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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1421 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1862
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Josh S. Cutler
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to workforce data accessibility.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Josh S. Cutler6th Plymouth1/18/2023Patricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex1/24/2023Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/27/2023Ryan M. Hamilton15th Essex2/2/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire2/6/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/6/2023Kathleen R. LaNatra12th Plymouth2/6/2023William J. Driscoll, Jr.7th Norfolk2/6/2023Peter Capano11th Essex2/6/2023Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden2/6/2023John J. CroninWorcester and Middlesex2/7/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol2/7/2023Danielle W. Gregoire4th Middlesex2/7/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex2/8/2023Tackey Chan2nd Norfolk2/9/2023William C. Galvin6th Norfolk2/10/2023Rob Consalvo14th Suffolk2/14/2023Kate Lipper-Garabedian32nd Middlesex2/22/2023 2 of 2
Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/23/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/27/2023Shirley B. Arriaga8th Hampden2/28/2023Jonathan D. Zlotnik2nd Worcester3/1/2023Aaron L. Saunders7th Hampden3/3/2023Kevin G. Honan17th Suffolk3/14/2023 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1421 FILED ON: 1/18/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1862
By Representative Cutler of Pembroke, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1862) of
Josh S. Cutler and others relative to workforce data accessibility. Labor and Workforce
Development.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to workforce data accessibility.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 14P of chapter 151A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the last sentence in subsection (f) and inserting
3the following:-
4 The director shall provide information secured under this section to other entities,
5including but not be limited to, any federal, state, or local governmental agency, including the 16
6MassHire workforce development boards, a chief elected official as that term is defined in
7Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, or the agents or contractors of any
8governmental agency, where such information is to be used for:
9 evaluation of program performance, including, but not limited to, longitudinal outcome
10analysis of programs (including programs funded by public or private funds or a combination
11thereof) to the extent permitted by federal law;
12 financial or other analysis required by federal, state, or local law or regulation; 2 of 5
13 preparation of reports required by federal, state, or local law or regulation;
14 operation of public programs by such agencies, their agents, contractors and
15subcontractors, whenever the director determines that such information sharing is for the purpose
16of improving the quality or delivery of program services or to evaluate programs for equitable
17access and outcomes;
18 establishment of common case management systems between federal, state, or local
19agencies delivering or supporting workforce development services for a shared customer base,
20wherever such common case management system is for the purpose of fostering workforce
21development partnerships, program coordination, inter-agency collaboration, improving program
22services, or creating operational efficiencies.
23 SECTION 2: Said section 14P of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby further
24amended by inserting after subsection (i) the following subsection:-
25 (j) The department shall do the following:
26 (1) Develop the minimum requirements for granting a request for disclosure of
27information authorized by this section regardless of local, state, or federal funding source.
28 (2) Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information
29authorized by this section.
30 (3) Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this section, or
31request additional information, within 30 business days of receiving the standard application.
32The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for
33additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the department’s request. Within 30 3 of 5
34calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final
35approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this section. Any
36approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify
37the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
38 (4) Make publicly available on the department’s website: the minimum requirements for
39granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this section, the standard
40application developed, the timeframe for information request determinations by the department,
41contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this
42section.
43 (5) For wage data requests that are approved, the department shall provide the following
44information on participants, at a minimum, and to the extent the data are available: participant
45demographic information; workforce training program and service participation; geographical
46location of services; and educational and other credential attainment. The department shall
47adhere to all applicable state and federal privacy laws, to protect individuals’ private information
48while allowing measurement of aggregate data.
49 SECTION 3. Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act, the executive
50office of labor and workforce development, in consultation with division of unemployment
51assistance, the department of career services, the commonwealth corporation, the Massachusetts
52workforce association, the workforce solutions group, and any other appropriate agencies or
53entities, shall convene a task force to develop the action steps required to improve state
54workforce data infrastructure and promote data use, with the goal of creating data systems that
55can illustrate how workforce education and training programs are providing opportunity for 4 of 5
56sustainable employment in the commonwealth. The task force shall develop action steps to
57accomplish the following:
58 (1) Connect education, workforce development and employment data with such data from
59other states, to the extent permitted by law and in a manner that protects individuals’ private
60information while allowing measurement of aggregate data; and
61 (2) Ensure adherence to data security and privacy principles, and all applicable state and
62federal privacy laws, to protect individuals’ private information while allowing measurement of
63aggregate data; and
64 (3) Improve access to and quality of the wage data is shared with the workforce system
65by working with the department of career services and the department of unemployment
66assistance to ensure that the wage data files shared between each agency have sufficient
67information to allow for effective and ongoing workforce program evaluation; and
68 (4) Direct the executive office of labor and workforce development to participate in the
69Massachusetts education-to-career data system and any other state longitudinal data system
70efforts; and
71 (5) Review quarterly measures, identifying key trends, analyze equitable access to
72programs and services, and ensure system partners, stakeholders, and the public have access to
73data as allowed under state and federal privacy laws; and
74 (6) Develop a two and six-year plan to guide future system improvements.
75 The task force shall submit a report, with its findings and recommendations, together
76with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect by filing the same 5 of 5
77with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, the house and senate committees on
78ways and means, the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, the
79joint committee on labor and workforce development, the joint committee on higher education
80and the office of the governor not later than January 1, 2024.