Sec. 18.
(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), upon the request of the office of the friend of the court, any employer or former employer of a parent as defined in section 1 of the office of child support act, 1971 PA 174, MCL 400.231, who is or was employed by the employer as an employee or independent contractor shall provide all of the following information relative to the parent:
(a) Full name and address.
(b) Social security number. The requirement of this subdivision to provide a social security number with the information does not apply if the parent is exempt under federal law from obtaining a social security number or is exempt under federal or state law from disclosure of his or her social security number under these circumstances. The friend of the court shall inform the parent of this possible exemption.
(c) Date of birth.
(d) Amount of wages earned by or other income due the custodial parent or absent parent. Both net and gross income shall be reported, regardless of method of payment.
(e) The following information concerning the person's current and former employment status: whether or not the custodial parent or absent parent is currently employed, laid off, on sick, disability, or other leave of absence, or retired, and amount of income due from an employment related benefit plan, if any.
(f) Dependent health care coverage available to the custodial parent or absent parent as a benefit of employment.
(2) The friend of the court or his or her designee may issue an administrative subpoena to require any public or private entity doing business in the state that employs or has employed a parent to furnish any current employment information in the possession of the entity that pertains to the parent and that is needed to establish, modify, or enforce a support order. The entity's officers or employees shall furnish the information within 15 days after the subpoena is received by the entity. This subsection does not abrogate a confidentiality privilege established by law.
(3) A request or subpoena for information under this section shall certify that the information obtained will be treated as confidential and shall not be used or released except for the purposes of administering, enforcing, and complying with state and federal laws governing child support.
(4) A former employer is not required to provide information concerning a person who was last employed by the former employer more than 3 years before the date of the request or subpoena for information under this section.
(5) This section does not require the creation or maintenance of records not otherwise required to be created or maintained, or require an employer or former employer to discover information not contained in records of, or otherwise known to, the employer or former employer.
(6) A copy of information provided to the office under this section shall be made available to the parent, upon his or her request.
(7) In the case of disobedience of a request or subpoena for information under this section, the friend of the court or his or her designee may petition the circuit court in the county in which the inquiry is being made to require the production of books, papers, and documents. In the case of refusal to obey a subpoena or request for information under this section, a circuit court may issue an order requiring the person or other entity to appear and to produce books, records, and papers if so ordered. Failure to obey the order of the court may be punished by the court as a contempt.
(8) An employer, former employer, or other entity is not liable under federal or state law to a person or governmental entity for a disclosure of information to the office under this section or for any other action taken by the employer, former employer, or other entity in good faith to comply with the requirements of this section.
History: Add. 1985, Act 208, Eff. Mar. 1, 1986 ;-- Am. 1996, Act 144, Imd. Eff. Mar. 25, 1996 ;-- Am. 1998, Act 63, Eff. Aug. 10, 1998
Popular Name: Friend of the Court