As a result of legislation passed this year, Florida employers will be required to report information on new independent contractor hires to state officials beginning Oct. 1 to improve Florida’s child-support system.
Senate Bill 1532, which was introduced by Sen. Lauren Book (D-Plantation), was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in June. The legislation requires that employers report the information on new contractors making $600 or more during a calendar year to the Florida Department of Revenue.
One of the aims of the bill was to make reporting requirements for independent contractors on par with those of regular hourly employees as a way to increase child-support collections for Florida families, according to an analysis of the bill prepared by the state legislature.
Employer associations did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the new requirement.
“Employers are one of the child support program’s most important partners and assisted with collecting more than $1 billion in child support payments last year,” Bethany Wester, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Revenue, told the Florida Record in an email. “The program provides a variety of ways for employers to comply with Florida law to report new hires, including online, by mail and by fax.”
The program has made the necessary preparations to start receiving company reports on independent contractor information, Wester said.
At the time that the new law was signed, Sen. Book said that it would ensure that those who work on a freelance or contract basis would pay their fair share of child support when families split up.
“At a time when so many Floridians are forced to pick and choose what they can afford on a daily basis, this bill – now Florida law – ensures that contract and gig workers are paying their fair share of child support …” Book said in a prepared statement.
The bill will also prohibit state officials from classifying imprisonment as voluntary unemployment when a child-support order is put in place. This will ensure that those who are jailed for crimes against their children or co-parents are generally not exempt from such payments, Book said.
Several other states, such as California, Connecticut, Texas, Massachusetts and Michigan, currently have laws on the books requiring companies to report new-hire data on independent contractors to state agencies, according to the legislature’s analysis of SB 1532.