In January 2003, the University of Oklahoma Center for Public Management contacted 277 employers concerning the mandatory New Hire Reporting Law. Fifty-six employers agreed to take part in a survey to determine their level of knowledge of the law.
Overall, knowledge of the new hire reporting laws were low. The employers participating were divided into five groups based on their level of hiring activity and their level of compliance with reporting. Each employer answered six questions:
- Do you know child support law reporting requirements?
- Do you have the ability to connect to the Internet?
- How easy is the reporting format to use?
- Are you required by law to report all new hires?
- Do you think reporting new hires is voluntary because there are no penalties?
- How do you rate the current reporting process through Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC)?
Employers indicated that they had access to the Internet although a majority said that they still mail or fax in reports.
Most employers found the reporting format easy to use. Interestingly, those reporting the most difficulty with the format were those with a compliance rate of 60 percent or above.
Though knowledge of the law itself was low, most employers (77 percent) reported that they were familiar with the requirements of reporting. Also, a majority (64 percent) knew that reporting was not voluntary. However, 25 percent of employers did not know if reporting was mandatory.
The employers surveyed indicated a high level of satisfaction with the reporting process through Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC). It should be noted that, as in question 3, those reporting the most dissatisfaction with the process were those with the highest compliance.