New Employees and Employment Forms

When hiring new employees (even if they’re re-hires), there are certain records and forms the employee must complete, including:

– This form verifies each new employee’s eligibility to work in the United States.

Completing a Federal W-4 – The W-4 is an Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. This allows you to know how much income tax to withhold from an employee’s paycheck – and allowances them to know, as well. The amount is based on their filing status and number of allowances. This remains in effect until an employee changes it. A W-4 can be changed for a variety of reasons: divorce, marriage, buying a house, having a child.

Recording the employee’s name and Social Security Number (SSN) – The name and SSN of each and every employee goes on his or her W-2. This applies to resident and nonresident alien employees. Photocopying a SSN card is common practice, and the simplest way to ensure the information is correct.

For first-time job seekers, the above forms (and any applicable state forms), can be overwhelming and spurn a lot of questions. The best approach to answering these questions is to have a solid onboarding program, including a first day where an employee may ask your payroll or human resources manager any pertinent questions. Explaining them even before his or her first day in an email can help alleviate any stress regarding these forms.

Handling these situations is a unique experience for any employer. How do you handle them? Let us know on PayrollTalk and we’ll bundle them together for a future article.