taking a walk in my shoes…the employer, state and federal ......and federal perspective about...

Taking a Walk In My Shoes…The Employer, state and Federal Perspective About Collaboration and Information Sharing

Sherri Grigsby, OCSE Daniel Biering, Texas Corri Flores, ADP Tequila Milner, Home Depot

Presenters

Slide 2

The 2016 Employer Symposium was held in May 2016. Employer Symposium Attendees discussed best practices, areas needing improvement and identified potential short and long-term solutions to address those areas. Walking in someone else’s shoes allows you to gain a better understanding of each other’s perspectives and is key in working together for success!

Background

OCSE facilitated a one-day session and discussion topics included: – new hire reporting – verifications of employment – income withholding orders (IWOs) and electronic IWOs (e-IWO) – lump sum reporting, and – enhancements to the employer-related applications on OCSE’s

Child Support Portal

2016 Employer Symposium Slide 4

o Sixty-five individuals participated in the symposium, including representatives from 17 states and territories, 2 tribes, 28 employers and federal OCSE

o OCSE will document and analyze the recommendations and work with organizations such as the American Payroll Association the National Child Support Enforcement Association, and the National Council of Child Support Directors to identify which recommendations to pursue

2016 Employer Symposium Slide 5

o Our panel will provide perspectives regarding key topics related to implementing child support orders, lump sum processing, variances across states, e-IWO processing and obstacles the groups the panelist represent may face

Agenda

o Employers must report newly hired employees shortly after the date of hire to a designated state agency

New Hire Reporting Slide 7

o Multistate issues o Compliance is low o Multiple and incorrect FEINs

State Perspective Slide 8

o Lack of standardization and consistency o Too many data elements

Employer Perspective Employer Symposium

Slide 9

o Employers must track the various state information (addresses, formats, method) to report New Hires (if not a multi-state employer)

o Transmission methods o Compliance notices or requests for information are not

standard o Independent contractor reporting is difficult o Mandates for electronic reporting can be challenging o Penalty exposure if untimely reporting

Employer Perspective- ADP Slide 10

o Lack of notification when requirements change – Need a centralized location to report changes

o Employer Obligation – What is the law? One state has a requirement and other states do not have the same requirement

o Acquisitions causes confusion among state agencies – triggers new garnishment orders

o Inform employers of new reporting requirements

Employer Perspective - HD Slide 11

12

Slide 12

OCSE should: o pursue legislation to allow employer new hire reporting to

OCSE (one stop for employers) o explore standardizing all states’ new hire reporting data

elements. This requires national legislation. o pursue national legislation to require employers to report

their email addresses

Recommendations Slide 13

states should: o include a reminder to report new hires on notices routinely sent

to employers and on state supported frequently-visited web sites o follow Texas’ best practice of linking FEINs (parent and

subsidiaries) in their employer tables or databases Employers should: o report New Hires and Quarterly Wages with the same FEIN o make certain new employees are trained in NH reporting


o Employers must provide information about employees to child support agencies upon request, including financial information on wages, withholdings, and health insurance

Verification of Employment (VOE)

Slide 15

o Employers not responding o Employers use third party VOE providers o Although an employer is honoring an IWO,

states may need a VOE for other circumstances

o Employers need to understand sometimes a VOE is needed even though an employer is paying on an IWO


o Lack of standardization and consistency in state processes

o VOEs received on paying employees o VOEs received instead of IWOs


Slide 17

o Priority is getting child support orders/payments processed

o VOE’s are sent for multiple reasons (loans, credit, benefits, etc.)

o Responses go to various senders

Employer Perspective-ADP Slide 18

o Truncation of SSN by eight states o The Work Number requires the full SSN

– Increase of paper VOE’s due to inability to use The Work Number due to full SSN requirement

– Data for unemployment wage audits requests for 10 states is not available on The Work Number

o Increase of manual completion of VOE’s o Increase of resources to create automated applications to assist in

completing VOE’s


20

Slide 20

OCSE should: o standardize, centralize and automate the VOE process using

e-IWO as a model and pilot it with a few states and employers to increase large employer reporting


states should: o develop VOEs for specific purposes ,for example, a VOE that requests only

information needed for one purpose such as to: – establish paternity – establish a support order – modify an existing order

o notify employers and OCSE when third-party providers are not responding to VOEs in a timely manner

o look at ways to limit the information needed, simplify requests for medical and other information, and consider privacy issues. manner.


states should: o look at ways to limit the information needed, simplify

requests for medical and other information, and consider privacy issues

o notify employers and OCSE when third-party providers are not responding to VOEs in a timely manner


Employers should: o make certain new staff are trained in requirements to respond

to VOE requests from child support agencies


o 75% of child support is collected through IWO o Employers must comply with an IWO received on the OMB-

approved form

IWO Slide 25


• Employers unresponsive to IWOs • Employers use multiple FEINs • Employers take a long time to

respond to IWOs

o IWOs with percentages instead of dollar amounts

o Future termination dates o Non IV-D orders o One time/lump sum IWOs


Slide 27

o Contact information not included o Multiple ID’s listed on the orders

(Remittance ID, Case ID, etc.) o Orders sent multiple times or sent

hardcopy and electronic


o Variation of case identifiers (Case ID, Order ID, Remittance ID) o Separation of medical support orders


30

Slide 30

OCSE Should: o standardize the termination reporting process. OCSE will

explore a change in regulations to require use of the IWO to terminate an existing IWO.

o explore methods of terminating a National Medical Support Notice


OCSE Should: o work jointly with the American Payroll Association, American

Bar Association and National Center for state Courts on outreach to family law attorneys to provide education regarding the requirements of the Social Security Act for income withholding


OCSE Should: o determine how many states use the termination field (Y/N) on

the EFT-EDI transaction to document terminations in their systems

o include information on the Income Withholding (IW) matrix to clarify for employers how an IWO can be terminated in each state


OCSE Should: o continue to work with states to get documentation of CCPA

limits for non-employees and encourage states to place it on the IW matrix. OCSE should also encourage states to include that information in Supplemental Information on the IWO.


states should: o consider implementing Georgia’s best practice of having a

court liaison who works with attorneys and courts to educate them about using the IWO form and making employer-withheld payments to the SDU


o e-IWO record layouts o Case ID, Order, ID, Remittance ID o Lump Sum One-Time Payments o Future Dated IWOs o Amend Tribal Withholding Instructions o Require Contact Information o CCPA Percentage

IWO Reauthorization Slide 36

51 states and territories have implemented e-IWO

e-IWO Slide 37

o Getting employer to sign up for e-IWO is a challenge o Not all IWOs will go through the e-IWO


o Still get paper IWOs o Non IV-D orders cannot be

electronic

Employer Perspective - ADP Slide 39

o Receipt of paper IWO instead of e-IWO

o Variations of case identifiers – Case ID, Order ID and Remittance ID


41

Slide 41

OCSE Should: o explore making e-IWO available for private attorneys and

courts states should: o ensure information received via e-IWO, such as employee

terminations, is disseminated to caseworkers


Lump sums are an underused source of child support collections

Lump Sums Slide 43

o Short time frame for responses o Need more employers on e-IWO or portal

for lump sum reporting o Two way communication on the portal

would help o Lack of resources to work lump sums


o Lack of standardization and consistency in state processes

o Short timeframe to report o Slow or no responses from states o Need clarification on amount to withhold o Holding the bonus is challenging


o Receive responses from agencies in various forms including fax, secure email and mail

o Need ability to receive responses from agencies via portal


47

Slide 47

OCSE should: o clarify the IWO form to allow lump sums from employer-

issued lump sum payments and to allow the child support agency to submit a one-time payment request when there is no ongoing IWO in place

o continue to seek clarification from DOL about which lump sum payments meet the definition of “earnings” under the CCPA


OCSE should: o pursue authority to return information to employers about

match results, telling them which employees have child support cases or owe arrears

states should: o consider using 50% as a standard withholding limit to resolve

the issue concerning which payments are covered by the CCPA


o Employers and other private entities use OCSE’s Child Support Portal to help child support agencies enforce orders. Portal applications currently available that allow employers to report upcoming payments, claims and employee terminations include: – Employer Services Application consisting of

• Lump Sum Reporting • e-Term

Child Support Portal Slide 50

o Integrating information from the Portal into states’ automated systems is a challenge

o Increasing employer use of the Portal would benefit states


o Providing information on both OCSE’s Portal and on state portals causes duplication for employers

o Some states request emails and spreadsheets even though the employer is reporting using the Portal and the state is receiving that information via the Portal


Slide 52

OCSE should: o should pursue legislation to authorize employers to report

new hires directly to OCSE and OCSE would send those records to the states

o allow other entities to use the Portal, like law enforcement, lotteries, casinos


OCSE should: o consider adding the following information to the eEmployer

Portal application for child support agencies: – subsidiary addresses – employer’s preferred method of contact – potential for bonuses and approximate payout dates – VOE address and provider information – services provided


OCSE should: o consider adding the following information to the eEmployer

Portal application for child support agencies: – rate sheet for medical insurance – pension plan and administrator contact information – third-party provider information and type of services

provided – professional employer organization (PEO) information and

services provided


e-Employer

Employer Match Results

Search Results- Names

Subsidiaries

Supplemental Info

Contact Information

Employer Login

Questions? Slide 63

Contact Information

64

Slide 64

taking a walk in my shoes…the employer, state and federal ......and federal perspective about...

Documents