The hire date is the first day compensated services are performed by an employee. This is the first day any services are performed for which the employee will be paid wages, commissions, tips, or other compensation. For services based soley on commissions, this is the first day an employee working for commissions is eligible to earn commissions.

The Connecticut Department of Labor's Office of Research has established the Connecticut New Hire Reporting website to provide employers with fast, reliable and secure options for reporting their new hires as required by Federal and State regulations.

Effective October 1, 2003, Public Act 03-89 defines an independent contractor as an 'employee' and the company contracting as the 'employer'. Independent contractors whose services are valued at $5,000 or more and are not themselves registered with the Connecticut Department of Labor for unemployment insurance tax purposes or are not employees of a registered employer, are to be reported as a new hire by the company contracting their services.

A copy of the CT-W4 form (pdf) with all employee and employer information completed can be faxed to: 1-800-816-1108 or mailed to:

Connecticut Department of Labor
Office of Research, ATTN: CT-W4
200 Folly Brook Blvd.
Wethersfield, CT 06109

If a company wants an original CT-W4 form, or multiple copies, these can be obtained from the Department of Revenue Services at 1-800-382-9463 (in-State) or (860) 297-5962. The CT-W4 can also be downloaded from the Department of Revenue Services web site, or received by Fax from DRS TAX_FAX: Dial (860) 297-5698 from the handset attached to your fax machine.

All employees must be reported as a new hire, no matter what the anticipated length of employment may be. If a worker maintains an ongoing relationship with a company and is recalled periodically, it is not necessary to report the hire each time. If, however, the employee has not worked for the company for 60 days, then the employee should be reported as a new hire.

Someone under 18, a student, or a household employee must be reported as a new hire. Neither age nor occupation is a factor in the reporting of new hires.

There is no need to go back and report on new hires that are more than 6 months old. After 6 months, employee information is captured through quarterly Unemployment Insurance reporting.

If a company is based in one state but has employees working or living in other states, the company should send the new hire information to the state where the employee is reported for unemployment insurance tax purposes.

A multi-state employer can report all its new hires to us electronically, via FTP. For information on reporting multi-state new hires to Connecticut, please call the Connecticut Department of Labor at (860) 263-6310 or visit our FAQ on electronic reporting.

For more information on New Hire reporting and wage attachment/garnishment and withholding wages, please visit http://www.ct.gov/dss/cwp/view.asp?a=2340&q=490560. If you have received a wage attachment / garnishment or withholding order, the Superior Court Problem Resolution Unit at 1-800-228-5437 should be able to answer your questions.