Texas Guide · Updated 2026
Texas New-Hire Onboarding Checklist
Onboarding in Texas is mostly federal paperwork — the state-specific pieces are the postings, the workers'-comp notice, and the absence of a state income tax.
Forms at hire
Federal Form I-9 (and E-Verify if required for your contracts), and federal Form W-4. Texas has no state income tax, so there is no state withholding form — federal withholding only.
New-hire reporting
Report each new or rehired employee to the Texas Employer New Hire Reporting program (Office of the Attorney General) within 20 days.
Required postings & the comp notice
Post the Texas Payday Law notice of paydays and the TWC unemployment notice, plus the federal posters (FLSA, EEOC, OSHA, FMLA at 50+, USERRA, EPPA, Pay Transparency). For workers' compensation, a subscriber posts the DWC coverage notice; a non-subscriber must post and file the DWC Form-005 notice of non-coverage and notify employees.
Policies & setup
Provide the handbook (at-will acknowledgment, right-to-work, EEO/anti-harassment with a complaint procedure — mind the broad 1-employee sexual-harassment rule), confirm your workers'-comp subscriber status, set pay frequency under the Texas Payday Law, and update your application for the new ban-the-box timing (HB 2466).
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