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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
SENATE BILL 260 By: Pemberton
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission; amending 40 O.S. 2011, Section 4-508, as
last amended by Section 10, Chapter 251, O.S.L. 2019
(40 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 4-508), which relates to
release of confidential information; authorizing
certain entities to receive certain i nformation for
certain purpose; authorizing the sharing of
confidential information with cer tain agents and
contractors for certain purpose; providing an
effective date; and declaring an emergency .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 40 O.S. 2011, Section 4-508, as
last amended by Section 10, Chapter 251, O.S.L. 2019 (40 O.S. Supp.
2020, Section 4-508), is amended to read as follows:
Section 4-508.
INFORMATION TO BE KEPT CO NFIDENTIAL - DISCLOSURE.
A. Except as otherwise p rovided by law, information obtained
from any employing unit or individual pursuant to the a dministration
of the Employment Security Act of 1980, any workforc e system program
administered or monitored by the Oklahoma Employment Security
Commission, and determinations as to the benefit rights of any
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individual shall be kept confidential and shall not be disclosed or
be open to public inspection in any manner rev ealing the
individual's or employing unit's identity. Any claimant or
employer, or agent of eithe r as authorized in writing, shall be
supplied with information from the records of the Oklah oma
Employment Security Commission, to the extent necessary for th e
proper presentation of the claim or complaint in any proc eeding
under the Employment Security Ac t of 1980, with respect thereto.
B. Upon receipt of written request by any employer who
maintains a Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan, the
Commission or its designated representative may release to that
employer information regarding weekly ben efit amounts paid its
workers during a specified te mporary layoff period, provided the
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plan requires benefit
payment information before Supplemental Unemployment Benefits can be
paid to the workers. Any information disclosed under this provision
shall be utilized so lely for the purpose outlined herein and shall
be held strictly confidential by the employer.
C. The provisions of this section shall not prevent the
Commission from disclosing the following information a nd no
liability whatsoever, civil or criminal, shal l attach to any member
of the Commission or any employee thereof for any error or omission
in the disclosure of this information:
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1. The delivery to taxpayer or clai mant a copy of any report or
other paper filed by the taxpayer or claimant pursuant to the
Employment Security Act of 1980;
2. The disclosure of information to any person for a purpose as
authorized by the taxpayer or claimant pursuant to a waiver of
confidentiality. The waiver shall be in wr iting and shall be
notarized;
3. The Oklahoma Depa rtment of Commerce may have access to dat a
obtained pursuant to the Employment Security Act of 1980 pursuan t to
rules promulgated by the Commission. The information obtained shall
be held confidential by the Department and any of its agents and
shall not be disclosed or be open to public inspect ion. The
Oklahoma Department of Commerce, however, may release ag gregated
data, either by industry or county, provided that the aggregation
meets disclosure requir ements of the Commission;
4. The publication of st atistics so classified as to prevent
the identification of a particular report and the items thereof;
5. The disclosing of information or evidence to the Attorney
General or any district attorney when the information or evidence is
to be used by the offic ials or other parties to the proceedings to
prosecute or defend allegations of violations of the Employment
Security Act of 1980. The information disclosed to the At torney
General or any district attorney shall be kept confidential by them
and not be disclosed except when presented to a court in a
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prosecution of a violation of Section 1 -101 et seq. of this tit le,
and a violation by the Attorney General or district att orney by
otherwise releasing the inform ation shall be a felony;
6. The furnishing, at the discretion of the Commission, of any
information disclosed by the records or files to any official person
or body of this state, any other state or of the United Sta tes who
is concerned with the administr ation of assessment of any similar
tax in this state, any other state or the United States;
7. The furnishing of information to other state agencies for
the limited purpose of aiding in the collection of debts owed b y
individuals to the requesting agencie s or the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission;
8. The release to employees of the Depart ment of Transportation
or any Metropolitan Planning Organization a s defined in 23 U.S.C.,
Section 134 and 49 U.S.C., Section 5303 of information required for
use in federally mandated regional transportation plannin g, which is
performed as a part of its of ficial duties;
9. The release to employees of the State Treasurer 's office of
information required to verify or evaluate the effectiveness of the
Oklahoma Small Business Linked Deposit Program on job creation;
10. The release to employees of the Attorney General, the
Department of Labor, the Workers ' Compensation Commission, and the
Insurance Department for use in investigatio n of workers'
compensation fraud;
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11. The release to employees of any Oklahoma state, Okl ahoma
county, Oklahoma municipal or Oklah oma tribal law enforcement agency
for use in criminal investi gations and the location o f missing
persons or fugitives from ju stice;
12. The release to employees of the Center of International
Trade, Oklahoma State University, of information required for t he
development of International Trade for employers doing bus iness in
the State of Oklahoma;
13. The release to employees of the Oklahoma State Regents for
Higher Education of information required for use in the de fault
prevention efforts and/or collectio n of defaulted student loans
guaranteed by the Oklahoma Guara nteed Student Loan Program . Any
information disclosed under thi s provision shall be utilized solely
for the purpose outlined herein and shall be held str ictly
confidential by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education;
14. The release to employees o f the Oklahoma Department of
Career and Technology Education, the Oklahoma State Regents of
Higher Education, the Center for Economic and Management Resea rch of
the University of Oklahoma, the Ce nter for Economic and Business
Development at Southwestern Oklahom a State University, o r a center
of economic and business research or development at a comprehensive
or regional higher education institution within T he Oklahoma State
System of Higher Educat ion of information required to identify
economic trends and to complete performance accountability reports
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required by the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act . The
information obtained shal l be kept confidential by the Oklahoma
Department of Career and Technology Education , the Oklahoma State
Regents of Higher Education , and the higher education institution
and shall not be disclosed or be open to public inspection . The
Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, the Oklahoma
State Regents of Higher Education, and the higher education
institution may release aggreg ated data, provided that the
aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Commission . For
the limited purpose of completing performance accountability reports
required by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,
the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education , the
Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education and the higher education
institution may contract with a pri vate agent or contractor pursuant
to 20 CFR Section 603.5(f) to complete the required reports, and
confidential information may be shared with the private agent or
contractor to the extent necessary to com plete the required reports;
provided, such agent or contractor shall not release, disclose or
open for public inspect ion any confidential information re ceived for
purposes of completing reports;
15. The release to employe es of the Office of Management and
Enterprise Services of information required to ide ntify economic
trends. The information obtained shall be kept confidential by the
Office of Management and Enterprise Services and shall not be
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disclosed or be open to pu blic inspection. The Office of Management
and Enterprise Services may release aggreg ate data, provided that
the aggregation meets disclosu re requirements of the Commiss ion;
16. The release to employees of the Department of Mental Health
and Substance Abuse Services of information required to evaluate the
effectiveness of mental health an d substance abuse treatment and
state or local program s utilized to divert persons f rom inpatient
treatment. The information obtained shall be kept confidential by
the Department and shall not be disclosed or be open to public
inspection. The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services, however, may release aggregated data, either by treatment
facility, program or larger aggregate units, provided that the
aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission;
17. The release to employees of the Attorney Genera l, the
Oklahoma State Bureau o f Investigation, and the Insurance Department
for use in the investigation of insurance fraud and health care
fraud;
18. The release to employees of public housing agencie s for
purposes of determining eligibility pursuant to 42 U.S.C., Section
503(i);
19. The release of wage and benefit claim information, at the
discretion of the Commissio n, to an agency of this state or its
political subdivisions that operate a program or activity designated
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as a required partner in the Work force Innovation and Opportuni ty
Act One-Stop delivery system pursuant to 29 U.S.C.A., Section
3151(b)(1), based on a showing of need made to the Commission and
after an agreement concerning the release of information is entered
into with the entity receiv ing the information;
20. The release of information to the State Wage Interchange
System, at the discretion of the C ommission;
21. The release of information to the Bureau of the Census of
the U.S. Department of Commerce for the purpose of economic and
statistical research;
22. The release of employer tax information and benefit claim
information to the Oklahoma Healt h Care Authority for use in
determining eligibility for a program that will provide s ubsidies
for health insurance premiums for qualified e mployers, employees,
self-employed persons, and unemployed persons;
23. The release of employer tax information and benefit claim
information to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services for
use in assessing results and outcomes of clients served;
24. The release of information to any state or federal law
enforcement authority when necessary in the investigation of any
crime in which the Commission is a victim. Information that is
confidential under this section shall be held confidential by the
law enforcement authority unless and until it is required for use in
court in the prosecution of a defendant in a crimi nal prosecution;
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25. The release of information to vendors that contract with
the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to provide for t he
issuance of debit cards, to conduct electronic fund transfers, to
perform computer programming operations, or to p erform computer
maintenance or replacement operations; provided the vendor agrees to
protect and safeguard the information it receives and to destroy the
information when no longer needed for the purposes set out in the
contract;
26. The release to employ ees of the Office of Juvenile Affairs
of information for use in assessing results and outcomes of clients
served as well as the effectivene ss of state and local juvenile and
justice programs including prevention and treatment programs. The
information obtained shall be kept confidential by the Office of
Juvenile Affairs and shall not be d isclosed or be open to public
inspection. The Office of Juvenile Affairs may releas e aggregated
data for programs or larger aggregate units, provided that the
aggregation meets disclosure requirements of the Oklahoma Employment
Security Commission;
27. The release of information to vendors that contract wit h
the State of Oklahoma for th e purpose of providing a public
electronic labor exchange system that will support the Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission's operation of an employment service
system to connect employers with job seekers and military vete rans.
This labor exchange sys tem would enhance the stability and security
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of Oklahoma's economy as well as support t he provision of veterans'
priority of service. The vendors may perform computer prog ramming
operations, perform computer maintenance or re placement operations,
or host the electronic solution; provided, each vendor agrees to
protect and safeguard all info rmation received, that no information
shall be disclosed to any third party, that the use of the
information shall be restricted to the sco pe of the contract, and
that the vendor shall properly dispose of all information when no
longer needed for the purpo ses set out in the contract; or
28. The release of employer tax information and bene fit claim
information to employees of a county public defender's office in the
State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System for the
purpose of determining fi nancial eligibility for the services
provided by such entities.
D. Subpoenas to comp el disclosure of information made
confidential by this statute shall not be valid, e xcept for
administrative subpoenas issued by federal, state, or local
governmental agencies that have been granted subpoena power by
statute or ordinance. Confidential inf ormation maintained by the
Commission can be obtained by order of a court of record that
authorizes the release of the records in writing. All
administrative subpoenas or court orders for production of documents
must provide a minimum of twenty (20) days from the date it is
served for the Commission to produ ce the documents. If the date on
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which production of the documents is required is less than twenty
(20) days from the date of service, the subpoena or order shall be
considered void on its face as an u ndue burden or hardship on the
Commission. All admini strative subpoenas, court orde rs or notarized
waivers of confidentiality authorized by paragraph 2 of subsection C
of this section shall be presented with a request for records within
ninety (90) days of the date the document is issued or signed, and
the document can only be used one t ime to obtain records.
E. Should any of the disclosures provided for in this section
require more than casual or incidental staff time, the Commission
shall charge the cos t of the staff time to the party requesting the
information.
F. It is further provi ded that the provisions of this section
shall be strictly interpreted and shall not be construed as
permitting the disclosure of any other information contained in the
records and files of the Commission.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective July 1, 2021.
SECTION 3. It being immediately necessary for t he preservation
of the public peace, health or safety, an emergency is hereby
declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect an d
be in full force from and after its pass age and approval.
58-1-378 NP 1/4/2021 10:31:43 PM