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Alaska Statutes.

Title 23. Labor and Workers' Compensation

Chapter 20. Alaska Employment Security Act

Section 110. Information Obtained By Department.

AS 23.20.110. Information Obtained By Department.

(a) Except as provided in (h) and (i) of this section, the department shall hold information obtained from an employing unit or individual in the course of administering this chapter and determinations as to the benefit rights of an individual confidential and may not disclose them or open them to public inspection in a manner that reveals the identity of the individual or employing unit. A claimant or an employing unit, or the legal representative of the claimant or the employing unit, is entitled to information from the records of the department to the extent necessary to properly present or protest a claim or determination under this chapter. Subject to restrictions that the department prescribes by regulation, the information may be made available to an agency of this state or another state or federal agency charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law or the maintenance of a system of public employment offices, or, for the purposes of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, to the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, or, for tax purposes, to the Department of Revenue. Information obtained in the course of administering this chapter or in connection with the administration of the employment service may be made available to persons or agencies for purposes appropriate to the operation of a public employment service or the administration of employment and training programs planned or coordinated by the Alaska Workforce Investment Board under AS 23.15.550 - 23.15.585.

(b) Upon request the department shall furnish to an agency of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment, and may furnish to a state agency similarly charged, the name, address, ordinary occupation, and employment status of each recipient of benefits and the recipient's rights to benefits under this chapter.

(c) Upon request of an agency of this or another state or of the federal government which administers or operates one or more programs of public assistance under either federal law or the law of this state, or which is charged with any duty or responsibility under any such program, and if that agency is required by law to impose safeguards for the confidentiality of information at least as effective as required under this section, the department shall provide, with respect to any named individual specified by the requesting agency, the following information:

(1) whether the individual is receiving, has received, or has made application for unemployment compensation under this chapter;

(2) the period, if any, for which unemployment compensation was payable and the weekly rate of compensation paid;

(3) the individual's most recent address; and

(4) whether the individual has refused an offer of employment, and, if so, the date of the refusal and a description of the employment refused, including duties, conditions of employment, and rate of pay.

(d) The department may require that an agency or authorized person to which it provides information under this section reimburse the department for its costs of furnishing that information.

(e) The department shall provide information

(1) requested by a state or federal agency under an income and eligibility verification system that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1320b-7 (Social Security Act); or

(2) as required by federal law for child support purposes.

(f) [Repealed, Sec. 2 ch 60 SLA 1985].

(g) The requirements of this section concerning the confidentiality of information obtained in the course of administering this chapter apply to officers and employees of a state, federal, or municipal agency to whom the department provides information as authorized by this section.

(h) The department shall make information obtained from an employing unit or an individual available on request to an administrator of a joint administered defined pension benefit plan established under 29 U.S.C. 1001 - 1461 (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) to assist the administrator in verifying whether a person receiving a retirement benefit from the plan has been employed in the last six months. To the extent the information is available to the department, the department shall provide the administrator with the name and address of the person's current employer and the person's current occupation. The administrator shall keep information received under this subsection confidential. However, the administrator may reveal the information if it is relevant to a legal proceeding in which the administrator or the plan is a party. The department may require the plan to reimburse the department for the cost of furnishing the information.

(i) The department shall publicly disclose information obtained from an employing unit or an individual as provided in this subsection to encourage employers to voluntarily consider the availability of qualified job seekers who are residents of the state. The department shall issue a report that discloses the names of all public and private employers who employ at least 20 employees. The report must address the employment record of each employer subject to this subsection and must contain the results of the department's analysis of the employers' practices of hiring persons who are not residents of the state. The department may not use the results of the analysis to limit or deny services or benefits or to discriminate against an employer. The department may not disclose information under this subsection that would individually identify an employee.

(j) Notwithstanding (h) or (i) of this section, the department may not release information to an administrator under (h) of this section or on an employer's hiring practices under (i) of this section if the United States Secretary of Labor rules that release of the information would be grounds to find that the state is in substantial noncompliance with 42 U.S.C. 503(a).

(k) If an individual who is applying for or participating in a housing assistance program administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development gives authorization, the department shall disclose, to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or to representatives of the housing assistance program operating the program, wage information and unemployment compensation information. The authorization shall be made by the individual on a consent form approved by the department. The form must state the information authorized to be released and require the signature of the individual. In this subsection,

(1) "unemployment compensation information" means whether the individual is receiving, has received, or has applied for unemployment compensation, and the amount of unemployment compensation that the individual is receiving or will receive;

(2) "wage information" means the social security number, or numbers if there are more than one, and quarterly wages of an employee, and the name, address, state, and, if known, federal employer identification number of an employer reporting wages under this chapter.

(l) The department may provide information obtained under this chapter to an agency of this state or to a person under contract with the state to

(1) verify the eligibility of an applicant for a public benefit or a publicly financed payment;

(2) assist the state in the collection of fines, penalties, judgments of restitution on behalf of victims of crimes or delinquent acts, or other payments ordered by a court or an administrative agency; or

(3) collect money owed to the fund under this chapter.

(m) The department may not release information under this section to a state agency or to a person under contract with the state until the department and the agency or person have entered into a written agreement that governs the release of information. The written agreement must specify

(1) the purpose for the information;

(2) a description of the information to be provided;

(3) a description of the procedure for transmitting, securing, using, and disposing of the information; and

(4) the method of reimbursement, if any, for the cost of providing the information.

(n) The department may produce statistical and other public reports based on information obtained in the course of administering this chapter, so long as the reports do not reveal wage and payroll data for an employing unit or the name or number identifying an individual. The reports may include the firm name, address, North American Industry Classification System code, census area code, number of workers employed, and occupational staffing patterns for an employing unit.

(o) Upon request and for child support purposes authorized under law, the department shall provide to the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010 , or the child support enforcement agency of another state, the following:

(1) the name, address, social security number, ordinary occupation, and employment status of each applicant for or recipient of benefits under this chapter;

(2) information about the applicant's or recipient's right to benefits under this chapter;

(3) the name, address, and employer identification number of the applicant's or recipient's current or former employer;

(4) information, if available, on the applicant or recipient concerning

(A) earnings or other income of the applicant or recipient;

(B) benefits from employment, including rights to or enrollment in group health care coverage; and

(C) the type, status, location, and amount of assets of or debts owed by or to the applicant or recipient.

(p) Upon the written request by a state district attorney, a municipal attorney, a United States attorney, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the department may release to the requestor information under this section for the investigation or prosecution of a crime or to enforce an order of a court in a criminal matter, including enforcing probation or parole conditions.

(q) In this section, "judgment of restitution" has the meaning given in AS 09.38.500 .