§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.
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§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) Louisiana Works, 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 Louisiana Works, 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, Louisiana Works 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.