New York new hire paperwork: IT-2104, the § 195 pay notice and state reporting

New York puts language at the center of hiring paperwork. Two of its notices, the pay notice and the harassment prevention notice, go to the employee in English and in the language the employee names as their primary language (New York Labor Law § 195) (New York Labor Law § 201-g). So the first question to ask a New York hire is which language they want.

Form IT-2104 is the Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting). It does double duty: it sets state withholding, and a copy of it can serve as the new hire report because it carries the hire date and the dependent health insurance details the state asks for (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).

A pay notice is the written statement of pay rates, payday and employer details that § 195 requires at hiring (New York Labor Law § 195). The employee signs an acknowledgment, and the employer keeps it for years, as shown below.

The employer prepares and hands over both notices, using the state’s template for the employee’s language where one exists (New York Labor Law § 195). The employee completes the IT-2104 next to the federal Form W-4 and signs the pay notice acknowledgment. The Department of Taxation and Finance receives the new hire report.

1. Ask the new hire which language they identify as their primary language, and note the answer.
2. Prepare the § 195 pay notice in English and in that language, using the state template where one exists.
3. Hand over your sexual harassment prevention policy and training information in the same two languages.
4. Collect Form IT-2104 with the federal Form W-4 and Section 1 of Form I-9.
5. If you monitor work phones, email or internet use, hand over the electronic monitoring notice and get it acknowledged.
6. Report the hire online, by fax or by mail, or send a copy of the IT-2104.

• Giving the pay notice in English only to an employee who named another primary language for which a template exists.
• Handing over the pay notice and keeping no signed and dated acknowledgment.
• Reporting a contractor on Form IT-2104, when contractor reports must go through the online reporting center (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).
• Leaving out the dependent health insurance fields on the new hire report.

Federal Form I-9 and Form W-4 apply as in every state; the new hire paperwork guide covers them. This table is the New York layer only.

The notice goes to the employee at the time of hiring and lists the pay terms in writing (New York Labor Law § 195). Where the state has no template for the employee’s primary language, an English notice satisfies the rule (New York Labor Law § 195).

• The rate or rates of pay and the basis: hourly, shift, day, week, salary, piece, commission or other.
• Allowances claimed as part of the minimum wage, such as tips, meals or lodging.
• The regular payday designated by the employer.
• The employer’s name and any “doing business as” names, the main office address and a mailing address if different, and the phone number.
• For employees not exempt from overtime, the regular hourly rate and the overtime rate.

Each time you give the notice, get a signed and dated written acknowledgment from the employee, in English and the primary language (New York Labor Law § 195). Keep it for six years (New York Labor Law § 195). The template letter below includes the acknowledgment block, so one page covers both.

New York’s report carries the federal employee and employer fields plus one more: whether dependent health insurance is available and, if so, the date the employee qualifies (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting). It is due within 20 calendar days from the hiring date (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).

The hiring date is the first day the employee performs services for pay, or becomes eligible to earn commissions for a commission-only role (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting). For a nonresident employee on a visa, the 20 calendar days start when the employee receives a Social Security number (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).

• Rehires count after a separation of 60 or more consecutive days (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).
• Independent contractors with contracts over $2,500 are reported online, effective January 1, 2022 (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).
• The penalty for a late report is $20 for each employee not reported (New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting).

New York requires every employer to give employees, at hiring and at each annual training, a notice with its sexual harassment prevention policy and the information presented at the training (New York Labor Law § 201-g). Like the pay notice, it goes in English and in the employee’s primary language, with English as the fallback when no template exists (New York Labor Law § 201-g).

Add your company forms after the state items, for example direct deposit with a voided check, the emergency contact form and the handbook acknowledgment.

• New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting: Report within 20 calendar days of the hiring date, with dependent health insurance details; rehires after 60 days; contractors over $2,500; IT-2104 may serve as the report; $20 penalty.
• New York Labor Law § 195: Pay notice at hiring in English and the primary language, with listed contents; signed and dated acknowledgment kept six years.
• New York Civil Rights Law § 52-c, Employers engaged in electronic monitoring: An employer that monitors phone, email or internet use gives prior written notice upon hiring, acknowledged by the employee, and posts the notice.
• New York Labor Law § 201-g: Employers give the sexual harassment prevention policy and training information at hiring and at each annual training, in English and the primary language.