Georgia New Hire Paperwork & Reporting Requirements

Most new hires have to complete 54 activities on average during their onboarding process. That leaves a lot of room for overwhelm on the first day (or even during their first week) of work. And that's just for the new hire; it doesn't account for the sheer number of tasks the head of HR has to complete just to onboard a new employee.

Are you a Georgia employer struggling with employee paperwork and compliance requirements? We know it can be daunting to stay up-to-date on all the different regulations, which is why it's so important to have an efficient onboarding system in place.

This comprehensive guide will discuss everything you need to know about new hire paperwork in Georgia, along with compliance laws and simple strategies that will help streamline your process and ensure legal compliance.

What Is the Necessary New Hire Paperwork in Georgia?

Let's get straight to the point: what does new hire paperwork in Georgia look like? Honestly, it's pretty similar to the new hire paperwork you'd collect from employees in other states. However, it's always worth looking at state-specific employment laws and requirements.

W-4 Withholding Forms

First and foremost, employers must collect a W-4 form from their new hires. This form determines how much federal income tax you should withhold from the employee's paycheck. Additionally, in the State of Georgia, which has a state income tax, you must collect the Georgia G-4 form for withholding.

I-9 Form for Employment Eligibility

Additionally, all new hires must complete an I-9 form to prove their employment eligibility in the United States. This form requires employees to provide specific identification documents, such as a passport or driver's license.

Georgia New Hire Reporting Form

In Georgia, employers must also provide their new hires with a "New Hire Reporting Form." You must complete this form within ten days of the employee's start date and submit it to the Georgia Department of Labor. This form provides crucial information about the new hire, such as their name, social security number, and date of birth.

New Hire Paperwork Checklist

Here's a list of other forms you'll need to collect and submit (along with the ones already mentioned above):

• The job letter or contract, signed by both parties

• Background check consent form

• W-2

• Federal W-4

• Georgia G-4

• Direct deposit authorization form (or another authorization form for payments)

• Form DOL-4N: Employer's Quarterly Tax and Wage Report

• Form DOL-4A: Continuation Sheet

• Form DOL-4: Employer's Quarterly Tax and Wage Report

• Form DOL-1A: Employer Status Report

• Form DOL-4A: Continuation Sheet

• Form DOL-1A: Employer Status Report

It's important to note that some industries in Georgia may require additional paperwork. For example, if you're hiring a driver, you may need to collect a copy of their commercial driver's license. You might also have them sign your company's worker's compensation or insurance policy forms or submit an ACA acknowledgment.

The bottom line? Be sure to check with your industry's governing body to ensure you're collecting all the necessary paperwork.

Payroll Documents

When hiring a new employee in Georgia, you must collect and submit documents to state and federal government entities. However, plenty of payroll documents need to be collected and entered into your internal payroll system.

These documents include the following:

• W-4

• I-9

• State-specific tax forms

Once you have these documents, it's time to set up your payroll system or enter them into your existing, well-integrated payroll system. This includes:

• Registering with the state: Georgia requires employers to register with the Georgia Department of Labor before filing any payroll.

• Setting up employee records: This includes entering the employee's personal and payment information into your payroll system

• Withholding taxes: Use the information from the W-4 and state tax forms to calculate the correct amount of taxes to withhold from each paycheck

Understanding these steps is essential to ensure compliance with Georgia laws and regulations regarding paying your employees. Stay organized, keep accurate records, and your payroll process will be smooth sailing.

Navigating the Onboarding Process

Congratulations on finding the right candidate for your business! After gathering their initial new hire paperwork and setting them up on payroll, it's time to welcome your new hire into the team and help them settle into their new role. Here is a helpful checklist on their first day to ensure they integrate nicely into your team.

New Hire Packet

All new employees should receive a new hire packet on their first work day. It should contain important company culture, policies, and procedures information. Typically, new hire packets include the following:

• Employee handbook

• Company vision and mission statement

• Benefits enrollment forms

• Tax forms

However, suppose you onboarded them before their first day (which is a great idea!). In that case, the packet should merely provide an overview of the organization and set expectations, which are essential in making an employee feel comfortable and valued.

Access Cards & Logins

On the first day of work, your new hire will need a security access card and login credentials to access various company systems such as email, payroll, and time attendance. Let them know which systems they'll need to access and how they can obtain their login information. This will ensure they can start working more efficiently and immediately meet expectations.

Meet the Mentor

Assigning a mentor to your new hire can be beneficial for both parties. A mentor can provide direction, support, and advice to the employee. They can also share their insights and wisdom with the new hire. This can help the new hire feel welcomed and less overwhelmed during their first few weeks of employment.

Office Tour

Give your new hire a tour of the office. This will help them navigate the office layout, meet their coworkers, and familiarize themselves with the amenities. A tour can be an opportunity to show your new employee the company culture and history, including any artwork, photographs, and awards on display. Make this tour low-stress and casual.

Frequent Check-Ins

During onboarding, you must check in with your new hire to ensure they are comfortable and the job meets their expectations. Frequent check-ins allow you to provide support, clarification, and constructive feedback to the employee. It also encourages open communication, which can help build an employee's confidence in their new role and the organization.

Employment Laws in Georgia

Governor Brian Kemp recently said, "Georgia is the best place to live, work, and raise a family, and that starts with good jobs." And that's true. The state is thriving in various sectors. The state's largest industries include advanced manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and food processing.

As an employer in Georgia, regardless of your industry, it is vital to understand the specific employment laws to protect your employees and your business. Failure to comply with these laws can result in costly fines and even legal action against your company.

At a minimum, being familiar with the Georgia Department of Labor laws is necessary to ensure you meet your legal obligations.

This includes laws regarding new hire reporting, unemployment insurance, and child labor laws. Additionally, employers with three or more workers must carry workers' compensation insurance to cover their employees in case of injury on the job.

It's also important to know that Georgia is an employment-at-will state, meaning that you, as the employer, have the right to terminate employees for any reason so long as it does not violate anti-discrimination laws.

Speaking of discrimination, there are a few other areas in which it is illegal to discriminate against your employees, such as race, gender, and religion.

By familiarizing yourself with Georgia's employment laws and rules, you can stay on top of your legal obligations as an employer and keep your business compliant. Ignorance is not an excuse in the eyes of the law. So take the time to educate yourself and protect your company from costly legal trouble.

How Employee Onboarding Software Can Help

With mountains of paperwork to fill out and new processes to learn, managing new hires and their paperwork requirements in Georgia can be daunting.

That's where employee onboarding software comes in to help, especially with GoCo, our user-friendly and customizable HR solution that can take care of all your processes in one place. For example, GoCo's new hire onboarding software makes it easy to streamline and automate the collection of documents and data.

Unlike other all-in-one HR solutions, we won't force you to work with specific processes or policies. Instead, our proprietary Magic Docs technology lets you customize every document with ease. You can even insert and collect custom form fields and then report on them in real-time.

Our new hire onboarding software simplifies the documentation process and reduces the risk of errors, ensuring that all your new employee data is securely stored. By automating the collection process, you can give your employees a dream experience on their first day, ensuring that they confidently start their role in your organization's, well, organization.

And the best part? New hires can do it anywhere, whether from their computer or mobile device. Talk about easy.

Level Up Your HR with GoCo

Let GoCo help you manage your HR processes today. Aside from making managing new hire paperwork in Georgia much more accessible, you'll also receive exceptional customer service from our dedicated Customer Success Manager, freeing up crucial time to focus on your business.

Contact us to schedule a free software demo to see how easy it is to use and manage.