(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) Employee means a natural person who is employed by an employer in this state for compensation, which employer is required to report the compensation to the federal internal revenue service. Employee does not include:
(I) An employee hired to perform intelligence or counterintelligence functions for an agency of the United States government, as those terms are defined in the federal Intelligence Organization Act of 1992, 50 U.S.C. sec. 401a, when the head of the agency has determined that reporting the employee could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission; or
(II) An independent contractor.
(b) Employer means a person or entity doing business in the state that engages an employee for compensation and for whom the employer is required to report the compensation to the federal internal revenue service. Employer also includes any governmental entity and any labor organization.
(c) Labor organization means any organization that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms, or conditions of employment or of providing other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
(d) Newly hired employee means an employee who:
(I) Has not previously been employed by the employer; or
(II) Was previously employed by the employer but has been separated from his or her prior employment for at least sixty consecutive days.
(e) Service provider means:
(I) An individual, sole shareholder of a corporation, sole member of a limited liability company, or sole proprietor;
(II) An individual who is not an employee of a service recipient; or
(III) An independent contractor who:
(A) Contracts or provides services for compensation to a service recipient doing business in Colorado in an amount equal to or greater than the amount set forth in 26 U.S.C. sec. 6041 in the calendar year; or
(B) Is a transportation network company driver who uses a personal vehicle to deliver food, goods, or other services to a person in Colorado through the transportation network company's digital network.
(f) Service recipient means:
(I) A person doing business in Colorado who enters into a contract for services with a service provider or receives services from a service provider; or
(II) A person doing business in Colorado as a company that maintains a digital network to facilitate service transportation network company drivers, including, but not limited to, drivers delivering food, goods, or services to a person seeking such services.
(2) The state department, or its agent, shall establish and maintain a state directory of new hires on and after October 1, 1997, for the purpose of locating newly hired employees for the purposes of establishing, enforcing, or modifying child support obligations and for other purposes specified in paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of this section.
(3) Each employer shall submit to the state directory of new hires a copy of the W-4 form, the W-9 form, or, at the option of the employer, an equivalent form for each newly hired employee in Colorado. The report may be transmitted to the state department by first-class mail, magnetically, or electronically. The report must contain the newly hired employee's name, date of birth, address, social security number, whether the new hire is an employee or service provider, and the date services for remuneration were first performed by the newly hired employee. The report must contain the name and address of the employer and the identifying number assigned to the employer pursuant to the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. sec. 6109. An employer is not liable for furnishing information pursuant to this section. An employer is not required to submit to the state directory of new hires a report concerning any employee hired for less than thirty days.
(4) Beginning not later than May 1, 1998, the state child support enforcement agency shall conduct automated comparisons of the social security numbers reported by employers pursuant to this section and the social security numbers appearing in the records of the family support registry for cases being enforced under the state plan. The state department may contract for the performance of the comparisons required by this subsection (4) with another governmental agency or a private entity.
(5) An employer that has employees who are employed in two or more states and that transmits reports magnetically or electronically may designate one state to which the employer shall submit reports. Any multistate employer that elects to transmit all reports to one state shall notify the secretary of the federal department of health and human services, in writing, which state the employer has designated for purposes of reporting.
(6) All employers shall report a newly hired employee within twenty calendar days after the date the employer hires the employee or, at the election of the employer, at the time of the first regularly scheduled payroll following the date of hire if such payroll is subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-day period. Reports submitted magnetically or electronically shall be submitted by two monthly transmissions, when necessary, and in all instances, the report shall be transmitted no more than twenty calendar days after the date of hire or, at the election of the employer, at the time of the first regularly scheduled payroll following the date of hire if such payroll is subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-day period.
(7) (a) Within five business days after receipt of a report from an employer concerning a newly hired employee, the state child support enforcement agency shall enter the information into the state directory of new hires.
(b) Within two business days after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state child support enforcement agency shall transmit an income assignment to the employer of the employee directing the employer to withhold an amount equal to the monthly child support obligation, including any past-due support obligation of the employee.
(c) Within three business days after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state directory of new hires shall furnish the information to the national directory of new hires.
(d) No later than two years after the date the information regarding a newly hired employee is entered into the state directory of new hires, the state child support enforcement agency shall remove such name and information from the directory.
(8) (a) Information contained within the reports shall be made available to delegate child support enforcement units and their agents in order to locate individuals for purposes of establishing paternity or for purposes of establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support obligations.
(b) Information contained within the reports must be made available to the administrators of the following programs for purposes of establishing or verifying eligibility or benefit amounts: Public assistance pursuant to the Colorado works program, as defined in section 26-2-703 (5); medicaid; food stamps; supplemental security income benefits; cash assistance programs pursuant to this title; public assistance as defined in section 26-2-103 (7); child care assistance pursuant to part 1 of article 4 of title 26.5; and unemployment compensation.
(c) Information contained within the reports shall be available to the department of labor and employment and the state agency operating the workers' compensation program.
(9) (a) No later than twenty days after a service recipient pays remuneration to or contracts for services with a service provider in an amount set forth in 26 U.S.C. sec. 6041, whichever is earlier, the service recipient shall report to the state directory of new hires the following information:
(I) For each service provider who is newly paid or contracted for services provided in this state, the service provider's name, date of birth, address, social security number, and whether the service provider is being reported as a service provider and not as an employee; and
(II) The service recipient's name, address, and social security number.
(b) A service recipient may report remuneration or contracts for services pursuant to this subsection (9) if the value of the services is less than the amount set forth in 26 U.S.C. sec. 6041 or unknown.
(c) Information that is reported by a service recipient pursuant to this subsection (9) is confidential but must be made available for use by state agencies that administer state plans pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, including state agencies in other states.
(d) A service recipient who fails to provide a report pursuant to this subsection (9) is subject to the same enforcement action available for failure of an employer to report a newly hired employee.
(e) A service recipient who reports information to the state directory of new hires pursuant to this section is immune from civil liability.
Source: L. 97: Entire section added, p. 1298, � 43, effective July 1. L. 2006: (2) and (8)(b) amended, p. 947, � 2, effective August 7. L. 2013: (1)(d) added and (2) and (3) amended, (HB 13-1209), ch. 103, p. 354, � 4, effective January 1, 2014. L. 2021: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (3) amended, (HB 21-1220), ch. 212, p. 1129, � 8, effective July 1. L. 2022: (8)(b) amended, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 860, � 106, effective July 1. L. 2025: (1)(a) and (3) amended and (1)(e), (1)(f), and (9) added, (HB 25-1159), ch. 334, p. 1763, � 9, effective May 31.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 1997 act enacting this section, see section 1 of chapter 236, Session Laws of Colorado 1997. For the legislative intent contained in the 2006 act amending subsections (2) and (8)(b), see section 8(2) of chapter 208, Session Laws of Colorado 2006.
26-13-126. Authority to deny, suspend, or revoke professional, occupational, and recreational licenses - definitions. (1) The state board of human services is authorized, in coordination with any state agency, board, or commission that is authorized by law to issue, revoke, deny, terminate, or suspend a professional, occupational, or recreational license, to promulgate rules for the suspension, revocation, or denial of professional, occupational, and recreational licenses of individuals who owe more than six months' gross dollar amount of child support and who are paying less than fifty percent of their current monthly child support obligation each month, or those individuals who fail, after receiving proper notice, to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support proceedings.
(2) (a) To effectuate the purposes of this section, the executive director of the state department may request the denial, suspension, or revocation of any professional, occupational, or recreational license issued by a state agency, board, or commission, referred to in this section as the licensing agency. Upon such request, the state child support enforcement agency shall send a notice to the obligor by first-class mail stating that the obligor has thirty days after the date of the notice within which to pay the past-due obligation, to negotiate a payment plan with the state child support enforcement agency, to request an administrative hearing with the delegate child support enforcement unit, or to comply with the warrant or subpoena. If the obligor fails to pay the past-due obligation, negotiate a payment plan, request an administrative hearing, or comply with the warrant or subpoena within thirty days after the date of the notice, the state child support enforcement agency shall send a notice to the licensing agency to deny, revoke, or suspend the professional, occupational, or recreational license of the individual identified as not in compliance with the court or administrative order for current child support, child support debt, retroactive child support, child support arrearages, or child support when combined with maintenance or of the individual who failed, after receiving appropriate notice, to comply with subpoenas or warrants relating to paternity or child support proceedings.
(b) The rules promulgated to implement this section shall provide that, if it is the first time the procedures authorized by this section have been employed to enforce support against the obligor, the state child support enforcement agency may only issue a notice to the licensing agency to suspend or to deny such obligor's license. However, the rules shall also provide that, in second and subsequent circumstances in which the provisions of this section are utilized to enforce support against the obligor, the state child support enforcement agency shall be authorized to issue a notice to the licensing agency to revoke an obligor's license, subject to full reapplication procedures upon compliance as specified by the licensing agency.
(c) No later than thirty days after the date of the notice to the obligor, the obligor may request in writing that the delegate child support enforcement unit conduct an administrative review pursuant to the rules and regulations developed by the state board to implement the provisions of this article.
(d) No later than thirty days after the date of the delegate child support enforcement unit's decision, the obligor may request in writing an administrative review from the state child support enforcement agency.
(e) The sole issues to be determined at the administrative review by both the delegate child support enforcement unit and the state child support enforcement agency shall be whether there is: A mistake in the identity of the obligor; a disagreement concerning the amount of the child support debt, an arrearage balance, retroactive support due, or the amount of the past-due child support when combined with maintenance; a showing that all child support payments were made when due; a showing that the individual has complied with the subpoena or warrant; a showing that the individual was not properly served with the subpoena or warrant; or a showing that there was a technical defect with respect to the subpoena or warrant.
(f) The decision of the state child support enforcement agency shall be final agency action and may be reviewed pursuant to section 24-4-106, C.R.S.
(g) A notice to the licensing agency pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (2) shall not be sent to the licensing agency unless the obligor has failed to request a review within the time specified or until a hearing has been concluded and all rights of review have been exhausted.
(h) Each licensing agency affected may promulgate rules, as necessary, and procedures to implement the requirements of this section. Such licensing agencies shall enter into memoranda of understanding, as necessary, with the state child support enforcement agency with respect to the implementation of this section. All due process hearings shall be conducted by the state department rather than the licensing agency.
(i) Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of each licensing agency to deny, suspend, or revoke a license on any other grounds provided by law.
(j) A licensing agency, or any person acting on its behalf, shall not be liable for any actions taken to deny, suspend, or revoke the obligor's license pursuant to this section.
(3) It is the intent of the general assembly that the same or similar conditions placed upon the issuance and renewal of a state license to practice a profession or occupation, as set forth in this section, should also be placed upon persons applying to or licensed to practice law. The general assembly, however, recognizes the practice of the Colorado Supreme Court in the licensure, registration, and discipline of persons practicing law in this state. Specifically, the general assembly acknowledges that in order to obtain a license to practice law in Colorado, a person must verify that he or she is not delinquent with respect to a court-ordered obligation to pay child support. In addition, the general assembly recognizes that pursuant to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct a lawyer may be disciplined, including by disbarment, for failing to pay child support.
(4) Subject to section 24-33-110 (1), C.R.S., for purposes of this section, license means any recognition, authority, or permission that the state or any principal department of the state or an agent of such department is authorized by law to issue for an individual to practice a profession or occupation or for an individual to participate in any recreational activity. License may include, but is not necessarily limited to, any license, certificate, certification, letter of authorization, or registration issued for an individual to practice a profession or occupation or for an individual to participate in any recreational activity.
Source: L. 97: Entire section added, p. 1300, � 43, effective July 1. L. 2004: (4) amended, p. 1076, � 1, effective May 21.
Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration contained in the 1997 act enacting this section, see section 1 of chapter 236, Session Laws of Colorado 1997.
(2) For the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct, see the appendix to chapters 18 to 20 of the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure.