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The North Carolina New Hire Directory (NHD) is a central repository for employment information created to aid in the establishment and enforcement of child support orders. Information reported to the NHD is available for use in locating individuals and their sources of income. This topic contains infomration on the following subjects:
2. New Hire Reporting process;
3. Recording New Hire inquiry results;
4. New Hire data from FPLS and manually searching the New Hire Directory database.
Federal welfare reform legislation requires that every state maintain a New Hire Directory and that information from these state directories be transmitted to a National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). The North Carolina New Hire Directory (NHD) was established in accordance with G.S. 110-129.2. Information contained in the NHD is confidential and can be used by the CSE program only in administration of its duties.
Federal legislation also requires that employers of a newly hired employee be notified with an obligation to withhold within two (2) business days of the date when the information was entered into the directory, unless the employee's income is not subject to income withholding. ACTS matches twice a week with the NHD and produces appropriate income withholding documents automatically in order to comply with this time frame.
The benefits of this process include quickly identifying new employer and initiating income withholding soon after an NCP is hired. The potential for the accrual of arrearages while income withholding is transferred from a previous employer to a new employer should also decrease.
Other DSS programs, such as WFFA, Medicaid, and FNS/Food Stamps, can access NHD information to determine eligibility of applicants. The Division of Employment Security and the North Carolina Industrial Commission are allowed to access the information for use in employment security and Workers' Compensation programs.
To contact the N.C. New Hire Directory:
Mail: |
North Carolina State Directory of New Hires |
Post Office Box 90369 | |
East Point, GA 30364 | |
Telephone: |
1-888-514-4568 |
FAX: |
1-866-257-7005 |
Internet: |
"Business Day" –
A day when state government offices are open for business.
"Employer" –
Individual/entity that controls the activities or payment of wages of another (includes placement agencies and temporary employment agencies.)
"New Hire" –
Any person, who at initial employment or returning to employment with a former employer, is required to complete a new W-4 form.
Required employer reporting became effective in North Carolina on October 1, 1997. Any person hired on or after that date, for whom a W-4 form is required, must be reported to the New Hire Directory. New hires must be reported within twenty (20) calendar days of hiring. Reports can be made by mailing or faxing a copy of the completed W-4 form or an equivalent form of the employer's choice. Employers can also elect to send reports magnetically or electronically. With use of the later methods, reporting can be by two (2) monthly transmissions, not less than twelve (12) nor more than sixteen (16) days apart.
Employers doing business in two (2) or more states can elect to report all hiring to one (1) state by making a written request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
For additional information regarding submission of reports, employers should be directed to contact the New Hire Directory Operations Center.
Each report must include the following information:
1. Employer - Name, address, federal employer identification number (FEIN), state employer identification number (SEIN);
2. Employee - Name, address, SSN.
Employers who fail to report as directed can be penalized for noncompliance. If an employer is believed to be in violation of the reporting requirement, attempt to assist the employer to resolve the problem. If these efforts are unsuccessful, the employer can be cited to court by being joined as a third party defendant to the support order. If the court finds an employer in contempt, a civil penalty of $25.00 for each failure to report can be assessed. If the failure is deemed to be a result of conspiracy between the employer and employee, a penalty of up to $500.00 can be imposed on the employer.
Employment information is entered into the New Hire Directory within five (5) business days of receipt from the employer. An interface between ACTS and the New Hire database runs twice per week and produces income withholding documents automatically upon a successful match between the two systems. However, instances can occur when the address, Social Security number, or employment of an NCP is needed outside of the automated match process. The database should be checked for potential information. All reported information is accessible through ACTS.
If new employment information is found manually (it was not identified through the income withholding match process), caseworkers must obtain verification of continued employment and income by sending an Employer Letter (DSS-4685). Income withholding or other enforcement actions should be taken as appropriate at that time.
Within three (3) business days after entering employment information into their state New Hire Directory, states must transmit the employment information to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Effective January 1, 1998, state wage and unemployment insurance benefit data must be sent to the NDNH on a weekly basis. Federal employers, both civilian and military, report hiring and quarterly data directly to the NDNH.
The Expanded Federal Parent Locate Service (EFPLS) operates the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). New Hire information is entered into the NDNH within two (2) days of its receipt from the states. Through an interface with Social Security Administration (SSA), the new employee's name, SSN, date of birth, and FEIN are verified. When a Locate request is received from the State Parent Locator Service (SPLS), EFPLS includes the NDNH as it searches its data sources. EFPLS includes the available New Hire data in any subsequent reports to the states.
Employers must report employment information for newly hired employees to the N.C. New Hire Directory (NHD) within twenty (20) days of their employment. This information is entered into the NHD within five (5) business days of its receipt from the employer.
Noncustodial parents (NCPs) are submitted to the NHD twice a week (on Wednesday and Friday nights). The interface between ACTS and the NHD matches on the NCPs' Social Security numbers that are stored in ACTS with a verification source.
When a match is found, ACTS compares the employer data, the NCP’s address data, and the NCP’s employment data from the NHD to the corresponding employer, address, and employment data in ACTS. Depending on the existing information in ACTS, the system might build a new data record and notify the responsible CSE caseworkers of the data that was obtainbed from the NHD.
In addition to the ACTS/NHD interface, caseworkers can receive New Hire information from the FPLS (Federal Parent Locator Service) interface. Caseworkers can create employment records using this information and generate the appropriate I/W notices
CSE caseworkers can also manually check the NHD database for employment, address, and SSN information that they need. Caseworkers must record in ACTS any information that they discover manually (outside the automated match process.) Income withholding and other Enforcement activities that are appropriate should be performed at that time.
When CSE caseworkers obtain information from the New Hire (NHD) database, they can use it to update employment, address, and other participant information in ACTS. If the information results in the location of an NCP, caseworkers should manually close Locate activity.
In addition to the automated interface with the N.C. New Hire Directory (NHD), caseworkers can receive New Hire employment information from the FPLS (Federal Parent Locator Service) interface. ACTS notifies the responsible caseworker when this occurs.
Also, caseworkers can manually access the NHD database in order to review/obtain employer information. This can be especially useful when caseworkers want to access New Hire information that was entered prior to May 6, 1998 (the effective date of the first automated match between ACTS and NHD) or to review New Hire information when ACTS notifies them of a New Hire employer mismatch.
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For questions or clarification on any of the policy contained in these manuals, please contact your local county office. |
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