E-Verify requirement for private employers with more than 10 employees
Georgia requires every private employer with more than 10 employees to register with and use the federal E-Verify employment eligibility verification system. The requirement became effective July 1, 2013, for employers with more than 10 but fewer than 100 employees. For purposes of this threshold, "employee" means an individual whose work is performed under the employer's direction and supervision, from whose compensation the employer withholds FICA, federal income tax, or state income tax (or to whom the employer issues a Form W-2), and who works not less than 35 hours per week. Independent contractors and employees working fewer than 35 hours per week are not counted toward the 10-employee threshold. Before any county or municipal corporation issues a business license, occupational tax certificate, or other document required to operate a business, the employer must provide evidence of E-Verify authorization or evidence that the employer has 10 or fewer employees and is therefore exempt.
Source: O.C.G.A. § 36-60-6
New hire reporting requirement — 10-day deadline for all employers
Georgia requires every employer doing business in the state to report newly hired and rehired employees to the Georgia New Hire Reporting Center. The requirement is codified in O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9.2 and implements the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. § 653A. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, no employers are exempt from the reporting obligation.
Who must be reported
Under O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9.2(a), employers must report:
- The hiring of any person who resides or works in Georgia to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings; and
- The hiring or return to work of any employee who was laid off, furloughed, separated, granted leave without pay, or terminated from employment.
The Georgia Department of Labor clarifies that employees should be reported even if they work only one day and are terminated before the employer fulfills the reporting requirement. The department also explains that "rehire" encompasses employees who remain on the payroll during a break in service or gap in pay and then return to work, including teachers, substitutes, and seasonal workers. Temporary staffing agencies are responsible for reporting employees they hire to report for an assignment.
The federal definition of "newly hired employee" — effective April 21, 2012 under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-40) amending 42 U.S.C. § 653a(a)(2) — includes an employee who has not previously been employed by the employer or who was previously employed but separated for at least 60 consecutive days.
Reporting deadline and methods
O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9.2(c) requires employers to submit reports within 10 days of the hiring, rehiring, or return to work of the employee. Employers who submit reports magnetically or electronically must submit the reports in two monthly transmissions not more than 16 days apart.
Employers may report by mailing the employee's copy of the W-4 form or by other means authorized by the Georgia state support registry. Available methods include online submission through the Georgia New Hire Reporting Center, electronic file transmission, or fax or mail using the state-provided form.
Required information
Under O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9.2(c), each report must contain:
- The employee's name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth; and
- The employer's name, address, and employment security number or unified business identifier number.
The Georgia Department of Labor advises employers to use the same FEIN for new hire reporting that they use for quarterly wage reporting to avoid appearing non-compliant in federal cross-checks.
Penalties and enforcement
Under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 653A), states have the option of imposing civil monetary penalties on employers who fail to report new hires. The penalty can be up to $25 per unreported employee, and if there is a conspiracy between the employer and employee not to report, the penalty can be up to $500 per employee. The federal Office of Child Support Services provides Georgia a quarterly report identifying employers who may not have reported all new hires; the state mails compliance notices to such employers.
Purpose
The new hire information is matched against open child support cases to locate non-custodial parents for paternity establishment and child support enforcement and is transmitted to the National Directory of New Hires. States may also use the data to detect and prevent fraudulent unemployment insurance and workers' compensation payments.