§ 171-h. State directory of new hires. (1) Establishment. The
department shall establish an automated directory known as the "State
Directory of New Hires" which shall contain information supplied by
employers in accordance with subdivision three of this section,
regarding each newly hired or re-hired employee.

(2) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the terms
"employer," "employee," and "business day" shall have the following
meanings:

(a) "employee" means an individual who is an employee within the
meaning of chapter twenty-four of the internal revenue code of 1986,
including an individual under an independent contractor arrangement with
contracts in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars, and does not include
an employee of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or
counterintelligence functions if the head of such agency has determined
that a report made pursuant to this section with respect to the
individual could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an
ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

(b) "employer" means an individual or entity within the meaning given
the term employer in section three thousand four hundred one (d) of the
internal revenue code of 1986 and includes:

(i) any governmental entity, and

(ii) any labor organization as defined in section two (5) of the
national labor relations act, including any entity (also known as a
"hiring hall") which is used by such labor organization and an employer
to carry out the requirements described in section eight (f)(3) of the
national labor relations act with respect to any agreement that may
exist between the labor organization and the employer.

(c) "business day" means a day on which state offices are open for
regular business.

(3) Employer reporting requirements:

(a) General. Employers shall furnish to the state directory of new
hires a report that contains the name, address, and social security
number of each newly hired or re-hired employee who works in the state,
and the employer's name, address, and identification number as assigned
pursuant to section six thousand one hundred nine of the internal
revenue code of 1986. Employers also shall report if dependent health
insurance benefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for
the benefits.

(b) Format. Each report shall be submitted on a W-4 (employee's
withholding allowance certificate) form or, at employer option, an
equivalent form and transmitted by first class mail, magnetically, or
electronically to the state directory of new hires. In addition, if each
report is submitted on a W-4, an additional form as prescribed by the
department shall be submitted to report if dependent health insurance
benefits are available and the date the employee qualifies for the
benefits. That additional form shall be transmitted by first class mail,
magnetically, or electronically to the state directory of new hires.

(c) Timing. Employers must submit reports to the state directory of
new hires within twenty calendar days of the employer's hiring or
re-hiring of the employee. However, in the case of an employer
transmitting reports magnetically or electronically, by two monthly
transmissions (if necessary), such reports shall be transmitted not less
than twelve calendar days nor more than sixteen calendar days apart.

(d) Multistate employers. An employer that has employees who work in
New York and employees who work in one or more other states, and
transmits reports magnetically or electronically, may designate New York
or one of the other states in which such employer has employees as the
state to which the employer will transmit the report to the state
directory of new hires. Any employer which transmits reports by this
method must notify the secretary of the federal department of health and
human services in writing as to which state such employer designates for
the purpose of sending reports.

(e) Federal government employers. Any department, agency, or
instrumentality of the federal government shall transmit new hire
reports as required by section four hundred fifty-three A (b)(1)(C) of
the social security act.

(4) The department shall:

(a) notify all employers of the requirements for reporting information
to the state directory of new hires as provided in subdivision three of
this section;

(b) enter information into the database maintained by the state
directory of new hires within five business days of receipt from an
employer pursuant to subdivision three of this section;

(c) make automated comparisons of social security numbers between the
state directory of new hires and the state case registry maintained by
the office of temporary and disability assistance for administration of
the child support enforcement program and, where there is a match,
provide the office of temporary and disability assistance with the name,
address, and social security number of the employee to whom the social
security number is assigned, and the name and address of the employer
and the employer's identifying number assigned to the employer under
section six thousand nine of the internal revenue code of 1986, within
one business day after the date the information is entered into the
state directory of new hires;

(d) transmit new hire information to the national directory of new
hires maintained by the federal department of health and human services
within three business days after the date the information is entered
into the state directory of new hires;

(e) conduct matches with the office of temporary and disability
assistance, the department of health, and the department of labor to
verify individuals' eligibility for the various programs specified under
section one thousand one hundred thirty-seven (b) of the social security
act and for other public assistance programs authorized by state law,
and for the purposes of administering state employment security
programs, and with the workers' compensation board for the purpose of
administering workers' compensation programs;

(f) on or before October first, nineteen hundred ninety-seven, enter
into written agreements with the commissioners of the office of
temporary and disability assistance, health, and labor on behalf of the
office of temporary and disability assistance and the departments of
health and labor respectively and the chair of the workers' compensation
board on behalf of such board, which shall:

(i) provide for the disclosure of information obtained from the
reports required to be submitted pursuant to this section to such
departments and board for the purposes set forth in this section;

(ii) specify the frequency with which the department shall furnish
information obtained from such reports to such office, departments, and
board, which shall be within one business day after the date the
information is entered into the state directory of new hires;

(iii) set forth the procedure for reimbursement of the department by
such office, departments, and board subject to the approval of the
director of the budget for the additional costs of carrying out the
provisions of this section;

(iv) include such other matters as the parties to such agreement shall
deem necessary to carry out the provisions of this section; and

(g) furnish to the national directory of new hires, on a quarterly
basis, extracts of the reports required under paragraph six of
subsection (a) of section three hundred three of the federal social
security act to be made to the secretary of labor concerning wages and
unemployment compensation paid to individuals, by such dates, and in
such manner as the secretary of health and human services shall specify
by regulations. The state department of labor shall, consistent with the
authority contained in paragraph e of subdivision three of section five
hundred thirty-seven of the labor law, disclose to the state directory
of new hires, such wage and unemployment compensation information as may
be necessary to allow such state directory to comply with the provisions
of this paragraph.