1. Purpose. To update Form ETA 581 reporting instructions regarding annual reporting of wages by household employers.

2. References. Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 25-00, Revised; Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, P.L. 106-170; Section 1137(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (SSA).

3. Background. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 was signed into law on December 17, 1999. Section 405 of this Act amended Section 1137(a)(3), SSA, allowing states the option of permitting employers to submit annual wage reports with respect to certain domestic service employment. Prior to this amendment, federal law required wage data for such employment to be reported on a quarterly basis. Nine states have currently elected to allow annual reporting of household workers. As a result, instructions for completing Form ETA 581 are being revised to reflect this activity.

4. Revisions. The following are changes to instructions for Form ETA 581:

a.   The definition, "Annual-reporting Employer," has been added.

b.   Under F. 1. "Employer Count," a statement has been added to emphasize that annual-reporting employers are to be removed from the count of active employers immediately upon inactivation or termination each quarter and not just at the end of the calendar year. An annual-reporting employer's status is determined the same as any other employer and is not based on the frequency (annual) of report submittal.

c.   Instructions and examples under F. 3. "Employer Reports for Preceding Quarters - Contributory Employers," have been revised to reflect the premise that annual-reporting employers meet the quarterly report filing requirements for each quarter that the annual report is not due since the requirement for such employers is "no report." For such quarters, the number of annual-reporting employers active at the end of the preceding quarter is included in the count of "reports filed timely" and automatically included in the counts for "secured" and "resolved" reports. For the quarter in which annual reports are due, such reports are counted in the same manner as quarterly reports, i.e., as "filed timely," if the employer submits the report by the assigned due date, included in "secured," if actually received by the end of the quarter in which due, and included in "resolved," if resolved.

d.   Instructions for 5. a. "Item 12. Number of Outstanding Quarters Prior to Report Quarter," have been revised to count 4 quarters as outstanding for one delinquent annual report.

e.   Dates used in other examples and instructions have been updated to reflect current dates

5. OMB Approval. These reporting instructions are approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) according to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, OMB Approval No. 1205-0178, expiration date: 8/31/2005. Persons (state agencies) are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Respondent's obligation to reply to these reporting requirements is required to obtain or retain benefits (SSA 302(a)).

6. Disclosure Statement. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 8.5 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workforce Security, Room S-4213, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 (Paperwork Reduction Project 1205-0178).

7. Effective Date. These revisions will become effective immediately upon issuance.

8. Instructions for Handbook Maintenance.

Section II

Remove and Destroy	Insert
Chapter 2 (5/2000)	Chapter 2 (8/2002)

9. Attachment. Revised Chapter 2, Section II of ET Handbook No. 401