HB 0164

CHAPTER 106

HB 164 - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to exceptions to the confidentiality of certain department of employment security records.

SPONSORS: Rep. Dickinson, Carr 2; Rep. Batchelder, Ches 2; Rep. Millham, Belk 4; Rep. Kurk, Hills 5

This bill allows for an exception to the confidentiality of certain unemployment compensation records and reports for the purpose of complying with federal law or receiving federal grants.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to exceptions to the confidentiality of certain department of employment security records.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

106:1 Employment Security; Unemployment Compensation; Confidentiality of Reports or Statements. Amend RSA 282-A:118, II-III to read as follows:

II. That a claimant may inspect records and reports of an individual or employing unit which are directly connected with any claim for benefits which he may have made, including any which he has submitted in support of his claim for benefits; but he shall not be entitled to inspect the separate account or records directly connected therewith of any employing unit; [~~and~~]

III. That public employees in the performance of their public duties may inspect records and reports of an individual, an employing unit, or a claimant where such information will aid in the performance of their public duties;

IV. That authorized federal employees granted access as provided in paragraph III shall be granted access on a case-by-case basis. In no event shall access to or copies of any database, whether written, electronic, or other, be provided to any agency, employee, or agent of the federal government except as required by federal or state law and duly authorized by the commissioner; and

V. That for the purpose of assessing governmental performance and accountability, the commissioner may provide information to the Wage Record Interchange System developed by the U.S. Department of Labor as administered by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) and utilized by each state's Performance Accountability and Customer Information Agency (PACIA). The use of the information shall be limited to the purposes contained in the federal Workforce Investment Act or the Wagner-Peyser Act. Information under this paragraph shall only be provided upon a finding by the commissioner that sufficient guarantees of continued confidentiality are in place.