[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 143 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40092-40099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19494]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Proposed Information Collection Activity: Comment Request

Proposed Projects

    Title: National Directory of New Hires.
    OMB No.: New Request.
    Description: Public Law 104-193, the ``Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996,'' requires the Office of 
Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) to develop a National Directory of New 
Hires (NDNH) to improve the ability of State child support agencies to 
locate noncustodial parent and collect child support across State 
lines.
    This notice solicits comments under normal reports clearance 
procedures and supersedes a previous Federal

[[Page 40093]]

Register notice, published July 18, 1997, soliciting comments under 
emergency procedures of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). Therefore, 
the reports clearance request submitted to OMB under emergency 
procedures of the PRA has been withdrawn. This action was taken to 
provide the normal 60-day public comment period considering the 
national significance of these data collections.
    The NDNH will contain employment, wage and unemployment 
compensation data on all employers within the United States. Public Law 
104-193 requires States and territories to periodically transmit new 
hire data received from employers to the NDNH, and to transmit wage and 
unemployment compensation claims data to the NDNH on a quarterly basis.
    Employers must report specified information (based on the IRS W-4 
Form) on all new hires to State agencies for transmittal to the NDNH. 
States will transmit all data to the NDNH electronically. The purpose 
of the NDNH is to develop a repository of information on newly-hired 
employees, and on the earnings and unemployment compensation claims 
data on all employees, to provide the necessary information to locate 
child support obligors, and to establish and enforce child support 
orders.
    As planned, the approximately 6.3 million United States' employers 
will submit approximately 60 million new hire records to the State 
Directory of New Hires (SDNH). If reports are submitted manually, 
employers must submit new hire reports not later than 20 days after the 
date the employer hires the employee. If employers submit new hire 
reports electronically, reports must be submitted to the SDNH twice a 
month and not less than 12 days nor more than 16 days apart. The State 
shall have the option to set a civil money penalty for noncomplying 
employers.
    The information will be entered into the data base maintained by 
the SDNH within five business days of receipt from an employer. Within 
three business days after the date information regarding a newly hired 
employee is entered into the SDNH, the information shall be furnished 
to the NDNH.
    State agencies charged with the administration of the unemployment 
compensation program must submit to the NDNH approximately 140 million 
records quarterly. These State records contain the wages and 
unemployment compensation paid to individuals within the fifty States, 
Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.
    Provided below are the proposed Record Layouts and Field 
descriptions along with the Supplemental Specifications. The 
supplemental specifications contain additional explanation regarding 
format and content of items in the record specifications. The record 
Layouts and Field descriptions apply to the W-4, Quarterly Wage and 
Unemployment Compensation records respectively. Descriptions are also 
provided for header, data and trailer subrecords.
    Respondents: States and Employers.

                                                                 Annual Burden Estimates                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Number of                                                                             
                  Instrument                      Number of     responses per              Average burden hours per  response              Total burden 
                                                 respondents     respondent                                                                    hours    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Hire: Employers Not Currently Required to   \1\ 3,372,250       \2\ 3.484  .0417 hours (2.5 minutes)................................         489,930
 Report (manual reporting) \1\.                                                                                                                         
New Hire: Employers Not Currently Required to      \1\740,250      \2\ 37,037  .00028 hours (1 second) \3\..............................           7,677
 Report (electronically) \1\.                                                                                                                           
New Hire: Multistate Employers' Registration          375,000               1  .050.....................................................          18,750
 Form.                                                                                                                                                  
New Hire: States Not Currently Requiring New               29      \4\ 83,333  \5\ 266,668..............................................         644,445
 Hire Reporting.                                                                                                                                        
New Hire: States Currently Requiring New Hire              25      \4\ 83.333  \6\ 70.741...............................................         147,376
 Reporting.                                                                                                                                             
Quarterly Wage and Unemployment Compensation.              54           \7\ 4  .033.....................................................            7.13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,308,185                                                                                                          

Footnotes

    The above Burden Estimates are based on the Following 
Assumptions and Factors:
    Twenty-five States already had a new hire reporting system in 
place before PRWORA was passed. Within those 25 States, on average, 
it is estimated that 75% of employers already report new hire data 
(based on the fact that some States require all employers to report, 
some require only targeted industries to report, and some are 
voluntary reporting programs). It is estimated that these employers 
represent the same proportional number of new hire reports (75% of 
25/54).
    These estimates include the 25% remaining employers who do not 
report within those 25 States, in addition to all of the employers 
within the remaining 29 States.
    \1\ Eighteen percent of all employers will report manually and 
82% will report electronically (based on SSA's experience). The 
number of employers is based on the following calculation: the total 
number of employers (6,300,000) multiplied by 29/54 (the proportion 
of States that do not have new hire programs) plus the total number 
of employers multiplied by the number of employers not already 
reporting in the States that do have new hire programs (25% of 25/
54). The result (4,122,500) is then broken down into two categories: 
those who report manually and those who report electronically.
    \2\ For the ``Employers'' tiers, ``response'' is defined as the 
number of new hire reports. Thirty percent of all new hire reports 
will be reported manually and 70% will be reported electronically 
(based on SSA's experience).
    \3\ Based on the assumption that employers reporting new hires 
electronically will most likely transmit their reports in a batch 
file, thus significantly reducing the per-response burden.
    \4\ For the ``States'' tiers, ``response'' is defined as the 
number of transmissions to the NDNH. All States are required by law 
to transmit new hire data to the NDNH electronically, within three 
business days after entering the data into the SDNH. There are 250 
business days per year. States will send a transmission once every 
three business days, which is equal to 83.333 transmissions per 
year.
    \5\ Based on the average number of reports per transmission and 
the average burden per new hire report. The average number of 
reports per transmission is calculated by dividing 32,222,220 (total 
number of new hire reports in those 29 States) by 29 (number of 
States). The result (1,111,111) is then divided by 83.333 (estimated 
number of transmissions per State, see above explanation). Based on 
this calculation, the average number of reports per transmission is 
13,333.39 reports. The average burden per new hire report is 
estimated to be .02 hours (1.2 minutes), which is based on a range 
of two seconds to four minutes. The burden is estimated to be two 
seconds per report for the 70% of new hire reports submitted to the 
State electronically. This two second burden estimate is based on 
the same batch-file

[[Page 40094]]

assumption as above, and includes data receipt and data 
transmission. If the State has to manually enter the new hire data 
before transmitting to the NDNH (which is the case for 30% of all 
new hire reports), the burden is estimated to be four minutes (based 
on the number of characters in a record). The average burden hours 
per report (.02) multiplied by the average number of reports per 
transmission (13,333.39) is equal to the average burden hours per 
transmission (266.668).
    \6\ Within the 25 States that already have a new hire reporting 
program in place, the burden is broken down into three categories. 
The total number of new hire reports for those 25 States is 27.8 
million (46% of 60 million, or 25/54 times 60 million). Seventy-five 
percent of employers already submit to those States, so the 
incremental burden for that group is only the transmission to the 
NDNH (1 second per report). Twenty-five percent of employers do not 
already submit to those States, so the burden for that group is 
based on the same calculation as above: 30% of all new hire reports 
are reported manually (@ 4 minutes each) and 70% are reported 
electronically (@ 2 seconds each). The following table represents 
the exact formula for the calculation:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Number of new                                                                                               
            Types of  reports                hire reports                  Time per new hire report                              Total time             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Already Received From Employers (75%)...         20,833,333  .000278 hours (1 second)............................  5787.0370 hours.                     
Reports Not Currently Received (25%)--            2,083,333  .066667 hours (4 minutes)...........................  138888.8889 hours.                   
 Manual (30%).                                                                                                                                          
Reports Not Currently Received (25%)--            4,861,111  .000556 hours (2 seconds)...........................  2700.6173 hours.                     
 Electronic (70%).                                                                                                                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total time for all three types of reports: 147,376.543 hours.
    Total time per transmission (83.333) per State (25): 70.741 
hours.
    \7\ ``Response'' is defined here as the number of transmissions 
to the NDNH. States are required to transmit quarterly wage and 
unemployment compensation data four times a year.

Detailed Input Information

          Record Layouts And Field Descriptions for Input to the National Directory of New Hire (NDNH)          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Location/              Alpha/         Description/                            
           Field name              position   Length     numeric          remarks          Mandatory/ optional  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              W4 Transmitter Record                                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A/N           `H4'...............  M.                     
Transmitter State Code..........    3-4            2  N             State FIPS code      M for states.          
                                                                     (for states only).                         
Transmitter Agency Code.........   5-13            9  A/N           Federal Agency Code  M for agencies.        
                                                                     (for federal                               
                                                                     agencies only).                            
Transmission Type...............  14-15            2  A/N           `W4' for W4 data...  M.                     
Department of Defense Code......     16            1  A             `A' for active       M for DOD.             
                                                                     duty, `C' for                              
                                                                     civilian, `R' for                          
                                                                     reserves. States                           
                                                                     may leave this                             
                                                                     field blank.                               
Version Control Number..........  17-18            2  A/N           Must be `01',        M.                     
                                                                     controlled by OCSE.                        
Date Stamp......................  19-26            8  N             Format--YYYYMMDD.    M.                     
                                                                     Must be current                            
                                                                     system date of                             
                                                                     file generation..                          
Batch Number....................  27-32            6  N             Sequential number    M.                     
                                                                     to identify a                              
                                                                     submission as                              
                                                                     unique.                                    
Filler..........................  33-801         769  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 W4 Total Record                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A/N           `T4'...............  M.                     
Data Record Count...............   3-13           11  N             Total record count   M.                     
                                                                     for transmission,                          
                                                                     including header                           
                                                                     and trailer                                
                                                                     records.                                   
Filler..........................  14-801         787  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 W4 Data Record                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A/N           `W4'...............  M.                     
Employee SSN....................   3-11            9  N             As reported by       M.                     
                                                                     employee.                                  
Employee Name:                                                                                                  
    First Name..................  12-27           16  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters..                               
    Middle Name.................  28-43           16  A             If non-blank, must   O.                     
                                                                     be at least one                            
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters..                               
    Last Name...................  44-73           30  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters, except                         
                                                                     for hyphen..                               
Employee Address:                                                                                               
    Street Address (line 1).....  74-113          40  A/N           Non-blank..........  M.                     
    Street Address (line 2).....  114-153         40  A/N           If your address      O.                     
                                                                     line is less than                          
                                                                     40 characters do                           
                                                                     not concatenate                            
                                                                     into one line.                             
    Street Address (line 3).....  154-193         40  A/N             .................  O.                     
    City........................  194-218         25  A             At least two         M.                     
                                                                     characters. No                             
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters, except                         
                                                                     for hyphen..                               
    State.......................  219-220          2  A             Valid state or       M.                     
                                                                     territory                                  
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
    Zip Code (1)................  221-225          5  N             Must be numeric....  M.                     
    Zip Code (2)................  226-229          4  A/N           If present, must be  O.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Employee Foreign Address:                                                                                       

[[Page 40095]]

                                                                                                                
    Foreign Country Code........  230-231          2  A/N           Refer to U.S.        M for foreign address. 
                                                                     Department of                              
                                                                     Commerce FIPS code                         
                                                                     manual, National                           
                                                                     Institute of                               
                                                                     Standards and                              
                                                                     Technology, FIPS                           
                                                                     PUB 10-4 (April                            
                                                                     1995).                                     
    Foreign Country Name........  232-256         25  A/N           If present, at       O.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Foreign Zip Code............  257-271         15  A/N             .................  O.                     
Employee Date of Birth..........  272-279          8  A/N           If present,          O.                     
                                                                     numeric. Format--                          
                                                                     YYYYMMDD.                                  
Employee Date of Hire...........  280-287          R  A/N           If present,          O.                     
                                                                     numeric. Format-                           
                                                                     YYYYMMDD.                                  
Employee State of Hire..........  288-289          2  A             Alphabetic state of  O.                     
                                                                     territory                                  
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
Federal EIN.....................  290-298          9  N             Federal Employer     M.                     
                                                                     Identification                             
                                                                     Number.                                    
State EIN.......................  299-310         12  A/N           If no FEIN is        O.                     
                                                                     available, send                            
                                                                     the State EIN. If                          
                                                                     present and less                           
                                                                     than 12                                    
                                                                     characters, left                           
                                                                     justify.                                   
Employer Name...................  311-355         45  A/N           At least two                                
                                                                     characters..                               
Employee Address:                                                                                               
    Street Address (line 1).....  356-395         40  A/N           FEIN address from    M.                     
                                                                     W4. At least two                           
                                                                     characters.                                
    Street Address (line 2).....  396-435         40  A/N           If your address      O.                     
                                                                     line is less than                          
                                                                     40 characters, do                          
                                                                     not concatenate                            
                                                                     into one line.                             
    Street line 3)..............  436-475         40  A/N           ...................  O.                     
    City........................  476-500         25  A             At least two         M.                     
                                                                     characters.                                
    State.......................  501-502          2  A             Valid state of       M.                     
                                                                     territory                                  
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
    Zip Code (1)................  503-507          5  N             Must be numeric....  M.                     
    Zip Code (2)................  508-511          4  A/N           If present, must be  O.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Employer Foreign Address:                                                                                       
    Foreign Country Code........  512-513          2  A/N           Refer to U.S.        M for foreign address. 
                                                                     Department of                              
                                                                     Commerce FIPS code                         
                                                                     manual, National                           
                                                                     Institute of                               
                                                                     Standards and                              
                                                                     Technology, FIPS                           
                                                                     PUB 10-4 (April                            
                                                                     1995).                                     
    Foreign Country Name........  514-538         25  A/N           If present, at       O.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Foreign Zip Code............  539-553         15  A/N           ...................  O.                     
Employer Optional Address.......  .........  .......  ............  This address will    O.                     
                                                                     be blank if only                           
                                                                     collecting one                             
                                                                     address. If there                          
                                                                     is a second                                
                                                                     address, it should                         
                                                                     be the address                             
                                                                     where child                                
                                                                     support orders                             
                                                                     should be sent.                            
    Street Address (line 1).....  554-593         40  A/N           If your address      O.                     
                                                                     line is less than                          
                                                                     40 characters, do                          
                                                                     not concatenate                            
                                                                     into one line.                             
    Street Address (line 2).....  594-633         40  A/N           ...................  O.                     
    Street Address (line 3).....  634-673         40  A/N           ...................  O.                     
    City........................  674-698         25  A             If present, at       O.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    State.......................  699-700          2  A             If present, valid    O.                     
                                                                     state of territory                         
                                                                     abbreiation.                               
    Zip Code (1)................  701-705          5  A/N           If present, must be  O.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
    Zip Code (2)................  706-709          4  A/N           If present, must be  O.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Employer Optional:                                                                                              
Foreign Address:                                                                                                
    Foreign Country Code........  710-711          2  A/N           Refer to U.S.        O.                     
                                                                     Department of                              
                                                                     Commerce FIPS code                         
                                                                     manual, National                           
                                                                     Institute of                               
                                                                     Standards and                              
                                                                     Technology, FIPS                           
                                                                     PUB 10-4 (April                            
                                                                     1995).                                     
    Foreign Country Name........  712-736         25  A/N           If present, at       O.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Foreign Zip Code............  737-751         15  A/N           ...................  O.                     
Filler..........................  752-801         50  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Quarterly Wage Transmitter Record                                       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `HQ'...............  M.                     
Transmitter State Code..........    3-4            2  N             State FIPS code      M for states.          
                                                                     (for states only).                         
Transmitter Agency Code.........   5-13            9  A/N           Federal Agency Code  M for agencies.        
                                                                     (for federal                               
                                                                     agencies only).                            
Transmission Type...............  14-15            2  A/N           `QW' for quarterly   M.                     
                                                                     wage data.                                 
Department of Defense Code......     16            1  A             `A' for active       M for DOD.             
                                                                     duty, `C' for                              
                                                                     civilian, `R' for                          
                                                                     reserves. States                           
                                                                     may leave this                             
                                                                     field blank.                               
Version Control Number..........  17-18            2  A/N           Must be `01',        M.                     
                                                                     controlled by OCSE.                        
Date Stamp......................  19-26            8  N             Format--YYYYMMDD.    M.                     
                                                                     Must be current                            
                                                                     system date of                             
                                                                     file generation..                          
Batch Number....................  27-32            6  N             Sequential number    M.                     
                                                                     to identify a                              
                                                                     submission as                              
                                                                     unique.                                    
Filler..........................  33-601         569  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 40096]]

                                                                                                                
                                           Quarterly Wage Total Record                                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `TQ'...............  M.                     
Data Record Count...............   3-13           11  N             Total record count   M.                     
                                                                     for transmission,                          
                                                                     including header                           
                                                                     and trailer record.                        
Filler..........................  14-601         588  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Quarterly Wage Data Record                                           
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `QW'...............  M.                     
Employee SSN....................   3-11            9  N             As reported by       M.                     
                                                                     employee.                                  
Employee Name:                                                                                                  
    First Name..................  12-27           16  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special characters.                        
    Middle Name.................  28-43           16  A             If non-blank, must   O.                     
                                                                     be at least one                            
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special characters.                        
    Last Name...................  44-73           30  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters, except                         
                                                                     for hyphen.                                
Employee Wage Amount............  74-84           11  N             Last two positions   M.                     
                                                                     are decimal                                
                                                                     places. No                                 
                                                                     negative values,                           
                                                                     zeroes are                                 
                                                                     allowed. Gross                             
                                                                     amount paid within                         
                                                                     the quarter.                               
Reporting Period................  85-89            5  N             Format--QYYYY for    M.                     
                                                                     Calendar year. Q =                         
                                                                     1 for Jan-Mar, Q =                         
                                                                     2 for Apr-Jun, Q =                         
                                                                     3 for Jul-Sep, Q =                         
                                                                     4 for Oct-Dec..                            
Federal EIN.....................  90-98            9  N             Federal Employer     M.                     
                                                                     Identification.                            
State EIN.......................  99-110          12  A/N           If present and less  O.                     
                                                                     than 12                                    
                                                                     characters, left                           
                                                                     justify.                                   
Employer Name...................  111-155         45  A/N           At least two         M.                     
                                                                     characters.                                
Employer Address:                                                                                               
    Street Address (line 1).....  156-195         40  A/N           FEIN address. At     M.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Street Address (line 2).....  196-235         40  A/N           If your address      O.                     
                                                                     line is less than                          
                                                                     40 characters, do                          
                                                                     not concatenate                            
                                                                     into one line.                             
    Street Address (line 3).....  236-275         40  A/N           ...................  O.                     
    City........................  276-300         25  A             At least two         M.                     
                                                                     characters.                                
    State.......................  301-302          2  A             Valid state or       M.                     
                                                                     territory                                  
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
    Zip Code (1)................  303-307          5  N             ...................  M.                     
    Zip Code (2)................  308-311          4  A/N           If present, must be  O.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Employer Foreign Address:                                                                                       
    Foreign Country Code........  312-313          2  A/N           Refer to U.S.        M for foreign address. 
                                                                     Department of                              
                                                                     Commerce FIPS code                         
                                                                     manual, National                           
                                                                     Institute of                               
                                                                     Standards and                              
                                                                     Technology, FIPS                           
                                                                     PUB 10-4 (April                            
                                                                     1995).                                     
    Foreign Country Name........  314-338         25  A/N           If present, at       0.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Foreign Zip Code............  339-353         15  A/N           ...................  0.                     
Employer Optional Address.......  .........  .......  ............  This address will                           
                                                                     be blank if only                           
                                                                     collecting one                             
                                                                     address. If there                          
                                                                     is a second                                
                                                                     address, it should                         
                                                                     be the address                             
                                                                     where child                                
                                                                     support orders                             
                                                                     should be sent.                            
    Street Address (line 1).....  354-393         40  A/N           At least two         0.                     
                                                                     characters.                                
    Street Address (line 2).....  394-433         40  A/N           If your address is   0.                     
                                                                     less than 40                               
                                                                     characters, do not                         
                                                                     concatenate into                           
                                                                     one line.                                  
    Street Address (line 3).....  434-473         40  A/N           ...................  0.                     
    City........................  474-498         25  A             If present, at       0.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    State.......................  499-500          2  A             If present, valid    0.                     
                                                                     state or territory                         
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
    Zip Code (1)................  501-505          5  A/N           If present, must be  0.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
    Zip Code (2)................  506-509          4  A/N           If present, must be  0.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Employer Optional Foreign                                                                                       
 Address:                                                                                                       
    Foreign Country Code........  510-511          2  A/N           Refer to U.S.        0.                     
                                                                     Department of                              
                                                                     Commerce FIPS code                         
                                                                     manual, National                           
                                                                     Institute of                               
                                                                     Standards and                              
                                                                     Technology, FIPS                           
                                                                     PUB 10-4 (April                            
                                                                     1995).                                     
    Foreign Country Name........  512-536         25  A/N           If present, at       0.                     
                                                                     least two                                  
                                                                     characters.                                
    Foreign Zip Code............  537-551         15  A/N           ...................  0.                     
Filler..........................  552-601         50  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              UI Transmitter Record                                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `HU'...............  M.                     
Transmitter State Code..........    3-4            2  N             State FIPS code      M for states.          
                                                                     (for states only).                         
Transmitter Agency Code.........   5-13            9  A/N           Federal Agency Code  M for agencies.        
                                                                     (for federal                               
                                                                     agencies only).                            

[[Page 40097]]

                                                                                                                
Transmission Type...............  14-15            2  A/N           `UI' for             M.                     
                                                                     unemployment                               
                                                                     insurance data.                            
Filler..........................     16            1  A/N           ...................  M for DOD.             
Version Control Number..........  17-18            2  A/N           Must be `01',        M.                     
                                                                     controlled by OCSE.                        
Date Stamp......................  19-26            8  N             Format--YYYYMMDD.    M.                     
                                                                     Must be current                            
                                                                     system date of                             
                                                                     file generation.                           
Batch Number....................  27-32            6  N             Sequential number    M.                     
                                                                     to identify a                              
                                                                     submission as                              
                                                                     unique.                                    
Filler..........................  32-295         263  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 UI Total Record                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `TU'...............  M.                     
Data Record Count...............   3-13           11  N             Total record count   M.                     
                                                                     for transmission,                          
                                                                     including header                           
                                                                     and trailer record.                        
Filler..........................  14-295         282  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 UI Data Record                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier...............    1-2            2  A             `UI'...............  M.                     
Claimant SSN....................   3-11            9  N             As reported by       M.                     
                                                                     claimant.                                  
Claimant Name:                                                                                                  
    First Name..................  12-27           16  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special characters.                        
    Middle Name.................  28-43           16  A             If non-blank, must   0.                     
                                                                     be at least one                            
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special characters.                        
    Last Name...................  44-73           30  A             At least one         M.                     
                                                                     character. No                              
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters, except                         
                                                                     for hyphen.                                
Claimant Address:                                                                                               
    Street Address (line 1).....  74-113          40  A/N           Non-blank..........  M.                     
    Street Address (line 2).....  114-153         40  A/N           If your address      0.                     
                                                                     line is less than                          
                                                                     40 characters, do                          
                                                                     not concatenate                            
                                                                     into one line.                             
    Street Address (line 3).....  154-193         40  A/N           ...................  0.                     
    City........................  194-218         25  A             At least two         M.                     
                                                                     characters. No                             
                                                                     special                                    
                                                                     characters, except                         
                                                                     for hyphen.                                
    State.......................  219-220          2  A             Valid state or       M.                     
                                                                     territory                                  
                                                                     abbreviation.                              
    Zip Code (1)................  221-225          5  N             Must be numeric....  M.                     
    Zip Code (2)................  226-229          4  A/N           If present, must be  0.                     
                                                                     numeric.                                   
Benefit Amount..................  230-240         11  N             Last two positions   M.                     
                                                                     are decimal                                
                                                                     places. No                                 
                                                                     negative values,                           
                                                                     zeroes are                                 
                                                                     allowed. Gross                             
                                                                     amount paid within                         
                                                                     the quarter before                         
                                                                     withholding                                
                                                                     offsets. This                              
                                                                     amount is a total                          
                                                                     of all benefits                            
                                                                     that are tracked                           
                                                                     electronically.                            
Reporting Period................  241-245          5  N             Format--QYYYY for    M.                     
                                                                     Calendar year. Q=1                         
                                                                     for Jan-Mar, Q=2                           
                                                                     for Apr-Jun, Q=3                           
                                                                     for Jul-Sep, Q=4                           
                                                                     for Oct-Dec.                               
Filler..........................  246-295         50  A/N           Spaces. To be used                          
                                                                     for future                                 
                                                                     versions.                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Supplement to New Hire Record Specifications

    At the suggestion of the workgroup that assisted in developing the 
record specifications for the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), 
this is an accompanying document that contains some additional 
clarification or explanation of items in the record specifications.
    Mandatory Fields: The legislation mandates the collection of only 
the following six data elements from the W-4 form:
Employee SSN
Employee Name
Employee Address
Employer Name
Employer Address
Employer ID number

    On the W-4 record specifications these fields are marked with (M) 
to designate mandatory. There are three additional optional fields that 
are highly desirable for the New Hire data base. These are:

Employee Date of Birth
Employee Date of Hire
Employee State of Hire

    While the legislation precludes the federal government from 
mandating the collection and retention of additional data elements, the 
states are not bound by those rules. The New Hire record specifications 
were developed in collaboration with State child support enforcement 
staff, State Employment Security Agency (SESA) staff, and federal and 
Department of Defense staff. Consequently, the specifications include 
additional data elements that will be collected by the states and 
passed to the NDNH. These data elements will be used by the states and 
other authorized users of NDNH data.
    Following are some clarifying statements that apply to all of the 
NDNH data elements and record formats.
    1. All data is to be in EBCDIC format.
    2. All alphanumeric data are to be in upper case.
    3. All alphanumeric data are to be left justified.
    4. All numeric data are to be right justified and zero filled.
    5. All dates are to be in the Year 2000-compliant format of 
YYYYMMDD.

[[Page 40098]]

    6. Name and city data are to be stripped of special characters 
except for the hyphen.
    7. State and territory abbreviations in addresses should be the 
U.S. Postal Service abbreviations
    8. Name fields should not include suffixes such as ``Jr.'', 
``Sr.'', and ``III''.
    9. The NDNH will contain two addresses for the employer. The first 
address is that noted on the W-4 form. The second address is where 
child support orders should be sent. If only one address is available 
or known, use the first set of address data elements and leave the 
second set of data elements blank.
    10. National standard codes are to be used for foreign country code 
abbreviations as assigned by the Department of Commerce FIPS codes 
(FIPS PUB 10-4).
    11. For Quarterly Wage data, the employee wage amount is to be the 
gross amount paid during the quarter, regardless of when the amount was 
earned.
    12. For Unemployment Insurance data, the benefit amount is to be 
the gross amount paid within the quarter before any deductions or 
offsets are applied, regardless of when the benefit was earned or 
accrued.
    13. When in Doubt, Send the Data. While the NDNH wants to receive 
clean, edited data, we want to receive all data in a timely manner. 
Consequently, if some data is missing or incomplete at the time of 
transmission include the record(s) in the transmission. Hopefully, this 
will also make processing easier at the State level.
    14. Output records returned from the NDNH will contain all of the 
input data sent to the NDNH and indications of errors of changes that 
took place at the federal level.
    15. States have the option of receiving error records. The NDNH 
will maintain a matrix of which states want to be notified of errors 
and which do not.

Input Records

    When sending data to the federal level, there will be three record 
types in each transmission of data. These will include a header record, 
a series of data records, and concluded by a trailer record.

Header Record

    The header record will be the first record in the data set and will 
contain the following fields.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Field name                            Comments                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier............  Enter `H4' for W4 data.                  
                               Enter `HQ' for Quarterly Wage data.      
                               Enter `HU' for Unemployment Insurance    
                                data.                                   
Transmitter State Code.......  Refer to U.S. Department of Commerce FIPS
                                code manual, National Institute of      
                                Standards and Technology, FIPS PUB 10-4 
                                (April 1995).                           
Transmitter Agency Code......  Some federal agencies act as service     
                                bureaus for other federal agencies.     
                                Enter the Federal Employer              
                                Identification Number (FEIN) of the     
                                agency transmitting the data to the     
                                National Directory of New Hires.        
Transmission Type............  Identifies the type of data in this data 
                                set.                                    
                               Enter `W4' for W4 data.                  
                               Enter `QW' for Quarterly Wage data.      
                               Enter `UI' for Unemployment Insurance    
                                data.                                   
Department of Defense Code...  This field is mandatory only for DOD data
                                transmissions. All others can ignore    
                                this field. DOD data is separated into  
                                several categories. This field indicates
                                which category of data is being         
                                transmitted.                            
                               Enter `A' for active duty personnel.     
                               Enter `C' for civilian personnel.        
                               Enter `R' for reservist personnel.       
Version Control Number.......  It is assumed that the system will be    
                                modified over time to accommodate future
                                requirements. The version Control Number
                                indicates which version of the system is
                                in operation and will provide a means of
                                communicating with data suppliers about 
                                record formats.                         
                               Enter `01' until notified by OCSE to     
                                change this value.                      
Date Stamp...................  Enter the system generated date on the   
                                date the data set is transmitted to the 
                                federal level. Enter the date in the    
                                format YYYYMMDD.                        
Batch Number.................  A sequential number generated by the     
                                transmitting agency. This field is to   
                                uniquely identify a transmission. Do not
                                repeat batch numbers.                   
Filler.......................  Each record contains filler to be used   
                                for future versions of the record       
                                formats.                                
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Record

    Each data set is to be terminated with a Total Record which will 
contain the count of the total number of records transmitted in this 
data set.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Field Name                            Comments                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier............  Enter `T4' for W4 data.                  
                               Enter `TQ' for Quarterly Wage data.      
                               Enter `TU' for Unemployment Insurance    
                                data.                                   
Data Record Count............  Enter the total number of records        
                                transmitted in this data set, including 
                                the header and trailer records. This    
                                will be used to verify that all records 
                                are received and processed.             
Filler.......................  Spaces. To be used for future versions of
                                the system.                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Data Record

    Each of the data records for W4, Quarterly Wage, and UI is 
different in several ways. Following is further explanation of some of 
the data elements in those record layouts. See the Record Layout 
specifications for detailed information on all data elements.

[[Page 40099]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Filed Name                            Comments                
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Record Identifier............  Enter `W4' for the W4 record.            
                               Enter `QW' for the Quarterly Wage record.
                               Enter `UI' for the Unemployment Insurance
                                record.                                 
Foreign Address Data Elements  If an address supplied for the employee  
                                or employer is outside the United       
                                States, include the Foreign Country Code
                                for the address, the Foreign Country    
                                Name, and the Foreign Zip Code.         
Employee Wage Amount (QW)....  For Quarterly Wage data, provide the     
                                gross amount paid to the employee during
                                the quarter, regardless of when the     
                                amount was earned.                      
Reporting Period.............  Use the quarters that correspond to the  
                                calendar year rather than quarters that 
                                correspond to fiscal accounting periods.
                                Use the format QYYYY where              
                               Q=1 for January-March.                   
                               Q=2 for April-June.                      
                               Q=3 for July-September.                  
                               Q=4 for October-December.                
Benefit Amount (UI)..........  The UI Benefit Amount is the gross amount
                                paid within the reporting quarter before
                                any withholding offsets are applied.    
                                This amount should be the sum of        
                                benefits received from all programs     
                                tracked electronically by the State.    
                                However, only include those benefits    
                                that are housed in the same hardware    
                                environment. Do not include benefits    
                                from sources that must be translated or 
                                imported to the mainframe environment.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Output Records

    FPLS will return records to the data transmitters when errors were 
detected. The states can elect to have these records returned for error 
resolution or not as they choose. Federal agencies, however, will 
receive all error records from each transmittal.
    The record formats for the error records are identical to the input 
record provided by the submitter except that error codes will be 
appended that explain the nature of the error. Errors can occur at the 
transmission level and at the individual record level.

Transmission Control Records

    This is the output equivalent of the input TRANSMITTER RECORD and 
includes counts of records received, records rejected, error records 
returned, records posted to the National Directory of New Hires, 
records posted to the Suspense File, and up to five Error Codes 
pertaining to the transmission level error conditions encountered.

Data Records

    Each output version of the input DATA RECORD had appended to it up 
to five record level error codes that indicate the nature of the error 
encountered during editing. It also contains a Social Security Number 
Verification Indicator that indicates whether multiple valid SSNs were 
encountered during the SSN verification process. In addition, a 
corrected SSN is returned if during the SSN verification process the 
supplied SSN was determined to be incorrect and the verification 
procedure was able to provide the correct SSN.

Total Records

    No transmission total records will be returned to the submitting 
State or federal agency.
    In compliance with the requirements of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Administration for Children and 
Families is soliciting public comment on the specific aspects of the 
information collection described above.
    The Department specifically requests comments on: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 
agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection 
of information on respondents, including through the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted 
within 60 days of this publication.
    Copies of the proposed collection of information can be obtained 
and comments may be forwarded by writing to the Administration for 
Children and Families, Office of Information Services, Division of 
Information Resource Management Service, Attn: ACF Reports Clearance 
Officer, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20447 or e-mail 
to Internet address: [email protected]. All requests should be 
identified by the title of the information collection.

    Dated: July 18, 1997.
Robert Driscoll,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 97-19494 Filed 7-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-M