10 June 2020 Businesses reopening from COVID-19 shutdown may need to file new-hire reports for returning employees As businesses affected by COVID-19 reopen and employees return to work, several states have posted alerts to their websites directing that employers include employees on their new-hire reports as they return to work after a COVID-19 shutdown. While many of these sites indicate that employers should report ALL returning employees (i.e., Minnesota), federal and state guidelines generally set a period before the reporting of new hires or rehires is required. Under federal law, new-hire reporting is required for employees who are separated from employment for at least 60 days; however, states may require reporting for shorter separation periods and, in that case, employers must comply with state law. Most states impose a 20-day requirement. Employers should review state requirements to determine the frequency for reporting rehired employees. For example, Pennsylvania requires that rehired employees or those returning to work be reported following a 30-day period and Connecticut imposes a 20-day requirement. Information concerning the state new-hire reporting requirements is available from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) here. Federal law gives multistate employers the option of reporting new and rehired employees to a single state where they have employees, thereby reducing the administrative burden of reporting to individual states. In addition to reducing the number of states where they report new hires, multistate employers can choose the state having the most favorable requirements.
Document ID: 2020-1526 | |||||||||||
