Alaska Statutes: AS 23.20.110. Information Obtained By Department.

Alaska Statutes. Title 23. Labor and Workers' Compensation Chapter 20. Alaska Employment Security Act Section 110. Information Obtained By Department.

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AS 23.20.110. Information Obtained By Department.

   (a) Except for disclosures required by 42 U.S.C. 503, as amended, and 20 C.F.R. 603, as amended, and disclosures authorized under 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 is entitled to information from the records of the department only to the extent necessary to properly present or protest a claim or determination under this chapter. The department may not provide information that is confidential under this section to a person for use in any civil or administrative matter not directly involving the presentation or protest of a claim or determination under this chapter; however, subject to restrictions that the department prescribes by regulation, the information must be made available to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, for the purpose of verifying a claimant's immigration status, to the United States Railroad Retirement Board, 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, to the United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, for the purposes of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, or to the Department of Revenue for tax purposes. 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 wage and unemployment compensation 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);
        (2) as required by federal law for child support purposes;
        (3) to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services for the National Directory of New Hires as required by 42 U.S.C. 503 and 42 U.S.C. 653; or
        (4) to a state or a political subdivision of a state that administers a program funded under 42 U.S.C. 601 — 619 that provides temporary assistance for needy families.
   (f) [Repealed, § 2 ch 60 SLA 1985].
   (g) A recipient of records disclosed under this section may not use the disclosed records for a purpose other than the purpose for which the disclosure was made. The requirements concerning the confidentiality of information obtained in the course of administering this chapter apply to officers and employees of a state, federal, municipal, or other agency to whom the department provides information as authorized by this section.
   (h) [Repealed, § 13 ch 45 SLA 2008.]
   (i) [Repealed, § 13 ch 45 SLA 2008.]
   (j) [Repealed, § 13 ch 45 SLA 2008.]
   (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, has received, or is eligible to receive, and the individual's current address and other contact information;
        (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;
        (4) the method of reimbursement, if any, for the cost of providing the information; and
        (5) that the department may perform on-site inspections to ensure that the confidentiality requirements of this section are met.
   (n) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the department may produce statistical and other public reports based on information obtained in the course of administering this chapter, so long as the department complies with the requirements of 20 C.F.R. 603, as amended, regarding the use or release of confidential records.
   (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 requester 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) The confidentiality requirements of this section do not apply to disclosure of decisions and records on appeal in any matter before the department as long as the federal social security number of the claimant and the employer's federal employer identification number and federal social security number are redacted or removed before disclosure is made.
   (r) The department may provide information obtained under this chapter to another state agency if
        (1) the disclosure is authorized under 20 C.F.R. 603, as amended;
        (2) the disclosure is for the statewide workforce and education-related statistics program described under AS 14.42.035;
        (3) the department has entered into a written agreement with the agency receiving the information in which the agency agrees not to disclose the information unless
             (A) the subsequent disclosure is for the statewide workforce and education-related statistics program described under AS 14.42.035; and
             (B) the agency is authorized to make the subsequent disclosure under a written agreement between the agency and the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education.
   (s) In this section, "judgment of restitution" has the meaning given in AS 09.38.500.

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