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New Florida Law on New Hires & Independent Contractors

A new state mandate became effective on October 1, 2021, impacting businesses of all sizes in Florida. Under the new requirement, Florida businesses (and businesses with Florida-based employees) are required to report certain details regarding all new hires (and re-hires) as well as any new independent contractors hired to the Florida Child Support Program.
The intent of the law is to close the information loop on child support compliance and enforce payments due to the custodial parents. Specifically, employers are now required to provide:

  • The employee’s name, address, date of hire, Social Security number, and (if available) date of birth; and
  • The employer’s federal employer identification number (EIN)

In addition to child support enforcement, the statute authorizes this information to be shared with agencies such as State Medicaid insurance, re-employment assistance benefits, and food assistance programs.
Employers have only 20 days from the date of hire to comply, which can be done by mail, fax, or online. Compliance by fax or mail will require the New Hire Reporting Form (NHRF) also known as CS-EF315, which may be found by clicking this link.

To file online, the state has updated its Child Support Services for Employers website, which can be found here. To mail the file, send the completed NHRF to Florida New Hire Reporting Center, P.O. Box 6500, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6500.

Employers utilizing a payroll service can reach out now to learn if this compliance detail can be handled by the payroll provider.
If you wish to read more on the bill (officially known as section 409.2576, F.S.), details may be found on a PDF document residing on the Florida state website here.

As always, if you have questions or concerns about this new legislation, please reach out to your Anglin Reichmann Armstrong professional for more information, or email us with your questions.