(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Employee" means a natural person who is employed by an employer in this state for compensation, which employer withholds federal or state tax liabilities from the employee's compensation. "Employee" does not include an employee hired to perform intelligence or counterintelligence functions for an agency of the United States government, as those terms are defined in the federal "Intelligence Organization Act of 1992", 50 U.S.C. sec. 401a, when the head of such agency has determined that reporting the employee could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.

(b) "Employer" means a person or entity doing business in the state that engages an employee for compensation and for whom the employer withholds federal or state tax liabilities from the employee's compensation. "Employer" also includes any governmental entity and any labor organization.

(c) "Labor organization" means any organization that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms, or conditions of employment or of providing other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.

(d) "Newly hired employee" means an employee who:

(I) Has not previously been employed by the employer; or

(II) Was previously employed by the employer but has been separated from his or her prior employment for at least sixty consecutive days.

(2) The state department, or its agent, shall establish and maintain a state directory of new hires on and after October 1, 1997, for the purpose of locating newly hired employees for the purposes of establishing, enforcing, or modifying child support obligations and for other purposes specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of this section.

(3) Effective October 1, 1997, each employer shall submit to the state directory of new hires a copy of the W-4 form or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent form for each newly hired employee in Colorado. The report may be transmitted to the state department by first class mail, magnetically, or electronically. The report must contain the newly hired employee's name, address, social security number, and the date services for remuneration were first performed by the newly hired employee. The report must contain the name and address of the employer and the identifying number assigned to the employer under section 6109 of the federal "Internal Revenue Code of 1986", as amended. No liability shall attach to any employer for furnishing information pursuant to this section. No employer shall be required to submit to the state directory of new hires a report concerning any employee hired for less than thirty days.

(4) Beginning not later than May 1, 1998, the state child support enforcement agency shall conduct automated comparisons of the social security numbers reported by employers pursuant to this section and the social security numbers appearing in the records of the family support registry for cases being enforced under the state plan. The state department may contract for the performance of the comparisons required by this subsection (4) with another governmental agency or a private entity.

(5) An employer that has employees who are employed in two or more states and that transmits reports magnetically or electronically may designate one state to which the employer shall submit reports. Any multistate employer that elects to transmit all reports to one state shall notify the secretary of the federal department of health and human services, in writing, which state the employer has designated for purposes of reporting.

(6) All employers shall report a newly hired employee within twenty calendar days after the date the employer hires the employee or, at the election of the employer, at the time of the first regularly scheduled payroll following the date of hire if such payroll is subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-day period. Reports submitted magnetically or electronically shall be submitted by two monthly transmissions, when necessary, and in all instances, the report shall be transmitted no more than twenty calendar days after the date of hire or, at the election of the employer, at the time of the first regularly scheduled payroll following the date of hire if such payroll is subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-day period.

(7) (a) Within five business days after receipt of a report from an employer concerning a newly hired employee, the state child support enforcement agency shall enter the information into the state directory of new hires.

(b) Within two business days after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state child support enforcement agency shall transmit an income assignment to the employer of the employee directing the employer to withhold an amount equal to the monthly child support obligation, including any past-due support obligation of the employee.

(c) Within three business days after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state directory of new hires shall furnish the information to the national directory of new hires.

(d) No later than two years after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state child support enforcement agency shall remove such name and information from the directory.

(8) (a) Information contained within the reports shall be made available to delegate child support enforcement units and their agents in order to locate individuals for purposes of establishing paternity or for purposes of establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations.

(b) Information contained within the reports shall be made available to the administrators of the following programs for purposes of establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit amounts: Public assistance pursuant to the Colorado works program, as defined in section 26-2-703 (5); medicaid; food stamps; supplemental security income benefits; cash assistance programs under this title; public assistance as defined in section 26-2-103 (7); and unemployment compensation.

(c) Information contained within the reports shall be available to the department of labor and employment and the state agency operating the workers' compensation program.