As of July 1, 2025, employers with employees working in the State of Indiana must provide more detailed information about each “newly-hired employee,” including standardized occupational classification codes, via regular electronic submissions to the Indiana New Hire Reporting Center.
Under Indiana Senate Bill 148, covered employers must submit the following information within twenty (20) business days of a newly hired employee's date of hire:
The last three items are new. And many employers may not have assigned standard occupational classification codes – often called SOC codes - to all of their jobs before now (more on that later).
Although the law technically went into effect in 2024, the State offered a one-year transition period during which old and new formats were accepted. That grace period ended July 1, 2025, and now any missing data – including those SOC codes - may prevent the file from being accepted and could result in penalties.
Under the law, newly hired employees are those who have never worked for the employer before and those who previously worked for the employer but who have been separated from such prior employment for at least sixty (60) consecutive days.
SOC codes are a numerical coding system used to categorize and classify workers into occupational categories. They help standardize how occupations are categorized, making it easier for various federal and state agencies and private employers to compare and analyze workforce data across different sectors and regions.
Although the State of Indiana provides a tool on its website to link job titles to SOC codes, a quick test revealed that the tool did not accurately match some common job titles to the most appropriate SOC code. For example, a search for “Assistant Manager” brought up SOC codes for dental assistants, medical secretaries and administrative assistants, and recreation workers, among others.
Berkshire’s team of consultants has considerable experience helping employers assign SOC and comparable Census codes to jobs. Our many years of experience allow us to do this work cost-effectively – and correctly. Expert help is often needed because appropriate classification is based on actual duties and tasks – and not just job title. As a result, two people with the same job title could potentially have different SOC codes if their responsibilities differ.
Once appropriately assigned, SOC codes can be used for a wide variety of workforce planning and analysis. For example, SOC codes can be used to identify labor market trends, wage competitiveness, and industry trends. So, getting this right the first time is important – not only for compliance with new hire reporting like those in Indiana – but also to unlock access to other valuable benchmarking information.
Reach out to your Berkshire consultant today if you’d like to learn more, or fill out the form below to get started with us!