§ 110-129.2. State Directory of New Hires established; employers required to report; civil penalties for noncompliance; definitions.
§ 110‑129.2. StateDirectory of New Hires established; employers required to report; civilpenalties for noncompliance; definitions.
(a) Directory Established. There is established the StateDirectory of New Hires. The Directory shall be developed and maintained by theDepartment. The Directory shall be a central repository for employmentinformation to assist in the location of persons owing child support, and inthe establishment and enforcement of child support orders.
(b) Employer Reporting. Every employer in this State shallreport to the Directory the hiring of every employee for whom a federal W‑4form is required to be completed by the employee at the time of hiring. Theemployer shall report the information required under this section not laterthan 20 days from the date of hire, or, in the case of an employer whotransmits new hire reports magnetically or electronically by two monthlytransmissions, not less than 12 nor more than 16 days apart. The Departmentshall notify employers of the information they must report under this sectionand of the penalties for not reporting the required information. The requiredforms must be provided by the Department to employers.
(c) Report Contents. Each report required by this sectionshall contain the name, address, and social security number of the employee,and the name and address of the employer and the employer's identifying numberassigned under section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and theemployer's State employer identification number. Reports shall be made on the W‑4form or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent form, and may betransmitted magnetically, electronically, or by first‑class mail.
(d) Penalties for Failure to Report. Upon a finding that anemployer has failed to comply with the reporting requirements of this section,the district court shall impose a civil penalty in an amount not to exceedtwenty‑five dollars ($25.00). If the court finds that an employer'sfailure to comply with the reporting requirements is the result of a conspiracybetween the employer and the employee to not supply the required report or tosupply a false or incomplete report, then the court shall impose upon theemployer a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).Penalties collected under this subsection shall be deposited to the GeneralFund.
(e) Entry of Report Data Into Directory. Within five businessdays of receipt of the report from the employer, the Department shall enter theinformation from the report into the Directory.
(f) Notice to Employer to Withhold. Within two business daysof the date the information was entered into the Directory, the Department orits designated representative as defined under G.S. 110‑129(5) shalltransmit notice to the employer of the newly hired employee directing theemployer to withhold from the income of the employee an amount equal to themonthly or other periodic child support obligation, including any past‑duesupport obligation of the employee and subject to the limitations of G.S. 110‑136.6,unless the employee's income is not subject to withholding.
(g) Other Uses of Directory Information. The followingagencies may access information entered into the Directory from employerreports for the purposes stated:
(1) The Employment Security Commission for the purpose ofadministering employment security programs.
(2) The North Carolina Industrial Commission for the purpose ofadministering workers' compensation programs.
(3) The Department of Revenue for the purpose of administeringthe taxes it has a duty to collect under Chapter 105 of the General Statutes.
(h) Department May Contract for Services. The Department maycontract with other State or private entities to perform the services necessaryto implement this section.
(i) Information Confidential. Except as otherwise provided inthis section, information contained in the Directory is confidential and may beused only by the State Child Support Enforcement Program.
(j) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the contextclearly requires otherwise, the term:
(1) "Business day" means a day on which State officesare open for business.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Health andHuman Services.
(3) "Employee" means an individual who is an employeewithin the meaning of Chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term"employee" does not include an employee of a federal or State agencyperforming intelligence or counterintelligence functions, if the head of theagency has determined that reporting information as required under this sectioncould endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoinginvestigation or intelligence mission.
(4) "Employer" has the meaning given the term insection 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes persons whoare governmental entities and labor organizations. The term "labororganization" shall have the meaning given that term in section 2(5) ofthe National Labor Relations Act, and includes any entity which is used by theorganization and an employer to carry out requirements described in section8(f)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act of an agreement between theorganization and the employer. (1997‑433, s. 1; 1997‑443, s. 11A.122; 1998‑17, s. 1;1999‑438, s. 30.)