The Florida Senate

409.2576  State Directory of New Hires; definitions; furnishing reports and data; matches to state registry; service of deduction notices; national registry; disclosure of information; rulemaking authority.--

(1)  DIRECTORY CREATED.--The State Directory of New Hires is hereby created and shall be administered by the Department of Revenue or its agent. The Department of Labor and Employment Security will act as the agent until a date not later than October 1, 1998. All employers in the state shall furnish a report consistent with subsection (3) for each newly hired or rehired employee unless the employee is employed by 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 compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

(2)  DEFINITIONS.--For purposes of this section:

(a)  "Employee" is defined as an individual who is an employee within the meaning of chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(b)  "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.

(c)  "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.

(d)  "Date of hire" is the first day of work for which the employee is owed income.

(3)  EMPLOYERS TO FURNISH REPORTS.--

(a)  Each employer subject to the reporting requirements of chapter 443 with 250 or more employees, shall provide to the State Directory of New Hires, a report listing the employer's legal name, address, and unemployment compensation identification number. The report must also provide the name and social security number of each new employee or rehired employee at the end of the first pay period following employment or reemployment.

(b)  Upon termination of the contract with the Department of Labor and Employment Security, but not later than October 1, 1998, 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.

(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.--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.

(5)  ENTRY OF DATA.--The State Directory of New Hires shall enter new hire information into an automated database within 5 business days of receipt.

(6)  MATCHES TO STATE REGISTRY.--Not later than May 1, 1998, 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.--Not later than October 1, 1998, the Title IV-D agency shall transmit a wage withholding notice consistent with s. 61.1301 to the employee's employer within 2 business days of entry of the new hire information into the State Directory of New Hires' database, unless the court has determined that the employee's wages are not subject to withholding. The withholding notice shall direct the employer to withhold income in accordance with the income deduction order.

(8)  PROVIDING INFORMATION TO NATIONAL DIRECTORY.--Not later than October 1, 1997, the State Directory of New Hires must furnish information regarding newly hired or rehired employees 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 from the employer into the State Directory of New Hires. The State Directory of New Hires shall enter into an agreement with the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security for the quarterly reporting to the National Directory of New Hires information on wages and unemployment compensation 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 ¹intelligence mission.

(9)  DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.--

(a)  New hire information 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 unemployment compensation program under s. 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954;

4.  The food stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; 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)  New hire information shall be disclosed to the state agencies operating employment security and workers' compensation programs for the purposes of administering such programs.

(10)  RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.--The Department of Revenue shall have the authority to adopt rules to implement this section.

History.--s. 55, ch. 97-170; s. 30, ch. 98-397.

¹Note.--The word "intelligence" was substituted for the word "intelligency" by the editors.