Reporting Fundamentals

Electronic Reporting: The fastest, easiest way to report, save time, save money...report electronically! We can help you.

Multistate Reporting: Doing business with employees in more than one state? Learn about important options and how to meet your reporting requirements.

• Why is new hire reporting required?
• Who is required to report?
• What do I have to report?
• When do I have to report?
• How do I report new hires?
• Where do I report new hires?

Why is new hire reporting required?

In 1996, Congress enacted a law called the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act," or PRWORA, as part of Welfare Reform. This new legislation required that employers in all 50 states directly report their new hires and re-hires to a state directory.

Maine Code 19-A MRSA §2154 requires employers to report new hire information to the Maine New Hire Reporting Center. State agencies will use this information to discover and stop unemployment insurance fraud, worker's compensation fraud and other types of public assistance fraud. The State will also use new hire reports to locate noncustodial parents who owe child support in Maine. The New Hire Reporting program is a confidential and secure program that receives and processes data regarding new employees.

Employers are the critical link both in locating non-custodial parents and in withholding income from their paychecks. No other child support collection method is as successful as income withholding. Not only does this law help the children, it also helps taxpayers. By promptly reporting new hires, employers help taxpayers save millions of dollars because families that receive child support are less likely to require public assistance. More importantly, employers help children get the support they deserve.

For more information on this law, please visit our Law Page.

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Who is required to report?

All Maine employers (private, nonprofit and government agencies) must report all employees who live or work in Maine. Out of state employers who hire employees who work in Maine must also report.

• New employees: Employers must report all employees who reside or work in the State of Maine to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings. Employees should be reported even if they work only one day and are terminated (prior to the employer fulfilling the new hire reporting requirement).

• Re-hires or Re-called employees: Employers must report re-hires, or employees who return to work 60 days after being laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay, or terminated from employment within 7 days of re-hire.

• Temporary employees: Temporary agencies are responsible for reporting any employee who they hire to report for an assignment. Employees need to be reported only once; they do not need to be re-reported each time they report to a new client. If the worker has a break in service of 60 consecutive days or more from your agency and a new W-4 form is required, then a new hire report would be necessary.

• Independent Contractors: New Hire enforcement allows for reporting independent contractors under the New Hire Act. This reporting method will help identify individuals who have taken new employment and have child support obligations. Employers should report the contracting of services with an independent contractor when services are anticipated to equal or exceed $2,500.

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What do I have to report?

Required Employer Information:

• Employer's Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). If you have more than one FEIN, please make certain you use the same FEIN you use to report your quarterly wage information when reporting new hires.
• Employer's Name
• Employer's Address (please provide address where Income Withholding Orders should be sent)

Required Employee/Contractor Information:

• Employee's Full Name (First, Middle, Last)
• Employee's Mailing Address
• Employee's Social Security Number (SSN)
• Employee's Date of Birth
• Employee's Date of Hire
• Employee's state of hire (only if reporting as a Multistate employer)

Optional Employer Information:

• Employer Phone Number
• Employer Fax Number
• Employer E-mail Address

Optional Employee/Contractor Information:

• Dependent health insurance availability

Additional information may be required if reporting electronically. View Electronic Reporting for specifications.

View questions on Multistate employers.

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When do I have to report?

Maine Code 19-A MRSA §2154 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 653A, requires all employers to report newly hired and re-hired employees to a state directory within 7 days of their hire date. Employers who submit reports magnetically or electronically shall submit the reports by two monthly transmissions if necessary, which are not less than 12 days or more than 16 days apart.

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How do I report new hires?

The Maine New Hire Reporting Center offers many options that make it easy for employers to report new hires. The options available are listed below.

Electronic Reporting

• Online Reporting: Use this website to report your new hires. This is the easiest and most efficient way to report new hires! Register and start now! This feature provides printable confirmation of reports received and is conveniently available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

         Already registered? Log in to report your new hires over the Internet.

• Create your own Electronic New Hire Reports: View File Transfer Options for detailed instructions and electronic data transmission methods for creating electronic new hire reports.

Non-Electronic Reporting

• Printed List: If your software is unable to export your new hire information in our electronic format, you might be able to have your software create a printed list containing your new hire data. The printed list should contain all of the required information on the New Hire Reporting Form, be created using at least a 10-point font size, and have the employer's name, Federal Employer Identification Number, and address clearly displayed at the top of the report.

  -OR-
  

• New Hire Reporting Form: You may download, print, fill out, and fax or mail us a New Hire Reporting Form. Additional forms that may be downloaded can be found in Forms.

  -OR-
  

• W-4 Form: If you choose to submit a W-4 form as a new hire report, please ensure that each W-4 is easily readable and has the employer's name, Federal Employer Identification Number, and address written at the bottom of each form.

Other Reporting Methods

• Payroll Service: If you use a payroll or accounting service, consider asking the service to report your new hires for you. Leading payroll services are already electronically reporting new hires for thousands of employers.

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Where do I report new hires?

Electronic Reports - Utilizing our website's online reporting feature is a very popular option for employers. This feature provides printable confirmation of reports received, and is conveniently available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Employers can send new hire data files in a variety of ways, including transferring files through the Web site or through internet connection using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Employers can also mail reports directly to us on diskette. Learn more about electronic reporting.

Non-Electronic Reports - Paper new hire reports may either be faxed or mailed to our New Hire Directory.

Please call the Maine New Hire Reporting Center toll-free at (888) 641-0037 for any questions regarding the new hire reporting process. Our help desk staff are available to answer your questions Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time.

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