Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law SB 1091, which repeals the additional data reporting requirements required on the quarterly state unemployment (SUI) insurance return. The added quarterly reporting was to be phased in starting with the third quarter 2024 SUI return.

SB 1091 also provides that beginning with the third quarter of 2026, employers may include on the quarterly SUI return (1) each employee's occupation and hours worked and (2) the employer's business mailing address and zip code. (Summary of SB 1091.)

Background

Prior to the enactment of SB 1202 in 2021, employers subject to Connecticut SUI were required to submit quarterly returns with information about each employee receiving wages, including their names, Social Security Numbers and wages paid in the quarter.

SB 1202 expanded the data required to be reported on the Connecticut SUI return to:

• Gender identity
• Age
• Race
• Ethnicity
• Veteran status
• Disability status
• Highest education completed
• Home address
• Address of primary work site
• Occupational code under the standard occupational classification (SOC) system of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Hours worked
• Days worked
• Salary or hourly wage
• Employment start date in the current job title
• Employment end date (if applicable)

The data requirements were supposed to be phased in starting with the third quarter of 2024 based on the number of employees of the employer.

SB 1202: Prior law phase-in schedule for expanded quarterly reporting requirements

Ernst & Young Insights

The Commerce Committee report (report) to SB 1091 states that "[s]ince none of the other 49 states require their businesses to report additional information about their employees other than their Social Security number, name, and wages paid, state employers and employees alike view the changes as unnecessary."

Additionally, state employers explained that the additional information required would be costly to acquire and retain and could have an adverse impact on the relationship with their employees.

For these reasons the report states that SB 1091 "aims to support state businesses by removing these additional requirements."

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Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Andrea Ben-Yosef, legal editor