As of July 15, 2011, New York employers must indicate in their quarterly wage reports and new hire reports whether health insurance is available for an employee’s dependents. The overall goal of this plan is to increase the number of children enrolled in employer-sponsored plans, as opposed to state-sponsored insurance.
Quarterly Wage Reports
Prior to the amendment of the Tax Code, New York employers were only required to provide on their NYS-45 (Quarterly Combined Withholding, Wage Reporting, and Unemployment Insurance Return) the names, social security numbers, and gross wages paid to each of their employees. Now, employers must also indicate on this form whether dependent health insurance is available to their employees.
New Hire Reports
Previously, employers hiring a new employee could simply report new hire information to the State by filing a Form W-4. Now, employers also must provide information on the availability of dependent health insurance and the effective date of this insurance on their Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (Form IT-2104), or Certificate of Exemption from Withholding (Form IT-2104-E), or by submitting this information to www.nynewhire.com. This information must be provided within twenty (20) days of hiring or rehiring.
Which Employees Must Be Reported
No additional reports need to be filed for existing employees. Employees recalled from layoffs must be reported if their break in service is sixty (60) or more calendar days. Temporary employees must be reported if they are paid directly. Temporary employees employed by a staffing agency must be reported by the agency, but not by the client employer.
Employers who fail to comply with these requirements will be fined $20.00 for each unreported employee or each false or incomplete report. New York employers should review their quarterly and new hire reports, as well as those filed by their payroll companies, to ensure compliance with these new requirements.