§ 50-78-205 — Trade Secret Confidentiality

50-78-205 . Trade secret confidentiality. (1) An employer who believes that the name of a hazardous chemical is a trade secret may withhold the chemical name from the material safety data sheet and workplace chemical list only if:
(a) a material safety data sheet, coded to an identifying notation on each container of the hazardous chemical, is available in the work area where the hazardous chemical is present;
(b) the material safety data sheet discloses the properties and effects of the hazardous chemical;
(c) the specific chemical identity is provided to a treating physician or nurse in the event of a medical emergency, as provided for in subsection (i)(2) of the OSHA standard;
(d) the specific chemical identity is provided in nonemergency situations to a health professional providing medical or other occupational health services to an exposed employee, as provided for in subsections (i)(3) through (5) of the OSHA standard; and
(e) the employer claims that the information is a trade secret and that claim can be supported.
(2) If a person believes that disclosing certain trade information on a material safety data sheet will reveal a trade secret, a trade secret claim may be filed with the department, which shall use this procedure to determine the validity of the trade secret claim:
(a) The department shall give notice by certified mail to the person making the claim to submit trade secret substantiation information within 30 days after receipt of such notice. Failure to supply the substantiation information constitutes a waiver of the trade secret claim.
(b) The department has the responsibility to determine the validity of the trade secret claim and shall consider the trade secret substantiation information as confidential.
(c) If the department determines the trade secret claim is not valid, the department shall so notify by certified mail the person making the claim for trade secret protection, stating the basis for the decision. The person making the claim has 30 days after notification by the department to initiate judicial review in the district court of Lewis and Clark County and obtain a preliminary injunction or other court order to prevent disclosure of the trade secret.
(d) The unauthorized use or disclosure of trade secret information submitted under this section is a misdemeanor.

Legislative History

En. Sec. 11, Ch. 641, L. 1985.