CLIENT ALERT – New Quarterly Wage and New Hire Reporting Requirements for New York Employers

Effective July 15, 2011, New York employers will be required to report to the State Directory of New Hires whether dependent health insurance benefits are made available to their employees. The Low Income Support Obligation and Performance Improvement Act of 2009 (the “Act”) applies to all New York employers and adds to their existing reporting obligations with respect to quarterly wage, new hire, and rehire reporting. For quarterly wage reporting purposes, employers must now use the updated Form NYS-45; for new hire and rehire reporting, employers must now use either the updated Form IT-2104 or updated Form IT-2104-E, depending upon employee status. The Act requires only that an employer report the availability of dependent health insurance benefits–it does not require their provision to employees. As was the case before these changes, employers must submit reports to the State Director of New Hires within twenty (20) calendar days of the employer’s hiring or re-hiring of the employee. Employers are advised to coordinate with their payroll provider and review existing payroll information to determine which persons are considered employees for reporting purposes.

CLIENT ALERT – Updates to Fair Credit Reporting Act Effective July 21, 2011

Effective July 21, 2011, changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) now require employers to disclose additional information to employees and job applicants when using credit information to make an adverse employment decision. The new disclosure requirements, resulting from the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”), mandate that an employer making an adverse employment decision, based in whole or in part upon an employee’s or applicant’s credit score, disclose new information to the affected person including a numerical credit score, a range of possible credit scores, the key determinative factors of that score, and the contact information for the consumer reporting agency that created the report. The new disclosure requirements under Dodd-Frank are in addition to the existing disclosure requirements under the FCRA. Employers are advised to update their new hire and employee background check documentation to ensure it adheres to federal disclosure requirements.