All employers doing business and having employees in Pennsylvania--regardless of their industry, occupation, profit status, or size—are required by law to report each new hire to the Program, if the individual is considered an employee for the purposes of federal income tax withholding. This includes: newly-hired employees of all legal ages to work, regardless of the number of hours (full-time or part-time); those employees in a probationary period, or are seasonal or intermittent; employees rehired following a termination or separation; and those returning to work following a layoff or requested leave of absence without pay greater than 30 consecutive days. Employee terminations are not reportable to the Pennsylvania New Hire Reporting Program, but if the terminated employee is paying on a child support order (as a noncustodial parent-obligor), the termination must be reported to the local County Domestic Relations Office handling the child support order, through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement. Call 1-800-932-0211 for more information on reporting terminations of child support obligors.

New hire data are used to ensure child support for dependent children is collected and provided to the custodial parent, through garnishment of the noncustodial parent’s wages. This reduces the burden on other public assistance programs, by replacing those dollars with wages earned through the obligor’s employment. The data are also used to detect fraud in Unemployment Compensation and Worker’s Compensation programs administered by the department. Each year due to new hire reporting, more than $30 million is collected in child support in Pennsylvania, and over $2 million is recouped for employers through fraud detection. Yes, employers are required to report their quarterly payroll and wages paid to each employee to the commonwealth. However, these quarterly reports are not timely enough to quickly locate obligors who owe child support, nor do they allow fraudulent activity to be promptly uncovered. Only though timely new hire reporting (within 20 days of the Date of Hire) by employers to the Program can fraud be uncovered and monies recouped, to the benefit of participating employers.

Electronic reporting―especially online reporting through this Pennsylvania CareerLinks website―is the preferred method of submitting new hire data, because it is secure, reduces processing time, and eliminates paper and postage costs. File upload of a new hire data file in excel, text or XML-compatible format using the web upload feature—or data entry of the information through the website—is preferred. Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is also a preferred method of submitting data; contact Program Customer Service for more details on this method. For employers who use a third-party payroll service, the payroll service may report the employers' new hire data on their behalf, through file upload or SFTP.

Yes. Online new hire reporting is secure, efficient, and ensures both reporting accuracy and data confidentiality. The Pennsylvania CareerLinks website—including new hire screens—uses Secure Socket Layering (SSL) encryption protocol to safeguard sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) during online transactions. Employer company information is password protected, and new hire reports are transmitted through secure servers. Information is encrypted from your employer worksite computer to the servers processing the request. After online submission, employers receive a confirmation that their new hire data was transacted, for future reference.

Besides the preferred electronic methods, employers may also submit their new hire information via toll-free fax, or by standard postal mail. Employers reporting via fax or mail may submit either IRS Form W-4, the standard Commonwealth New Hire Reporting Form (available on this website), or a suitable substitute. Note, when using IRS Form W-4: Date of Hire, Contact Name and Contact Phone Number must be listed separate, and providing a signature date is not valid as a date of hire. On the form, employers should be sure to complete all employee and employer information, including lines 10 & 12. For more information on fax or paper reporting, visit the "Learn More…Other Reporting Methods" section of this website.