341.190 Records and reports -- Confidential treatment -- Exceptions.
1,414 words·~6 min read·
/ky/chapter-341/341-190A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
(1)As used in this section:
(a)"Agent" means one who acts for or in the place of an individual, an
employing unit, or a public official by the authority of that individual,
employing unit, or public official; and
(b)"Public official" means an official, agency, or public entity within the
executive branch of federal, state, or local government who or which has
responsibility for administering or enforcing a law, or an elected official in
federal, state, or local government.
(2)Each employing unit shall keep true and accurate work records of all workers
employed by it, of the wages paid by it to each worker, and such other
information as the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet considers
necessary for the proper administration of this chapter. The records shall be
open for inspection and subject to being copied by the secretary or his or her
authorized representatives at any reasonable time and as often as necessary.
(3)The secretary may require any employing unit to furnish to the cabinet at its
central office from time to time information concerning the total amounts of
wages paid, total number of persons employed, an individual record of each
worker employed, an individual record of each worker whose employment has
been terminated or who has been laid-off, an individual wage and hour record
of each worker employed part time entitled to benefits, and other related
matters, including hours worked, which the secretary considers necessary to
the effective administration of this chapter.
(4)Information obtained from an employing unit or individual and other records
made by the cabinet in the administration of this chapter are confidential and
shall not be published or be open for public inspection, except as provided
below and in subsections
(5)and
(6)of this section:
(a)1. Public officials and the agents and contractors of public officials, in
the performance of their official duties, may be provided information
and records, but the public officials receiving the information and
records shall assure the confidentiality, as required in this section, of
all information and records so released. Official duties do not include
solicitation of contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of a
candidate for public office or a political party;
2. A contractor shall include a temporary staffing engaged by the
cabinet for any purpose in connection with the administration of this
chapter; and
3. Disclosures shall be made under this subsection only if the recipient
has entered into a written, enforceable, and terminable agreement
with the cabinet and has satisfied the safeguards set forth in federal
statutes and regulations;
(b)1. An individual or employing unit shall be provided, upon request,
information and records maintained by the cabinet in the
administration of wage records, claim, reserve account, reimbursing
employer account, or any proceeding under this chapter to which it
is a party.
2. An agent of an individual or employing unit shall be provided the
individual's or employing unit's information and records upon the
presentation of a written release or other legally enforceable
evidence of the informed consent of the individual or employing unit.
3. An attorney retained by an individual or employing unit in any
proceeding under this chapter shall be provided the individual's or
employing unit's information and records if the attorney asserts in
writing that he or she is representing that individual or employing
unit.
4. An elected official performing constituent services shall be provided
the individual's or employing unit's information and records if the
official presents reasonable written evidence that the individual or
employing unit has authorized the disclosure;
(c)A third party other than an agent, or third party on an ongoing basis, shall
be provided the individual or employing unit's information and records if
the individual or employing unit to whom the information pertains provides
a signed written release which shall specify:
1. The information and records to be disclosed;
2. The purpose for which the information and records are sought,
specifying the expected service or benefit to the individual signing
the release, or specifying their use in the administration or
evaluation of the public program to which the release pertains;
3. Assurance that the information and records shall be used solely for
that purpose;
4. All parties who may receive the information and records disclosed;
and
5. That state government files shall be accessed to obtain information
and records.
Disclosures shall be made under this subsection only if the recipient has
entered into a written, enforceable, and terminable agreement with the
cabinet and has satisfied the safeguards set forth in federal statutes and
regulations;
(d)Precedential orders issued by the Unemployment Insurance Commission
shall be released provided that Social Security numbers and employer
identification numbers have been removed and the disclosure is
otherwise consistent with federal and state law;
(e)A public official with authority under state or federal law to obtain the
information and records by subpoena, other than a clerk of court on
behalf of a litigant, shall be provided information and records upon service
of a duly issued subpoena;
(f)A federal official, when required for the purposes of oversight and
auditing of the unemployment insurance program, shall be provided
information and records;
(g)Statistical information derived from information and records obtained or
made by the cabinet may be released to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
under a cooperative agreement or may be published, if it in no way
reveals the identity of any individual or employing unit; and
(h)Nothing in this section shall preclude the secretary or any employee of
the cabinet from testifying in any proceeding under this chapter or in any
court, or from introducing as evidence information and records obtained
or made by the cabinet in an action for violation of state or federal law to
which the cabinet is a party or upon order of the court.
(5)Disclosures shall be made under subsection
(4)of this section only if:
(a)The disclosure is necessary for the proper administration of the
unemployment insurance program;
(b)No more than an incidental amount of staff time or a nominal processing
cost is required to make the disclosure; or
(c)The cost of providing the information and records is paid by the recipient
prior to the disclosure, consistent with federal laws and regulations,
except this requirement shall not apply to disclosures made under
subsection (4)(f) of this section nor to disclosures made under subsection
(4)(e) and
(h)of this section if the cabinet attempts without success to
recover the cost of disclosure. For disclosures made to other public
officials under subsection (4)(a) of this section, this requirement shall be
met if the recipient provides a reciprocal benefit to the cabinet in the
administration of the unemployment insurance program, or if a reasonable
reimbursement for the disclosure shall be determined under federal law.
(6)Recipients of information and records disclosed under subsection (4)(a) and
of this section may redisclose the information and records only as follows:
(a)To the individual or employing unit who is the subject of the information
and records;
(b)To an attorney or duly authorized agent representing the individual or
employing unit;
(c)In any civil or criminal proceedings for or on behalf of the recipient;
(d)In response to a subpoena but only as provided in subsection (4)(e) and
(h)of this section;
(e)A public official may redisclose to an agent or contractor, but only if the
public official retains responsibility for the uses of the confidential
information and records by the agent or contractor and subject to the
safeguards set forth in the agreement required under subsection
(4)of
this section;
(f)A public official may redisclose to another public official;
(g)A state or local child support enforcement agency may redisclose to its
agent under contract for the purpose of carrying out child support
enforcement; or
(h)When specifically authorized by a written release for redisclosure that
meets the requirements of subsection (4)(c) of this section.
(7)Any disclosure or use of information and records that is inconsistent with the
provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalty prescribed in KRS
341.990(11).
(8)No information and records held confidential under subsection
(4)of this section shall be the subject matter or basis for any suit for slander or libel in any court, but no employer or employee, or his representative, testifying before the commission, the secretary, or any duly authorized representative thereof, shall be exempt from punishment for perjury.