Frequently Asked Questions

The frequently asked questions (FAQs) provided below highlight topics and specific questions that are often asked. The list is sorted by question frequency answered by IDES.

You can also find frequently asked questions highlighting topics and specific questions based on categories listed below.

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Where do I send my New Hire report?

New Hire reports should be filed online.

They can be mailed to:

Illinois New Hire Directory
P.O. Box 19473
Springfield, IL 62794-9473

Fax data to: 1-217-557-1947 (24-hour fax line)

Must a contractor hire an applicant referred by IDES?

The employer decides whom to hire. However, under the provisions of the regulations, an employer must take affirmative action to employ special disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam era and interview all applicants referred.

As a small business, who do we contact for free legal services in IDES matters?

If your account number for unemployment insurance ends in 0 to 9, call:

(866) 641-4288
(312) 641-6403 TTY (not toll-free)

For the purposes of the Legal Services Program, what does “small employer” mean?

"Small employer" means an employer that reported wages for less than 20 employees, either full or half day during each of any two of the four quarters preceding the quarter in which the employer is asking to participate in the Legal Services Program.

What is the New Hire Reporting Program?

The New Hire Reporting Program is part of the federal welfare reform law, and includes work requirements for custodial parents receiving public assistance and stepped up efforts to locate absent parents who are not supporting their children.

All employers are required to report new employees to their state's New Hire Directory within 20 days of the employee's first day on the payroll (twice monthly if reporting magnetically). The state agency selected to receive this information in Illinois is the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).

How will the New Hire Reporting information be used?

States will match New Hire Reports against their child support records to locate parents, establish a support order or enforce an existing order. This information will also be fed into a national directory to provide more current information for locating out-of-state noncustodial parents. Each state will have access to this directory, so up-to-date information will be available regardless where the parent is located in the U.S. Nearly one-third of child support cases involve parents who do not live in the same state as their children.

Why not just use the information on the quarterly wage reporting for new hire reporting?

Quicker notification is needed to enable child support officials to locate individuals and enforce child support orders. New hire reporting provides up-to-date employment information that can be used to collect child support from individuals who move from job to job.

Quarterly data is often out of date before the child support office receives the information. There can be as much as a six month lag between the time the data is submitted and when it is available to child support officials.

Since the data will be significantly more current under New Hire Reporting, noncustodial parents can be located more quickly, allowing child support orders to be established and/or enforced more quickly.

Which employees must be reported as new hires?

The rule of thumb is that all new employees who are required to fill out federal W-4 wage withholding forms must be reported. This includes full-time, part-time, seasonal, temporary, student workers and employees rehired after a separation of 180 days or more.

Do employees who return from leave or who are rehired after layoff need to be reported as new hires?

Yes. The employer must submit a report if an employee is reinstated after any lapse of pay of 180 days or more. However, if the employee remains on the payroll while away from the job, the employer need not submit a report when the employee returns to work.

What about reporting new temporary or seasonal employees as new hires?

Temporary and seasonal employees are required to be reported. One exception, however, is temporary employees that are sent to the job site by a temporary employee agency. In these situations, it is the responsibility of the temporary agency, not the business in which he/she is working temporarily, to report the individual.
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