West Virginia — Hiring & Onboarding

West Virginia requires employers to verify a prospective employee's legal status or authorization to work prior to employing the individual or contracting with the individual for employment services. This differs from the federal Form I-9 requirement, which permits verification within three business days after hire. Under W.Va. Code § 21-1B-3(c), acceptable proof includes (but is not limited to) a valid social security card, immigration or nonimmigration visa with photo identification, birth certificate, passport, government-issued photo ID card, work permit authorized by the Division of Labor, permit issued by the Department of Justice, or other valid document evidencing legal residence or work authorization. Employers must keep these records for at least the duration of employment.

Source: W.Va. Code § 21-1B-3 and W.Va. Code § 21-1B-4

West Virginia requires all employers doing business in the state to report newly hired, rehired, and returning employees to the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement within 14 days of the hire, rehire, or return-to-work date. This reporting obligation flows from both federal law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 653a) and state implementation under W.Va. Code § 48-18-125. The state deadline is stricter than the federal Form I-9 requirement, which permits verification within three business days after the start date.

## Covered individuals

Under W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(b), employers must report:

1. New employees — any person who resides or works in West Virginia to whom the employer anticipates paying earnings. This includes individuals who work only one day and are terminated before the employer submits the report.

1. Rehires and returns to work — any employee or independent contractor who resides or works in West Virginia and returns after a layoff, furlough, separation, leave without pay, or termination. Seasonal workers who return each year are treated as rehires.

1. Independent contractors — contractors for whom payment totals $2,500 or more per year. The report is due within 14 days of the earlier of (a) first making aggregate payments equal to or exceeding $2,500 in any year, or (b) entering a contract providing for aggregate payments equal to or exceeding $2,500 in any year.

The statute defines "new hire" as the first day on which the individual performs services for remuneration and on which the employer begins to withhold amounts for income tax purposes. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(a)(4).

## Required information

Employers must report the following data elements under W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(e):

• Employee's or independent contractor's name, address, and Social Security number
• Start date (or date of rehire / return to work)
• Employer's name and address
• Employer's federal tax identification number (FEIN)
• Address of the payroll office, if different from the employer's primary address

Employers may optionally include date of birth or income information. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(e).

## Submission methods and timing

Reports must be submitted within 14 days of the hire, rehire, or return-to-work date. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(f). Employers may submit by mail or through an alternative method approved in writing by the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(e).

Electronic / magnetic filers: Employers that transmit reports magnetically or electronically may instead submit in two monthly transmissions not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(f).

## Exceptions

Two narrow exceptions apply:

• Intelligence and counterintelligence employees: Employers are not required to report any employee or independent contractor of a federal or state agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions if the agency head determines that reporting could endanger the employee's safety or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(c).

• Multistate employers with federal designation: An employer with employees or independent contractors in states other than West Virginia that transmits reports magnetically or electronically is exempt if the employer has filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a written designation of another state as its reporting state under 42 U.S.C. § 653A. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(d).

## Administrative fee

Employers may assess each reported employee or independent contractor $1 to recover the administrative costs of reporting. W.Va. Code § 48-18-125(i).

Source: W.Va. Code § 48-18-125