for the utilization by the office  of  temporary  and  disability
assistance  of  information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this
section, with respect to the parents, the stepparents, the child and the
siblings of the child who were living in the same household as  a  child
who is in the custody, care and custody or custody and guardianship of a

local  social  services district or of the office of children and family
services during the month that the  court  proceedings  leading  to  the
child's  removal  from  the  household  were  initiated,  or the written
instrument  transferring  care  and custody of the child pursuant to the
provisions of section  three  hundred  fifty-eight-a  or  three  hundred
eighty-four-a  of  the social services law was signed, provided however,
that the office of temporary and disability assistance  shall  only  use
the  information  obtained pursuant to this subdivision, for the purpose
of determining the eligibility of such child for  federal  payments  for
foster  care and adoption assistance pursuant to the provisions of title
IV-E of the federal  social  security  act.  Notwithstanding  any  other
provision  of  law, the office of temporary and disability assistance is
authorized to share information obtained pursuant  to  this  subdivision
with  any applicable social services district, provided however, that if
such information is shared, that such  social  services  district  shall
only  use  the  information  obtained for the purpose of determining the
eligibility of such child for  federal  payments  for  foster  care  and
adoption  assistance  pursuant  to  the  provisions of title IV-E of the
federal social security act.
(b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary and not later than  ninety
days  after  the  effective  date of this paragraph, the commissioner of
taxation and finance shall enter into a cooperative agreement  with  the
commissioner of social services for the delivery to the state department
of  social  services of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one
hereof, which information shall be utilized for the purpose of  enabling
such  department  to  fulfill obligations and responsibilities otherwise
incumbent upon the state department of labor under section  one  hundred
twenty-four  of  the  federal  family  support  act  of nineteen hundred
eighty-eight by giving the federal parent locator service, maintained by
the federal department of health and human services,  prompt  access  to
certain  wage  information  for  use  by  such latter department for the
purpose of complying with such act.
(4) Notwithstanding any  law  to  the  contrary  and  not  later  than
September  first,  nineteen hundred ninety-seven, the commissioner shall
enter into a cooperative agreement with the state department of labor to
allow the information obtained by the department pursuant to subdivision
one of this section to be made available to the department of labor,  or
other   individuals   designated  by  the  commissioner  of  labor,  for
administration of such department's employment security programs, public
assistance work programs, or for other purposes  deemed  appropriate  by
the  commissioner  of  labor consistent with the provisions of the labor
law, as well as  for  the  evaluation  of  the  effect  on  earnings  of
participation  in training programs with respect to which the department
of  labor  has  reporting,  monitoring,  administering,  or   evaluating
responsibilities.
5.   Notwithstanding  any  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
commissioner  shall  enter  into  a  cooperative  agreement   with   the
department  of health, which agreement shall provide for the utilization
of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one of this section, for
the purpose of verifying eligibility for  child  health  insurance  plan
subsidy  payments  and  required  premium  payments  under  sections two
thousand five hundred ten and two thousand five hundred  eleven  of  the
public  health law, and for the purpose of verifying eligibility for the
program for elderly pharmaceutical insurance coverage under title  three
of  article  two  of  the elder law, when requested by the department of
health.
(6)  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the office of

vocational and educational services for individuals with disabilities of
the  education  department,  the  commission for the blind and any other
state vocational rehabilitation agency, which  agreement  shall  provide
for  the utilization of information obtained pursuant to subdivision one
of this section,  for  purposes  of  obtaining  reimbursement  from  the
federal  social  security  administration  for expenditures made by such
office, commission or agency on behalf of disabled individuals who  have
achieved economic self-sufficiency.
(6-a)  Notwithstanding  any  provision  of  law  to  the contrary, the
commissioner shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the New  York
state  higher  education  services  corporation,  which  agreement shall
provide  for  the  utilization  of  information  obtained  pursuant   to
subdivision  one of this section, for purposes of default prevention and
collection of defaulted education loan debt, including  judgments,  owed
to  the  federal or New York state government that is being collected by
the New York state higher education services corporation.
(6-b) Notwithstanding any  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
commissioner  shall  enter  into  a cooperative agreement with the state
comptroller, which  agreement  shall  provide  for  the  utilization  of
information  obtained  pursuant  to subdivision one of this section, for
purposes of determining the amount a  retired  member  of  a  retirement
system or pension plan administered by the state or any of its political
subdivisions  who  returns  to  public  employment  has  earned  for the
purposes of sections one hundred two, two hundred  eleven,  two  hundred
twelve and four hundred two of the retirement and social security law.
(7) No employer shall be subject to any civil or criminal liability by
reason  of  his disclosure to the department of any information required
to be disclosed pursuant to this subdivision unless such information  is
knowingly and wilfully reported incorrectly.
(8)  The  provisions of the state freedom of information act shall not
apply to any personally identifiable information obtained by any  agency
or any public official pursuant to the provisions hereof.
(9)  Cross-references.  (a)  For the applicable penalty for failure to
comply with wage reporting requirements, see subsection (v)  of  section
six hundred eighty-five of this chapter.
(b)  See  paragraph  four  of  subsection  (a)  of section six hundred
seventy-four of this chapter for requirements relating to the filing  of
quarterly   combined   withholding,   wage  reporting  and  unemployment
insurance returns.
* NB There are 2 § 171-a's