Recently enacted Oregon Senate Bill (SB) 184 soon will require employers to include independent contractors in their child support reporting requirements to the Oregon Division of Child Support of the Department of Justice. Currently, the reporting requirements apply only to an employer’s employees but, for all new engagements or re-engagements entered into on or after on January 1, 2024, must include any independent contractor hired by the employer as well. The new reporting requirements will apply if the employer has employees or independent contractors working only in Oregon, or is a multi-state employer and has designated to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services that Oregon is the employer’s reporting state.

Not every independent contractor engagement or re-engagement will require reporting. For the purposes of SB 184, an independent contractor is someone who must file a federal form W-9 under the Internal Revenue Code and who is anticipated to be performing services for more than 20 days for the hiring entity. Re-engagement is defined as engaging an independent contractor that previously performed services as an independent contractor, with at least a 60-day gap between the periods during which services were performed.

The remainder of Oregon’s child support reporting requirements, set forth in ORS 25.790, are unchanged by SB 184. Employers are required to submit the report for employees (and soon for independent contractors) by mail upon hire or electronically on a monthly basis. Employers may choose to report individually or cumulatively during the reporting period and must include the employer’s name, address, and federal tax identification number, and the employee’s or independent contractor’s name, address, and social security number.