RS 1660 - Employment records and reports; inspection by administrator; confidentiality of records; prohibition against subpoena
A.(1) Each employing unit shall keep true and accurate records containing such information as the administrator may prescribe. Such records shall be open to inspection and be subject to being copied by the administrator or his authorized representatives at any time and as often as may be necessary. In addition to information prescribed by the administrator, each employer shall keep records of and report to the administrator quarterly the street address of each establishment, branch, outlet, or office of such employer, the nature of the operation, the number of persons employed, each employee's wage, and the wages paid at each establishment, branch, outlet, or office.
(2) When filing quarterly wage reports, each employing unit shall include the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System codes or job title of each employee as recorded and reported by the employer pursuant to R.S. 23:1531.1(F)(1). The administrator or his authorized representative shall share the employment data he receives pursuant to this Section with the Board of Regents to aid in the improvement of workforce development and educational alignment. The employment data shall not include employer or employee names and employer identification numbers or employee social security numbers. Any employment data the Board of Regents receives pursuant to Subparagraph (H)(4)(a) of this Section shall not be shared. The Board of Regents shall only share aggregated information developed from the employment data it receives. The aggregated information shall be shared with the Workforce Investment Council and may be shared with any university or college system, or individual campuses.
B. The administrator or his authorized representative may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports deemed necessary for the effective administration of this Chapter. Any member of the board of review and any appeal referee may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports, with respect to persons employed by it, which are deemed necessary for the effective administration of this Chapter.
C.(1) If, in response to the administrator's request, an employer refuses to allow an audit of its records; fails to make all necessary records available for audit or inspection; or in response to a fraud investigation, fails to provide a claimant's weekly wage information; the employer may be assessed an administrative penalty of five thousand dollars.
(2) Any notice requesting records as provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection must clearly state that a penalty of up to five thousand dollars may be assessed for the failure to provide the records which are requested by the administrator.
(3) Any penalties assessed and collected against the employer shall be credited to the penalty and interest account.
(4) Upon the conclusion of an audit pursuant to this Subsection, the administrator may refund the administrative penalty to the employer, minus all administrative costs associated with the audit request.
D.(1) Information, statements, transcriptions of proceedings, transcriptions of recordings, electronic recordings, letters, memoranda, and other documents and reports thus obtained, or obtained from any individual, claimant, employing unit, or employer pursuant to the administration of this Chapter, except to the extent necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this Chapter, shall be held confidential and shall not be subject to subpoena in any civil action or proceeding, nor be published or open to public inspection, other than to public employees in the performance of their public duties, including the office of workers' compensation in any manner revealing the individual's or employing unit's identity. However, if requested, an employing unit or employer shall receive with any "notice to appear for a hearing" a copy of the statement which the claimant made regarding his separation from that employing unit or employer and in the same manner, and on the same subject, the claimant shall receive a copy of the employer's statement. Additionally, any claimant or his duly authorized representative, at a hearing before an appeal referee or the board of review, shall be supplied with information from such records to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of his claim.
(2) Any person who violates any provision of this Section shall be fined not less than twenty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than ninety days, or both.
E. On orders of the administrator, any records or documents received or maintained by him under the provisions of this Chapter, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, may be destroyed under such safeguards as will protect their confidential nature two years after the date on which such records or documents last serve any useful, legal, or administrative purpose in the administration of this Chapter or in the protection of the rights of anyone.
F. Any such information, as provided in Subsection D of this Section, that is released to any public employee in the performance of public duties, may be released on a reimbursable basis and shall be used exclusively for execution of intended public duties and shall not, under any circumstance, be accessed and used for any other purpose, subject to sanction of any such public employee under Paragraph (D)(2) of this Section. The administrator and the office of employment security shall not be liable for any violation by any such public employee to whom such information has been disclosed or delegated.
G. A state or local child support enforcement agency may provide access to disclosed information to any agent that is under written contract with such agency for purposes of establishing and collecting child support obligations from and locating individuals owing such obligations. Any such designated agent of a state or local child support agency that receives such information shall fully comply with the safeguards established under Subsection F of this Section, subject to sanction under Paragraph (D)(2) of this Section.
H.(1) The Louisiana Workforce Commission, the division of administration, or any contractor working on behalf of either of them, may be provided employment data obtained pursuant to the administration of this Chapter for any one of the expressly stated following purposes:
(a) Compiling statistics which would support performance management and evaluation by program managers of state and federal programs, especially as they relate to employment outcomes.
(b) Compiling statistics which would assist in the preparation of common performance reports across agencies.
(c) Compiling statistics for education, training, and research purposes, including longitudinal studies to assist in program improvement and design.
(d) Compiling statistics that would assist in the preparation of an occupational forecast.
(2) Any employment data, provided pursuant to this Subsection, will be confidential. No public employee or contractor acting on behalf of a state agency or employee of such contractor may do either of the following:
(a) Use any data, provided pursuant to this Subsection, for any purpose other than the statistical purposes for which the data is furnished.
(b) Make public any of the data, provided pursuant to this Subsection, which would allow the identity of any individual or employing unit to be inferred by either direct or indirect means.
(3)(a) Any such data, as provided in this Subsection, that is released to any state agency or any contractor acting on behalf of a state agency pursuant to this Subsection, may be released on a reimbursable basis and shall be used exclusively for execution of intended public duties. Such data shall not, under any circumstance, be accessed and used for any other purpose, subject to sanction as provided for in Subparagraph (c) of this Paragraph of any such employee of such state agency or any contractor acting on behalf of such state agency. The administrator and the office of employment security shall not be liable for any violation by any employee of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the division of administration, or any contractor working on behalf of either of them, to whom such information has been disclosed or delegated in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.
(b) Any such data, as provided in this Subsection, that is received by any state agency or any contractor acting on behalf of a state agency pursuant to this Subsection, must be destroyed within thirty days of completion of its intended purpose as described in this Subsection.
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this Subsection shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than twenty thousand dollars or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both.
(4)(a) The administrator shall transmit employment data, which is collected pursuant to this Subsection, to the Board of Regents for its economic research and for purposes of preparing the occupational forecast.
(b) Any results or reports produced from the data shall be aggregated by occupation, municipality, parish, or instructional program prior to its release to ensure employer and employee confidentiality is maintained.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, the Louisiana Workforce Commission shall, upon request from the Board of Regents, share employment data related to specific students for the purpose of determining their employment progress upon leaving a university or college within the Board of Regent's purview.
Amended by Acts 1972, No. 336, §3; Acts 1979, No. 121, §1, eff. June 29, 1979; Acts 1980, No. 447, §1, eff. July 21, 1980; Acts 1991, No. 685, §1; Acts 1995, No. 221, §1, eff. June 14, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 911, §1, eff. July 10, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 1165, §2; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 113, §1; Acts 2010, No. 6, §1; Acts 2014, No. 489, §1; Acts 2021, No. 474, §1.