(a) In accordance with the requirements of Government Code § 824.6022, an employer shall submit to TRS a monthly certified statement of employment for all retirees employed by the employer during each month of a school year.
(b) Employers must submit the monthly certified statement and all required employer surcharges under §31.3 of this title (relating to Return-to-Work Employer Pension Surcharges) for each report month from September through July before the eleventh day of the month following the applicable report month. For the monthly certified statement for the report month of August, the employer shall submit the monthly certified statement and all required employer surcharges before the seventh day of September.
(c) If the due date for submission of a monthly certified statement and required employer surcharges under subsection (b) of this section falls on a weekend or federal holiday, an employer shall submit the monthly certified statement and required employer surcharges on the last business day prior to the due date.
(d) An employer that fails to timely submit a monthly certified statement and all required employer surcharges must also pay all applicable interest and late fees provided in subsections (f) and (g) of this section.
(e) A monthly certified statement is not considered submitted to TRS until it is completed. To be complete, the monthly certified statement must include all the following information regarding a retiree employed by the employer during the report month:
  (1) the number of hours and days worked by the retiree;
  (2) whether the retiree's employment qualifies as one or more of the following types:
    (A) substitute employment;
    (B) one-half time or less employment;
    (C) employment as a tutor under Section 33.913 of the Education Code;
    (D) employment in a federally-funded COVID-19 personnel position that meets the requirements of Section 824.6021 of the Government Code and §31.16 of this title (relating to Federally-funded COVID-19 Personnel);
    (E) full-time employment;
    (F) trial employment of a disability retiree for up to three months; or
    (G) any combination of these types;
  (3) the amount of gross compensation paid to the retiree during the report month;
  (4) the total amount due under §41.4 of this title (relating to Employer Health Benefit Surcharge); and
  (5) any other information requested by TRS to administer this chapter.
(f) Employers that fail to timely submit a monthly certified statement, any required employer surcharges, or interest on unpaid amounts as required in this section shall pay to TRS the late fee established in this subsection for each business day that the monthly certified statement is past due. The late fees required to be paid are as follows:
  (1) For employers with fewer than 100 employees, the late fee for the first business day the monthly certified statement is past due is $100. For each subsequent business day that the monthly certified statement is past due, the employer shall pay an additional $10.
  (2) For employers with at least 100 employees but no more than 500 employees, the late fee for the first business day the monthly certified statement is past due is $250. For each subsequent business day that the monthly certified statement is past due, the employer shall pay an additional $25.
  (3) For employers with more than 500 employees but no more than 1,000 employees, the late fee for the first business day the report or documentation is past due is $500. For each subsequent business day that the monthly certified statement is past due, the employer shall pay an additional $50.
  (4) For employers with more than 1,000 employees, the late fee for the first business day the monthly certified statement is past due is $1,000. For each subsequent business day that the monthly certified statement is pat due, the employer shall pay an additional $100.
(g) In determining the number of employees for purposes of assessing the late fee in subsection (f) of this section, TRS shall base the fee on the number of employees reflected on the employer's monthly certified statement for May of the preceding school year. New employers will pay late fees for the first school year as provided in subsection (f)(1) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §31.2 adopted to be effective November 1, 2021, 46 TexReg 6940