Pursuant to state and federal laws, new hires and re-hires have long since been reported to the Employer New Hire Reporting Operations Center in the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Previously, “employees” were defined by whether federal income taxes were withheld from their wages.
As a result, employers had not been required to report the hiring (or re-hiring) of individuals properly classified as “independent contractors” under these mandates.

However, effective May 1, 2017, the Office of the Attorney General implemented new reporting rules that could impact many Texas employers. The definition of “employee”, for the purposes of this reporting, has significantly changed. As it pertains to new hire reporting, the definition of “employee” has been broadened to include those individuals hired as independent contractors. Accordingly, Texas employers must submit new hire reports on both traditional employees and independent contractors within 20 calendar days of their hiring.

The Attorney General indicated that these changes to the new hire reporting rules promote important public policies concerns – supporting the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) in detecting fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits; lowering business taxes; reducing spending on public assistance programs; and assisting with the collection of court-ordered child support in our communities. In addition to these societal benefits, compliance with these changed reporting regulations is also important to avoid burdensome investigations and potential financial penalties.

Let Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC, assist you with all your regulatory, corporate, and labor & employment representational needs. Our experienced attorneys can be reached by telephone at (888) 508-6005 or by electronic mail at info@lkclawfirm.com for a free consultation.