The employee paperwork checklist refers to the forms and other related documents that each employee of a business or a company in Las Vegas has to complete. It must be completed before employees receive their first paycheck All employed individuals in adherence to the state and federal laws must complete and submit this paperwork.

As an employer, it is your responsibility to keep your workers’ employment records in a safe location. Because these files include confidential information, the Human Resources Department of your company should maintain and manage this.

This employee paperwork checklist is included in your employee’s personnel files. It is part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s requirements under the Wage and Hour Division for payroll and employee records. In addition, the local, state, and federal agencies may check these documents for audit. It is important to keep and maintain the files related to your employees’ paperwork checklist.

What you need to know

You need to go through certain steps in hiring employees for your business.

Get an Employer ID Number (EIN)

Getting an EIN by registering as an employer with the IRS is a requirement for businesses to hire an employee. It directly links this number to your company’s payments and payroll tax reports.

In case you haven’t registered to get an EIN, you may click the link on, “How to Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online”.

Register in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)

As a business owner charged with the responsibility to withhold taxes from your employee’s paychecks, you must register with the IRS Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). Payments that you have to make or turn over to the IRS for the withholding tax on your employee’s payroll has to be processed through the EFTPS system.

Forms your new employees must complete

The following are all the forms included in the employee paperwork checklist before each of your employees receive their first paycheck:

Application Form

Even if a candidate has already submitted a resume, a job application form must be filled out and submitted by an applicant. The application form contains accurate and complete information about the employee that includes:

Relevant skills and experience in relation to the job
Employment history
Educational background
Character reference

An application form is not only used to gather information concerning an applicant. It also functions to measure a candidate’s level of comprehension and competence by checking their ability to follow instructions, level of literacy, and communication skills.

The application form serves to protect employers from applicants who might be a threat to the company for various reasons including fraud through background and reference checks.

Federal Income Tax Withholding Form W-4

The IRS Form W-4 determines the amount of tax that you as an employer should withhold from your employee’s paycheck and it has to be completed before any of your employees receive their first salary. This form, in particular, includes information such as:

Designated additional withholding amounts
Number of dependents
Marital status

In processing each of your applicant’s records, be sure to use the updated version of the IRS Form W-4 and check President Trump’s Tax plan (2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) because of the changes in the withholding tax tables. As an employer, you aren’t supposed to give advice to your employees on how to complete the W-4 Form. However, you may refer them to the IRS website’s Tax Withholding Estimator and the most recent version of the W-4 form for new employees and those who intend to make changes on their form (i.e. on cases when an employee receives a bonus).

Click the link to find more information about Form W-4 on the IRS website.

Form I-9 & E-Verify System for Employment Eligibility

All employers are obliged to properly complete Form I-9 of all hired individuals for employment in the United States. This form is used for the: a) verification of an individual employee’s identity and b) employment eligibility to work in the U.S. This form must be kept in your employee’s personnel files and should be made available if it is needed by an immigration officer for inspection.

In processing the USCIS Form I-9, each employee should fill out the first and second sections of the document. The first section pertains to the employee’s identity while the second section relates to the documents that will be used for an employee’s eligibility. As an employer, it is your legal obligation to verify that the information that is given is correct and adequate.

You may also sign-up for the E-Verify System to check on the eligibility of new employees, in case your company has many employees.

Registration with State Employment Agencies

The Federal law requires employers to report information concerning newly hired individuals to the designated state agencies that include:

State new hire registration system

In the state of Nevada, employers are legally obligated to process the registration and report each employee’s new hire information, with the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation’s Employment Security Division. Processing this registration enables the state to process the collection of payments for child support from employees.

Click the link to find more information about New Hire Reporting Information.

State employer registration

It requires employers to report and pay taxes to the State of Nevada’s Department of Taxation. Click the link to find more information on “Processing Tax Registrations in the State of Nevada”.

State unemployment tax

Part of the employer’s responsibilities is processing payments for state unemployment taxes. In the state of Nevada, the unemployment insurance is a State/Federal insurance system that protects workers if they are involuntarily unemployed and paid in full by the employer.

Click on the link for more information and details concerning the Nevada State Unemployment Insurance.

State worker’s compensation

The state worker’s compensation covers the cost employees incur when an employee is ill or injured while they are on the job and are covered under a no-fault insurance program when an employee sustained an injury.

Click on the link to find more information on, “How to Obtain a Nevada Workers Compensation Insurance”.

State, Federal, & OSHA Labor Law Posters

Is it the employer’s responsibility to post the State, Federal and OSHA labor laws in the workplace. They provide information regarding workers’ rights, safety, and protection.

You may click on the following links for more information regarding:

You may also click on the following links about:

Employee Handbook

Although an employee handbook is almost the same as the policies and procedures manual, they are not exactly the same. Your company’s employee handbook contains policies written for your employees whereas a policies and procedures manual is created for use by the Human Resource Department’s managers and/or supervisors.

Your employee handbook contains all the information that each of your employees needs to know about your company, responsibilities at work, compensation, and benefits, including salary grade and other important details.

You may click the link to understand and find more information about the “Contents of An Employee Handbook for Your Las Vegas Business”

Now that you have finished reading this employee paperwork checklist, you are now ready to hire your employees.