Enrolled SB 120: Relating to disclosure of certain information from the records of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and limiting the use of the disclosed information, and to the calculation and payment of unemployment compensation benefits; and providing for an effective date.
00Enrolled SB 120 01 Relating to disclosure of certain information from the records of the Department of Labor and 02 Workforce Development and limiting the use of the disclosed information, and to the 03 calculation and payment of unemployment compensation benefits; and providing for an 04 effective date. 05 _______________ 06 * Section 1. AS 23.20.110(a) is amended to read: 07 (a) Except for disclosures required by 42 U.S.C. 503, as amended, and 20 08 C.F.R. 603, as amended, and disclosures authorized under [AS PROVIDED IN (h) 09 AND (i) OF] this section, the department shall hold information obtained from an 10 employing unit or individual in the course of administering this chapter and 11 determinations as to the benefit rights of an individual confidential and may not 12 disclose them or open them to public inspection in a manner that reveals the identity of 13 the individual or employing unit. A claimant or an employing unit [, OR THE LEGAL 14 REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CLAIMANT OR THE EMPLOYING UNIT,] is
01 entitled to information from the records of the department only to the extent necessary 02 to properly present or protest a claim or determination under this chapter. The 03 department may not provide information that is confidential under this section to 04 a person for use in any civil or administrative matter not directly involving the 05 presentation or protest of a claim or determination under this chapter; however, 06 subject [SUBJECT] to restrictions that the department prescribes by regulation, the 07 information must [MAY] be made available to the United States Department of 08 Homeland Security, Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, for the 09 purpose of verifying a claimant's immigration status, to the United States 10 Railroad Retirement Board, to an agency of this state or another state or federal 11 agency charged with the administration of an unemployment compensation law or the 12 maintenance of a system of public employment offices, to the United States 13 Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service [OR], for the purposes of 14 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, or to the Department of Revenue [TO THE 15 INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES, OR,] for tax 16 purposes [, TO THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE]. Information obtained in the 17 course of administering this chapter or in connection with the administration of the 18 employment service may be made available to persons or agencies for purposes 19 appropriate to the operation of a public employment service or the administration of 20 employment and training programs planned or coordinated by the Alaska Workforce 21 Investment Board under AS 23.15.550 - 23.15.585. 22 * Sec. 2. AS 23.20.110(e) is amended to read: 23 (e) The department shall provide wage and unemployment compensation 24 information 25 (1) requested by a state or federal agency under an income and 26 eligibility verification system that meets the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1320b-7 27 (Social Security Act); [OR] 28 (2) as required by federal law for child support purposes; 29 (3) to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services 30 for the National Directory of New Hires as required by 42 U.S.C. 503 and 42 31 U.S.C. 653; or
01 (4) to a state or a political subdivision of a state that administers a 02 program funded under 42 U.S.C. 601 - 619 that provides temporary assistance 03 for needy families. 04 * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.110(g) is amended to read: 05 (g) A recipient of records disclosed under [THE REQUIREMENTS OF] 06 this section may not use the disclosed records for a purpose other than the 07 purpose for which the disclosure was made. The requirements concerning the 08 confidentiality of information obtained in the course of administering this chapter 09 apply to officers and employees of a state, federal, [OR] municipal, or other agency to 10 whom the department provides information as authorized by this section. 11 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.110(k) is amended to read: 12 (k) If an individual who is applying for or participating in a housing assistance 13 program administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 14 Development gives authorization, the department shall disclose, to the United States 15 Department of Housing and Urban Development or to representatives of the housing 16 assistance program operating the program, wage information and unemployment 17 compensation information. The authorization shall be made by the individual on a 18 consent form approved by the department. The form must state the information 19 authorized to be released and require the signature of the individual. In this subsection, 20 (1) "unemployment compensation information" means whether the 21 individual is receiving, has received, or has applied for unemployment compensation, 22 and the amount of unemployment compensation that the individual is receiving, has 23 received, or is eligible to [WILL] receive, and the individual's current address and 24 other contact information; 25 (2) "wage information" means the social security number, or numbers 26 if there are more than one, and quarterly wages of an employee, and the name, 27 address, state, and, if known, federal employer identification number of an employer 28 reporting wages under this chapter. 29 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.110(m) is amended to read: 30 (m) The department may not release information under this section to a state 31 agency or to a person under contract with the state until the department and the agency
01 or person have entered into a written agreement that governs the release of 02 information. The written agreement must specify 03 (1) the purpose for the information; 04 (2) a description of the information to be provided; 05 (3) a description of the procedure for transmitting, securing, using, and 06 disposing of the information; [AND] 07 (4) the method of reimbursement, if any, for the cost of providing the 08 information; and 09 (5) that the department may perform on-site inspections to ensure 10 that the confidentiality requirements of this section are met. 11 * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.110(n) is amended to read: 12 (n) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the [THE] department may produce 13 statistical and other public reports based on information obtained in the course of 14 administering this chapter, so long as the department complies with the 15 requirements of 20 C.F.R. 603, as amended, regarding the use or release of 16 confidential records [REPORTS DO NOT REVEAL WAGE AND PAYROLL 17 DATA FOR AN EMPLOYING UNIT OR THE NAME OR NUMBER 18 IDENTIFYING AN INDIVIDUAL. THE REPORTS MAY INCLUDE THE FIRM 19 NAME, ADDRESS, NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION 20 SYSTEM CODE, CENSUS AREA CODE, NUMBER OF WORKERS EMPLOYED, 21 AND OCCUPATIONAL STAFFING PATTERNS FOR AN EMPLOYING UNIT]. 22 * Sec. 7. AS 23.20.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (r) The confidentiality requirements of this section do not apply to disclosure 24 of decisions and records on appeal in any matter before the department as long as the 25 federal social security number of the claimant and the employer's federal employer 26 identification number and federal social security number are redacted or removed 27 before disclosure is made. 28 * Sec. 8. AS 23.20.115 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 23.20.115. Unauthorized disclosure of information. A member of the 30 department, an employee of the department, an agent of the department, or an officer 31 or employee of a state, federal, [OR] municipal, or other agency that has been
01 provided with information by the department who, in violation of AS 23.20.110, 02 makes a disclosure of information obtained from an employing unit or from an 03 individual in the administration of this chapter, or a person who has obtained a list of 04 applicants for work or of claimants or recipients of benefits under this chapter and 05 who uses or permits the use of the list for a purpose not authorized by AS 23.20.110 is 06 guilty of a class B misdemeanor. 07 * Sec. 9. AS 23.20.290(c) is amended to read: 08 (c) The [BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 1997, THE] rate of contributions for 09 each employer is a percentage [80 PERCENT] of the average benefit cost rate 10 multiplied by the employer's experience factor set out in column C of the table in this 11 subsection opposite the employer's applicable rate class set out in column A plus the 12 fund solvency adjustment required under (f) of this section. That percentage is 76 13 percent beginning January 1, 2009, and 73 percent beginning January 1, 2010. 14 However, the rate of contributions for an employer may not be less than one percent or 15 more than six and one-half percent. The rate of contributions for an employer in rate 16 class 21 may not be less than 5.4 percent. The rate of contributions for an employer 17 must be rounded to the nearest 1/100th of one percent. 18 COLUMN B COLUMN C 19 COLUMN A Cumulative Experience 20 Rate Class Ratable Payroll Factor 21 at least but less than 22 (percent) (percent) 23 1 5 .40 24 2 5 10 .45 25 3 10 15 .50 26 4 15 20 .55 27 5 20 25 .60 28 6 25 30 .65 29 7 30 35 .70 30 8 35 40 .80 31 9 40 45 .90
01 10 45 50 1.00 02 11 50 55 1.00 03 12 55 60 1.10 04 13 60 65 1.20 05 14 65 70 1.30 06 15 70 75 1.35 07 16 75 80 1.40 08 17 80 85 1.45 09 18 85 90 1.50 10 19 90 95 1.55 11 20 95 99.99 1.60 12 21 99.99 1.65. 13 * Sec. 10. AS 23.20.290(d) is amended to read: 14 (d) The [BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 1997, AND FOR EACH 15 SUCCEEDING YEAR THEREAFTER, THE] rate of contributions payable by each 16 employee of an employer who is subject to AS 23.20.165 is a percentage [20 17 PERCENT] of the average benefit cost rate as determined in (e) of this section 18 rounded to the nearest 1/100th of one percent. That percentage is 24 percent 19 beginning January 1, 2009, and 27 percent beginning January 1, 2010. However, 20 the rate of contributions for an employee may not be less than one-half percent or 21 more than one percent. 22 * Sec. 11. AS 23.20.350(a) is amended to read: 23 (a) An individual who is paid at least $2,500 [$1,000] in wages during the 24 individual's base period for employment covered by this chapter is eligible to receive 25 benefits under this chapter if those wages were paid in at least two of the calendar 26 quarters of the individual's base period. 27 * Sec. 12. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read: 28 (d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive 29 the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is 30 opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages 31 determined under (c) of this section:
01 (A) (B) 02 Base Period Wages Weekly Benefit 03 Amount 04 At least But less than 05 0 2,500 [1,000] $ 0 06 [1,000 1,250 44 07 1,250 1,500 46 08 1,500 1,750 48 09 1,750 2,000 50 10 2,000 2,250 52 11 2,250 2,500 54] 12 2,500 2,750 56 13 2,750 3,000 58 14 3,000 3,250 60 15 3,250 3,500 62 16 3,500 3,750 64 17 3,750 4,000 66 18 4,000 4,250 68 19 4,250 4,500 70 20 4,500 4,750 72 21 4,750 5,000 74 22 5,000 5,250 76 23 5,250 5,500 78 24 5,500 5,750 80 25 5,750 6,000 82 26 6,000 6,250 84 27 6,250 6,500 86 28 6,500 6,750 88 29 6,750 7,000 90 30 7,000 7,250 92 31 7,250 7,500 94
01 7,500 7,750 96 02 7,750 8,000 98 03 8,000 8,250 100 04 8,250 8,500 102 05 8,500 8,750 104 06 8,750 9,000 106 07 9,000 9,250 108 08 9,250 9,500 110 09 9,500 9,750 112 10 9,750 10,000 114 11 10,000 10,250 116 12 10,250 10,500 118 13 10,500 10,750 120 14 10,750 11,000 122 15 11,000 11,250 124 16 11,250 11,500 126 17 11,500 11,750 128 18 11,750 12,000 130 19 12,000 12,250 132 20 12,250 12,500 134 21 12,500 12,750 136 22 12,750 13,000 138 23 13,000 13,250 140 24 13,250 13,500 142 25 13,500 13,750 144 26 13,750 14,000 146 27 14,000 14,250 148 28 14,250 14,500 150 29 14,500 14,750 152 30 14,750 15,000 154 31 15,000 15,250 156
01 15,250 15,500 158 02 15,500 15,750 160 03 15,750 16,000 162 04 16,000 16,250 164 05 16,250 16,500 166 06 16,500 16,750 168 07 16,750 17,000 170 08 17,000 17,250 172 09 17,250 17,500 174 10 17,500 17,750 176 11 17,750 18,000 178 12 18,000 18,250 180 13 18,250 18,500 182 14 18,500 18,750 184 15 18,750 19,000 186 16 19,000 19,250 188 17 19,250 19,500 190 18 19,500 19,750 192 19 19,750 20,000 194 20 20,000 20,250 196 21 20,250 20,500 198 22 20,500 20,750 200 23 20,750 21,000 202 24 21,000 21,250 204 25 21,250 21,500 206 26 21,500 21,750 208 27 21,750 22,000 210 28 22,000 22,250 212 29 22,250 22,500 214 30 22,500 22,750 216 31 22,750 23,000 218
01 23,000 23,250 220 02 23,250 23,500 222 03 23,500 23,750 224 04 23,750 24,000 226 05 24,000 24,250 228 06 24,250 24,500 230 07 24,500 24,750 232 08 24,750 25,000 234 09 25,000 25,250 236 10 25,250 25,500 238 11 25,500 25,750 240 12 25,750 26,000 242 13 26,000 26,250 244 14 26,250 26,500 246 15 26,500 26,750 248 16 26,750 27,000 250 17 27,000 27,250 252 18 27,250 27,500 254 19 27,500 27,750 256 20 27,750 28,000 258 21 28,000 28,250 260 22 28,250 28,500 262 23 28,500 28,750 264 24 28,750 29,000 266 25 29,000 29,250 268 26 29,250 29,500 270 27 29,500 29,750 272 28 29,750 30,000 274 29 30,000 30,250 276 30 30,250 30,500 278 31 30,500 30,750 280
01 30,750 31,000 282 02 31,000 31,250 284 03 31,250 31,500 286 04 31,500 31,750 288 05 31,750 32,000 290 06 32,000 32,250 292 07 32,250 32,500 294 08 32,500 32,750 296 09 32,750 33,000 298 10 33,000 33,250 300 11 33,250 33,500 302 12 33,500 33,750 304 13 33,750 34,000 306 14 34,000 34,250 308 15 34,250 34,500 310 16 34,500 34,750 312 17 34,750 35,000 314 18 35,000 35,250 316 19 35,250 35,500 318 20 35,500 35,750 320 21 35,750 36,000 322 22 36,000 36,250 324 23 36,250 36,500 326 24 36,500 36,750 328 25 36,750 37,000 330 26 37,000 37,250 332 27 37,250 37,500 334 28 37,500 37,750 336 29 37,750 38,000 338 30 38,000 38,250 340 31 38,250 38,500 342
01 38,500 38,750 344 02 38,750 39,000 346 03 39,000 39,250 348 04 39,250 39,500 350 05 39,500 39,750 352 06 39,750 40,000 354 07 40,000 40,250 356 08 40,250 40,500 358 09 40,500 40,750 360 10 40,750 41,000 362 11 41,000 41,250 364 12 41,250 41,500 366 13 41,500 41,750 368 14 41,750 42,000 370 15 42,000 370 [248]. 16 * Sec. 13. AS 23.20.110(h), 23.20.110(i), and 23.20.110(j) are repealed. 17 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 18 read: 19 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. Notwithstanding sec. 16 of this Act, the 20 Department of Labor and Workforce Development may immediately proceed to adopt 21 regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take effect 22 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 23 statutory change. 24 * Sec. 15. Sections 1 - 8, 13, and 14 of this Act take effect immediately under 25 AS 01.10.070(c). 26 * Sec. 16. Except as provided in sec. 15 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2009.