Vermont New Hire Reporting: Deadline, Data Points, Penalties

Vermont’s new hire reporting requirements give employers 10 calendar days from an employee’s first day of work to file a report with the Vermont Department of Labor. The report goes to the Vermont New Hire Reporting Center, and the same rule applies to rehires who return after a break of at least 60 days. The Department of Labor shares the information with the Office of Child Support to enforce wage withholding, locate parents who owe support, and flag fraudulent unemployment claims.

The 10-Day Deadline

The clock starts on the first day the employee actually performs services for compensation. It does not start when the offer letter is signed or when onboarding paperwork is finished.¹

Federal law allows states up to 20 days, and you may see that longer figure on multi-state guides. Vermont chose 10.² If you hire on a rolling basis, track each person’s start date individually rather than batching reports at month-end.

Who Has to Report

Any employer paying wages in Vermont has to file, from a sole proprietor with one part-time hire to a large corporation onboarding hundreds of workers. The practical test is simple: if you issue a W-4 to someone, that person is a reportable new hire.³

Rehires count as new hires when the employee has been gone for 60 consecutive days or more before returning to you.⁴

Independent contractors are not reported under this program. A working relationship based on a contract rather than an employer-employee arrangement falls outside the requirement. If you are the contractor, though, and you hire your own employees, you report them like any other employer.³

The Seven Data Points

Every report must include seven items, regardless of submission method:⁵

Employee’s full legal name
Employee’s current mailing address
Employee’s Social Security number
Date of hire (first day performing services for compensation)
Employer’s legal business name
Employer’s business address
Employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

Match the data to what appears on your payroll and tax records. Mismatches between the new hire report and your quarterly wage filings can create processing delays.

How to File

Vermont accepts three submission methods, all routed to the Vermont New Hire Reporting Center.

Online

The fastest option is the Department of Labor’s employer portal. You enter the seven data points into a secure web form, and the system produces a confirmation screen. Save or print it for your records.⁴

Fax

Fax completed reports to 802-651-1632. You can use the state’s C-61 New Hire Reporting Form, your own form with all seven elements, or a W-4 with the hire date added.⁴

Mail

Send paper reports to P.O. Box 2200, Williston, VT 05495-2200. Mailing time counts against your 10-day window, so use a trackable service if you are close to the deadline.⁴

Acceptable Forms

You have three form options: the state’s C-61 form, a custom form that includes all seven data elements, or a copy of the employee’s completed W-4. If you go the W-4 route, the employer must complete Step 5 at the bottom of the form and write in the hire date before submitting.⁶

Multi-State Employers

If you have employees in Vermont and at least one other state, you can either report each employee to the state where they work or designate one state to receive all your new hire reports nationwide.²

To use the single-state option, register with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Office of Child Support Enforcement’s Child Support Portal, or email the Multistate Employer Registration Form to msedb@acf.hhs.gov. Your registration must name the designated state and list every state where you have employees, and you must have at least one employee in the state you pick.⁷

Two conditions catch employers off guard. The single-state option requires electronic transmission; paper and fax filers have to report to each state separately. And if you designate a state other than Vermont, you follow that state’s deadline instead of Vermont’s 10-day rule.

Penalties

Vermont does not impose a flat fine for filing late. The statute reserves its penalty for collusion: if an employer and employee deliberately conspire to avoid reporting, the employer is liable to the child support recipient for the wages that should have been withheld, capped at $500.¹

The lack of a per-incident fine does not mean missed reports are cost-free. Late reporting delays child support wage withholding and can draw attention from the Office of Child Support and the Department of Labor, which also administers unemployment insurance.

Medical Support Orders

The same statute that governs new hire reporting also obligates employers to act on court-ordered health coverage for an employee’s child. If your company offers dependent coverage and a court or administrative order directs the employee to insure a child, you must enroll the child regardless of open enrollment periods or plan-switching restrictions. You cannot disenroll the child unless the order is no longer in effect or the child has comparable coverage elsewhere.¹

You also have to withhold the employee’s share of the premium from their pay and remit it to the insurer. Failing to withhold makes you personally liable for the unpaid premiums. You must notify the insurer within 10 days of receiving a medical support notice, and any covered medical expenses that would have been paid under your plan become your liability if you miss that notification window.¹

1
Vermont General Assembly. Vermont Code 33 VSA 4110 – Employer Obligations
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 653a – State Directory of New Hires
3
Vermont Department of Labor. New Hire Reporting Requirements
4
Vermont Department of Labor. New Hire Reporting and Verification Systems
5
Vermont Department of Labor. Requirements for Mandatory New Hire Reporting
6
Vermont Department for Children and Families. Vermont Office of Child Support New Hire Reporting
7
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Multistate Employer Registration Form for New Hire Reporting