093_SB0247

 
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 1        AN ACT concerning unemployment.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Unemployment Insurance Act is amended  by
 5    changing Section 1900 as follows:

 6        (820 ILCS 405/1900) (from Ch. 48, par. 640)
 7        Sec. 1900.  Disclosure of information.
 8        A.  Except  as  provided  in  this  Section,  information
 9    obtained  from  any  individual  or employing unit during the
10    administration of this Act shall:
11             1.  be confidential,
12             2.  not be published or open to public inspection,
13             3.  not be used in any court in any  pending  action
14        or proceeding,
15             4.  not  be  admissible in evidence in any action or
16        proceeding other than one arising out of this Act.
17        B.  No finding, determination, decision, ruling or  order
18    (including  any finding of fact, statement or conclusion made
19    therein) issued pursuant to this Act shall be  admissible  or
20    used  in evidence in any action other than one arising out of
21    this Act, nor shall it be binding  or  conclusive  except  as
22    provided  in  this Act, nor shall it constitute res judicata,
23    regardless of whether the actions were between  the  same  or
24    related parties or involved the same facts.
25        C.  Any officer or employee of this State, any officer or
26    employee  of  any  entity  authorized  to  obtain information
27    pursuant to this Section, and any agent of this State  or  of
28    such  entity who, except with authority of the Director under
29    this Section, shall disclose information shall be guilty of a
30    Class B misdemeanor and shall be  disqualified  from  holding
31    any appointment or employment by the State.
 
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 1        D.  An  individual  or  his  duly authorized agent may be
 2    supplied with information from records  only  to  the  extent
 3    necessary  for  the  proper  presentation  of  his  claim for
 4    benefits or  with  his  existing  or  prospective  rights  to
 5    benefits.   Discretion  to  disclose this information belongs
 6    solely to the Director and is not subject  to  a  release  or
 7    waiver by the individual. Notwithstanding any other provision
 8    to  the contrary, an individual or his or her duly authorized
 9    agent may be supplied with  a  statement  of  the  amount  of
10    benefits   paid  to  the  individual  during  the  18  months
11    preceding the date of his or her request.
12        E.  An employing unit may be furnished with  information,
13    only  if  deemed by the Director as necessary to enable it to
14    fully discharge its obligations or safeguard its rights under
15    the Act.  Discretion to  disclose  this  information  belongs
16    solely  to  the  Director  and is not subject to a release or
17    waiver by the employing unit.
18        F.  The Director may furnish any information that he  may
19    deem proper to any public officer or public agency of this or
20    any other State or of the federal government dealing with:
21             1.  the administration of relief,
22             2.  public assistance,
23             3.  unemployment compensation,
24             4.  a system of public employment offices,
25             5.  wages and hours of employment, or
26             6.  a public works program.
27        The   Director   may   make  available  to  the  Illinois
28    Industrial Commission information regarding employers for the
29    purpose of verifying the insurance  coverage  required  under
30    the  Workers'  Compensation  Act  and  Workers'  Occupational
31    Diseases Act.
32        G.  The  Director  may  disclose information submitted by
33    the State or any of  its  political  subdivisions,  municipal
34    corporations,   instrumentalities,  or  school  or  community
 
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 1    college districts, except for information which  specifically
 2    identifies an individual claimant.
 3        H.  The  Director  shall  disclose  only that information
 4    required to be disclosed under  Section  303  of  the  Social
 5    Security Act, as amended, including:
 6             1.  any  information required to be given the United
 7        States Department of Labor under Section 303(a)(6); and
 8             2.  the making available upon request to any  agency
 9        of  the  United States charged with the administration of
10        public works or assistance through public employment, the
11        name, address, ordinary occupation and employment  status
12        of  each  recipient  of  unemployment compensation, and a
13        statement  of   such   recipient's   right   to   further
14        compensation  under  such  law  as  required  by  Section
15        303(a)(7); and
16             3.  records   to  make  available  to  the  Railroad
17        Retirement Board as required by Section 303(c)(1); and
18             4.  information   that   will   assure    reasonable
19        cooperation  with  every  agency  of  the  United  States
20        charged  with  the  administration  of  any  unemployment
21        compensation law as required by Section 303(c)(2); and
22             5.  information  upon  request and on a reimbursable
23        basis to the United States Department of Agriculture  and
24        to any State food stamp agency concerning any information
25        required to be furnished by Section 303(d); and
26             6.  any  wage  information  upon  request  and  on a
27        reimbursable basis to any State or  local  child  support
28        enforcement agency required by Section 303(e); and
29             7.  any   information   required  under  the  income
30        eligibility  and  verification  system  as  required   by
31        Section 303(f); and
32             8.  information  that might be useful in locating an
33        absent parent or  that  parent's  employer,  establishing
34        paternity  or establishing, modifying, or enforcing child
 
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 1        support  orders  for  the  purpose  of  a  child  support
 2        enforcement program under Title IV of the Social Security
 3        Act upon the request of and on a  reimbursable  basis  to
 4        the   public  agency  administering  the  Federal  Parent
 5        Locator Service as required by Section 303(h); and
 6             9.  information, upon request, to representatives of
 7        any federal, State or local governmental  public  housing
 8        agency  with  respect  to individuals who have signed the
 9        appropriate consent form approved  by  the  Secretary  of
10        Housing and Urban Development and who are applying for or
11        participating   in   any   housing   assistance   program
12        administered  by  the United States Department of Housing
13        and Urban Development as required by Section 303(i).
14        I.  The Director, upon the request of a public agency  of
15    Illinois,  of  the  federal  government or of any other state
16    charged with the investigation or enforcement of Section 10-5
17    of the Criminal Code of 1961 (or a  similar  federal  law  or
18    similar  law of another State), may furnish the public agency
19    information regarding the individual specified in the request
20    as to:
21             1.  the current or most recent home address  of  the
22        individual, and
23             2.  the  names  and  addresses  of  the individual's
24        employers.
25        J.  Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to  interfere
26    with  the  disclosure  of  certain records as provided for in
27    Section 1706 or with the  right  to  make  available  to  the
28    Internal  Revenue  Service of the United States Department of
29    the Treasury, or the Department of Revenue of  the  State  of
30    Illinois, information obtained under this Act.
31        K.  The  Department  shall make available to the Illinois
32    Student Assistance Commission, upon request,  information  in
33    the  possession  of  the  Department that may be necessary or
34    useful to the Commission in the collection  of  defaulted  or
 
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 1    delinquent student loans which the Commission administers.
 2        L.  The  Department  shall  make  available  to the State
 3    Employees'  Retirement   System,   the   State   Universities
 4    Retirement System, and the Teachers' Retirement System of the
 5    State   of   Illinois,   upon  request,  information  in  the
 6    possession of the Department that may be necessary or  useful
 7    to  the  System  for  the  purpose of determining whether any
 8    recipient  of  a  disability  benefit  from  the  System   is
 9    gainfully employed.
10        M.  This  Section  shall be applicable to the information
11    obtained  in  the  administration  of  the  State  employment
12    service, except that the  Director  may  publish  or  release
13    general  labor market information and may furnish information
14    that he may deem proper to an individual, public  officer  or
15    public  agency  of  this  or  any  other State or the federal
16    government (in addition to those public  officers  or  public
17    agencies specified in this Section) as he prescribes by Rule.
18        N.  The  Director may require such safeguards as he deems
19    proper to insure that information disclosed pursuant to  this
20    Section  is  used  only  for  the  purposes set forth in this
21    Section.
22        O.  The Department may contract with one or more consumer
23    reporting agencies to provide  secure  electronic  access  to
24    information  provided  to  the Department by employing units.
25    The information provided by a consumer  reporting  agency  to
26    private  and  governmental  entities  shall be limited to the
27    amount of  wages  paid  by  each  employing  unit  (with  the
28    employing  unit's  name and address) for each of or up to the
29    last 16 quarters.  The information is subject to the  privacy
30    rules  of  the  State  and federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
31    Any user of the information shall,  prior  to  obtaining  the
32    wage  report  information,  obtain a written consent from the
33    individual to which that wage  report  information  pertains.
34    The   written  consent  shall  prominently  contain  language
 
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 1    specifying the following:
 2             (1) if consent is granted, the individual's wage and
 3        employment  history  information  shall  be  released  to
 4        specified parties;
 5             (2) authorization by the individual is necessary for
 6        the release of wage and employment history information;
 7             (3) the release is made for the sole  purpose  of  a
 8        specific application or transaction;
 9             (4)  Department files containing wage and employment
10        history  information  submitted  by  employers   may   be
11        accessed; and
12             (5)  the  identity and address of parties authorized
13        to receive the released information (Blank).
14        The information released shall only be used to verify the
15    accuracy of the wage  or  employment  information  previously
16    provided  by  an  individual  in  connection  with a specific
17    transaction  to  satisfy  its  user's  standard  underwriting
18    requirements or those imposed upon the user, and  to  satisfy
19    user's  obligations,  under  applicable State or federal fair
20    credit reporting laws.
21        When releasing  information  to  the  consumer  reporting
22    agency,   the   Department  shall  establish  minimum  audit,
23    security,  net  worth,  and  liability  insurance  standards,
24    technological  requirements,  and   any   other   terms   and
25    conditions   deemed   necessary  in  the  discretion  of  the
26    Department  to   safeguard   the   confidentiality   of   the
27    information and to otherwise serve the public interest.
28        P.  Within  30  days  after  the  effective  date of this
29    amendatory  Act  of  1993  and   annually   thereafter,   the
30    Department  shall  provide  to  the  Department  of Financial
31    Institutions a list of individuals or entities that, for  the
32    most   recently   completed  calendar  year,  report  to  the
33    Department as paying wages to workers.  The  lists  shall  be
34    deemed  confidential  and  may  not be disclosed to any other
 
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 1    person.
 2        Q.  The Director  shall  make  available  to  an  elected
 3    federal  official  the  name  and address of an individual or
 4    entity that is located within the jurisdiction from which the
 5    official  was  elected  and  that,  for  the  most   recently
 6    completed  calendar  year,  has reported to the Department as
 7    paying wages to workers, where the information will  be  used
 8    in  connection  with  the official duties of the official and
 9    the official requests the information in writing,  specifying
10    the  purposes for which it will be used. For purposes of this
11    subsection, the use of information  in  connection  with  the
12    official  duties  of  an official does not include use of the
13    information  in   connection   with   the   solicitation   of
14    contributions  or expenditures, in money or in kind, to or on
15    behalf of a candidate for public or  political  office  or  a
16    political  party  or  with  respect  to a public question, as
17    defined in Section 1-3 of the Election Code, or in connection
18    with  any  commercial  solicitation.   Any  elected   federal
19    official who, in submitting a request for information covered
20    by  this  subsection,  knowingly  makes  a false statement or
21    fails to disclose a material fact, with the intent to  obtain
22    the   information  for  a  purpose  not  authorized  by  this
23    subsection, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
24        R.  The Director may provide to any State or local  child
25    support  agency,  upon  request  and on a reimbursable basis,
26    information that might be useful in locating an absent parent
27    or  that  parent's  employer,  establishing   paternity,   or
28    establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders.
29    (Source:  P.A.  90-425,  eff.  8-15-97; 90-488, eff. 8-17-97;
30    90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 91-342, eff. 1-1-00.)