E-Verify mandatory for all new hires
Arizona requires every employer to verify the employment eligibility of each employee hired after December 31, 2007, through the federal E-Verify program. The employer must retain a record of the verification for the duration of the employee's employment or at least three years, whichever is longer. This mandate applies to all Arizona employers under the Legal Arizona Workers Act, not only federal contractors.
Source: A.R.S. § 23-214(A)
New hire reporting — 20-day deadline and required information
Arizona requires every employer to report each newly hired and rehired employee to the Arizona New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days after the employee is hired, rehired, or returns to work. This obligation is imposed under A.R.S. § 23-722.01(D) and applies to all employers. The statute defines "employer" to have "the same meaning prescribed in section 3401(d) of the internal revenue code of 1986 and includes any governmental entity and any labor organization."
Who must be reported
The statute defines "employee" to mean "a person who is employed within the meaning of chapter 24 of the internal revenue code of 1986." The requirement covers both new hires and rehires—employees who return to work after being laid off, furloughed, separated, granted a leave without pay, or terminated from employment.
The statute provides one narrow exemption: "Employee does not include an employee of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions if the head of the agency has determined that reporting with respect to the employee could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission."
Required information
A.R.S. § 23-722.01(D) specifies that "[t]he report shall contain all of the following":
- The employee's name, address and social security number.
- The employer's name, address and federal tax identification number.
- The date the employee first performed services for pay.
Under subsection C, "[e]mployers shall report by submitting a W-4 form or an equivalent form at the option of the employer."
How and when to report
Employers must submit the reports within 20 days after the employee is hired, rehired, or returns to work. Subsection C permits submission "magnetically, electronically or by first class mail, telefacsimile or any other means that are authorized by the department of economic security."
Employers who submit reports magnetically or electronically face a different timing rule: they "shall submit the reports in two monthly transmissions not more than sixteen days apart." This alternative replaces the individual 20-day deadline for those employers.
Multi-state employers
Subsection E provides a single-state reporting option for multi-state employers: "An employer who has employees who are employed in two or more states and who transmits new hire reports magnetically or electronically may comply with the new hire reporting requirements by designating one state in which the employer has employees to transmit the report." The employer must notify the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services of the designated state.
Processing and child support enforcement
The Department of Economic Security operates a state directory of new hires and must enter reported information within five business days of receipt. The information is forwarded to the national directory of new hires within three business days. The Department conducts an automated comparison of reported social security numbers against the state case registry of child support orders. When a match is found for an obligor required to pay support in a Title IV-D case, the Department, within two business days, must issue an income withholding order to the employer.
Source: A.R.S. § 23-722.01