Wednesday, March 03, 2010
REVISING SOUTH CAROLINA'S NEW HIRE REPORTING STATUTE TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL LAW
Although South Carolina's "Employer New Hire Reporting program" statute is both poorly written and fails to conform to Federal mandates regarding the mandatory nature of the reporting of new hires by employers, it can be made to conform simply by removing three words and adding one word. Our proposed "amended statute" is set forth hereinbelow. The words highlighted in red--"voluntarily" and "may"--are the words that should be removed. The word to add--"shall"--is highlighted in purple.
Admittedly, there are better versions of this statute available, but this one will do the trick.
So what has taken South Carolina so long to revise this statute? And why are Virginia Williamson and Larry McKeown still employed by South Carolina DSS?
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SECTION 63-17-1210. Employer New Hire Reporting program.
(A) By January 1, 1996, the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Social Services shall create and develop an Employer New Hire Reporting program. The Employer New Hire Reporting program shall provide a means for employers to voluntarily assist in the state's efforts to locate absent parents who owe child support and collect child support from those parents by reporting information concerning newly hired and rehired employees directly to the division.
(B) The following provisions apply to the Employer New Hire Reporting program:
(1) An employer doing business in this State shall may participate in the Employer New Hire Reporting program by reporting to the Child Support Enforcement Division:
(a) the hiring of a person who resides or works in this State to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings; or
(b) the rehiring or return to work of an employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted leave without pay, or terminated from employment.
(2) The Employer New Hire Reporting program applies to a person who is expected to:
(a) be employed for more than one month's duration;
(b) be paid for more than three hundred fifty hours during a continuous six-month period; or
(c) have gross earnings of more than three hundred dollars in each month of employment.
(3) An employer who voluntarily reports under item (1) shall submit monthly reports regarding each hiring, rehiring, or return to work of an employee during the preceding month. The report must contain:
(a) the employee's name, address, social security number, date of birth, and salary information; and
(b) the employer's name, address, and employer identification number.
(4) Employers reporting to the Employer New Hire Reporting program shall provide information to the Child Support Enforcement Division by:
(a) sending a copy of the new employee's W-4 form;
(b) completing a form supplied by the Child Support Enforcement Division; or
(c) any other means authorized by the Child Support Enforcement Division for conveying the required information, including electronic transmission or magnetic tapes in compatible formats.
(5) An employer is authorized by this section to disclose the information described in item (3) and is not liable to the employee for the disclosure or subsequent use by the Child Support Enforcement Division of the information.
(6) Information received by the South Carolina Employment Security Commission from employers which includes information contained in the reports provided for in this section must be transmitted to the Department of Social Services within fifteen working days after the end of each quarter.
Labels: Child Support Collection, New Hire Reporting, Welfare Reform
