Updated: August 1, 2024
New hire report definition and meaning
A new hire report informs a state about a newly hired (or rehired) employee who has joined a business. Often, it includes the employee’s name, job title, start date, and other relevant details about their role and responsibilities.
More about new hires reports
Human resources departments often use new hire reports to keep track of and manage the onboarding process for newcomers in their organization. They may also be used to update payroll and benefits records, and to notify other departments or teams within the company about the addition to the team.
What is the purpose of new hire reporting?
When you bring on a new hire (or rehire previous employees), federal law requires that some basic information be reported within 20 days of hire to the state where the new employee works. Once shared, information is entered into the National Directory of New Hires, which is used by child support agencies to locate a parent who may owe child support and issue an income withholding order. This database was originally established as a result of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and employers play a key role in helping the program to be successful by reporting new hires.
Though Uncle Sam says you need to file a new hire report within 20 days of a new employee’s start date, some states want this information sooner. For example, Georgia requires employers to do this within the first 10 days of employment. It’s also worth noting, that under the law, the employee’s start date is officially considered the first day the individual starts performing services for wages. As opposed to the day an employee may have signed an offer letter or been offered the job by your company.
What types of businesses and employers are required to file a new hire report?
You may be wondering if new hire reports are required of all types of businesses, big or small. The answer is almost always yes. Under federal law pertaining to new hire reports, an employer is defined in the same way as it is for federal income tax filing requirements. This definition, which can be found in Section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Service Code of 1986, encompasses any governmental entity as an employer as well as any labor organization.
But to be safe, at a minimum, if an employer is required to have employees provide a completed W-4 form to start work, then the employer must also adhere to new hire reporting rules.
How do you file a new hire report?
- Many states have websites where you can download a new hire report form, which you can then complete, email, fax, or drop into the mail. Some will accept an employee’s W-4 form too.
- To take care of this reporting, many companies will use payroll software, so they don’t have to manually complete registration forms on their local state’s website.
Using new hire report in a sentence
“I was excited to see in the new hire report that we brought on a marketing director to take our promotional efforts up a notch and increase leads for the sales team.”
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