Senate Bill 1532 amending §409.2576, Florida Statutes went into effect. Previously, only employers with 250 or more employees were required to report newly hired and re-hired individuals to Florida’s State Directory of New Hires within 20 days of hiring. Independent contractors were excluded. Now, as of October 1, any employer, regardless of the number of employees that is a “service recipient” defined as “a person engaged in a trade or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the course of such trade or business” must report all new hires and re-hires to the State’s database. Additionally, employers must report their independent contractors who are paid $600 or more during a calendar year.
The purpose of the statute is to provide information to the Florida Child Support Program to facilitate the collection and disbursement of child support payments and to monitor and enforce child support payments. The statute, however, is silent regarding penalties for failing to report. That said, employers with less than 250 employees should update their onboarding process to include the new reporting requirements and all employers regardless of size should determine whether reporting requirements exist for any independent contractor used by them, update onboarding policies to reflect the changes in the law and provide training for those who perform onboarding and payroll, so they are aware of these changes.