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.