093_HB1161eng HB1161 Engrossed LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 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 not be published or open to public inspection, 13 3.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. HB1161 Engrossed -2- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 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 HB1161 Engrossed -3- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 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 HB1161 Engrossed -4- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 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 HB1161 Engrossed -5- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 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 in the quarterly wage report to the 25 Department by employing units. The information provided to a 26 consumer reporting agency shall be limited to the amount of 27 wages reported by each employing unit (with the employing 28 unit's name and address) for each of or up to the last 8 29 quarters. For the purposes of this Section, "consumer 30 reporting agency" has the meaning assigned by Section 603(f) 31 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 681a(f)). The 32 information is subject to the privacy rules of this State and 33 the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act in addition to this 34 Section. The consumer reporting agency shall require that any HB1161 Engrossed -6- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 1 user of the information shall, prior to obtaining the wage 2 report information, obtain a written consent from the 3 individual to whom that wage report information pertains. 4 The written consent shall prominently contain language 5 specifying the following: 6 (1) the consent to disclose is voluntary and refusal 7 to consent to disclosure of State wage information shall 8 not be the basis for the denial of credit; 9 (2) if consent is granted, the information shall be 10 released to specified parties; 11 (3) authorization by the individual is necessary for 12 the release of wage and employment history information; 13 (4) the specific application or transaction for the 14 sole purpose of which release is made; 15 (5) Department files containing wage and employment 16 history information submitted by employers may be 17 accessed; and 18 (6)(blank)the identity and address of parties 19 authorized to receive the released information. 20 The consumer reporting agency shall require that the 21 information released shall be used only to verify the 22 accuracy of the wage or employment information previously 23 provided by an individual in connection with a specific 24 transaction to satisfy its user's standard underwriting 25 requirements or those imposed upon the user, and to satisfy 26 user's obligations, under applicable State or federal fair 27 credit reporting laws. 28 The Department shall establish minimum audit, security, 29 net worth, and liability insurance standards, technological 30 requirements, and any other terms and conditions deemed 31 necessary in the discretion of the Department to safeguard 32 the confidentiality of the information and to otherwise serve 33 the public interest. The Department shall not pay any costs 34 associated with the establishment or maintenance of the HB1161 Engrossed -7- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 1 access provided for by this subsection O, including but not 2 limited to the costs of any audits of the consumer reporting 3 agency or users by the Department. The Department may void 4 any contract authorized by this subsection O if the 5 contractor is not complying with this Section. Except in 6 cases of willful and wanton misconduct, the Department is 7 immune from any liability in connection with information 8 provided under this subsection O, including but not limited 9 to liability with regard to the accuracy or use of the 10 information. Any fees received by the Department from a 11 consumer reporting agency pursuant to this subsection shall 12 be deposited in the Title III Social Security and Employment 13 Fund. 14 P. Within 30 days after the effective date of this 15 amendatory Act of 1993 and annually thereafter, the 16 Department shall provide to the Department of Financial 17 Institutions a list of individuals or entities that, for the 18 most recently completed calendar year, report to the 19 Department as paying wages to workers. The lists shall be 20 deemed confidential and may not be disclosed to any other 21 person. 22 Q. The Director shall make available to an elected 23 federal official the name and address of an individual or 24 entity that is located within the jurisdiction from which the 25 official was elected and that, for the most recently 26 completed calendar year, has reported to the Department as 27 paying wages to workers, where the information will be used 28 in connection with the official duties of the official and 29 the official requests the information in writing, specifying 30 the purposes for which it will be used. For purposes of this 31 subsection, the use of information in connection with the 32 official duties of an official does not include use of the 33 information in connection with the solicitation of 34 contributions or expenditures, in money or in kind, to or on HB1161 Engrossed -8- LRB093 08093 LCB 08295 b 1 behalf of a candidate for public or political office or a 2 political party or with respect to a public question, as 3 defined in Section 1-3 of the Election Code, or in connection 4 with any commercial solicitation. Any elected federal 5 official who, in submitting a request for information covered 6 by this subsection, knowingly makes a false statement or 7 fails to disclose a material fact, with the intent to obtain 8 the information for a purpose not authorized by this 9 subsection, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. 10 R. The Director may provide to any State or local child 11 support agency, upon request and on a reimbursable basis, 12 information that might be useful in locating an absent parent 13 or that parent's employer, establishing paternity, or 14 establishing, modifying, or enforcing child support orders. 15 (Source: P.A. 90-425, eff. 8-15-97; 90-488, eff. 8-17-97; 16 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 91-342, eff. 1-1-00.)