Utah Department of Employment Security Advisory Council members favor helping the Office of Recovery Services find "deadbeat dads" more quickly through a new program, but they are concerned about where the money will come from.
Allen Zabel, department attorney, Wednesday updated council members on a plan proposed by ORS that would require employers within five days to give the department copies of W-4 forms that are filled out when a person is hired. The department would immediately give the names to ORS.Under present procedures, the department issues a quarterly employment report. ORS checks the names of people being hired against the list of people owing child support payments and goes after them for payment.
Zabel said in many instances the person quits a job to avoid making the payments and then gets another job, filling out a new W-4 form. He said ORS officials are drafting a bill that will be submitted to the Legislature in January that would get them the names of new hires within five days.
Larry Bunkall, Utah Manufacturers Association president, said he attended a meeting recently in which ORS officials said they intended to have the State Industrial Commission foot the bill for any costs involved in providing the names more quickly.
A department spokesman said it might cost $50,000 to implement the new program and $500,000 annually to run it. Terry Burns, unemployment director for the department, said there are 160,000 new hires in Utah every quarter, emphasizing the size of the reporting task.
Burns said getting the information more quickly would reduce 50 percent of unemployment over-payments and put the agency "on top of the problem almost immediately."
Bunkall said getting the names of new hires more quickly probably would help in reducing workers' compensation fraud.
Council member Ed Mayne said if one report on new hires is issued within five days, the issuance of a quarterly report would result in duplication that should be avoided.