Federal law requires each state to operate
a centralized collection and disbursement unit for the
convenience of employers who are withholding child support
payments for their employees. The Maine Child Support
Clearinghouse, located in Augusta, will process payments
you withhold for all Maine child support orders. Other
states may ask you to send their payments directly to
their centralized payment processing unit.
For helpful information about employer responsibilities
with regard to income withholding, new hire reporting,
withholding for medical support and other related issues,
read the "Employer’s Guide to Child Support
. This is a free publication from the Office
of Child Support Enforcement and is available in either
a hard copy or in an Acrobat PDF version.
Maine Code 19-A MRSA §2154 requires employers to
report new hire information to the Maine Employment
Security Department. State agencies will use this information
to discover and stop unemployment insurance fraud, worker's
compensation fraud and other types of public assistance
fraud. The State will also use new hire reports to locate
noncustodial parents who owe child support in Maine.
The New Hire Reporting program is a confidential and secure
program that receives and processes data regarding new
employees.
Employers are the critical link both in locating noncustodial
parents and in withholding income from their paychecks.
No other child support collection method is as successful
as income withholding. Not only does this law help the
children, it also helps taxpayers. By promptly reporting
new hires, employers help taxpayers save millions of dollars
because families that receive child support are less likely
to require public assistance. More importantly, employers
help children get the support they deserve.
All Maine employers (private, nonprofit and government
agencies) must report all employees who live or work in
Maine. Out of state employers who hire employees who
work in Maine must also report. Multi-state employers
must report newly hired employees to the State in which
they are working or they may select one State to which
they report all new hires. The employer must report any
employee who fills out a W-4 form whether full-time, part-time
or student worker. This information must be reported within
7 days of hiring an employee.
The employee information that must
be reported:
Employee's name
Employee's address
Employee's Social Security Number
Employee's Date of Birth
Employee's Date of Hire
Employer's name
Employer's address
Employer's Federal Employer Identification Number
Reports must be sent to:
Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery
New Hire Reporting Program
11 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0011