§ 282-A:118 — Reports or Statement; Confidentiality

New Hampshire § 282-A:118

• Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
• Title XXIII: LABOR
• Ch. 282-A: UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION
• Subdivision: Administrative Organization and Administration

Text

The commissioner or his authorized representatives and the chairman of any appeal tribunal may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports or statements, with respect to persons employed by it, which either deems necessary for the effective administration of this chapter. Information thus obtained or obtained from any individual, claimant or employing unit pursuant to the administration of this chapter shall be held confidential and shall not be published or open to public inspection in any manner revealing the individual's or employing unit's identity except:
I. That an employing unit may inspect, at the convenience of the commissioner, records and reports which pertain to his separate account, and records and reports of claimants where the employing unit was the last employing unit or the employer whose separate account may be or has been charged with benefits paid to such claimant;
II. That a claimant may inspect records and reports of an individual or employing unit which are directly connected with any claim for benefits which he may have made, including any which he has submitted in support of his claim for benefits; but he shall not be entitled to inspect the separate account or records directly connected therewith of any employing unit;
III. That public employees in the performance of their public duties may inspect records and reports of an individual, an employing unit, or a claimant where such information will aid in the performance of their public duties;
IV. That authorized federal employees granted access as provided in paragraph III shall be granted access on a case-by-case basis. In no event shall access to or copies of any database, whether written, electronic, or other, be provided to any agency, employee, or agent of the federal government except as required by federal or state law and duly authorized by the commissioner;
V. That for the purpose of assessing governmental performance and accountability, the commissioner of the department of employment security may provide information to the Wage Record Interchange System, the Wage Record Interchange System 2, the Federal Employment Data Exchange System, or any other similar system or combination thereof in effect on or before July 1, 2020 developed by the U.S. Department of Labor as administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, or its designee, and utilized by each state's Performance Accountability and Customer Information Agency (PACIA). The use of the information shall be limited to the purposes contained in the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 or the Wagner-Peyser Act. The department may only provide aggregate statistical reports to entities participating in federal or state supported workforce training programs and only for purposes of assessment and evaluation of those programs. The department shall require any such qualifying entity to enter into an agreement with the department which sets forth terms and conditions that are consistent with federal and state law prior to being provided any aggregate statistical reports. Information under this paragraph shall only be provided upon a finding by the commissioner that sufficient guarantees of continued confidentiality are in place;
VI. That for the purpose of the Social Security Administration and the department of employment security establishing and verifying eligibility and payment amounts; and preventing and detecting waste, abuse, fraud, and identity theft, the commissioner of the department of employment security may enter into a reciprocal electronic data-exchange agreement with the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration's use of the information provided shall be limited to use in accordance with federal laws and regulations pertaining to prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Social Security Administration's programs, and the entitlement, eligibility, and benefit payment amounts of individuals under Title II or Title XVI of the Social Security Act. Authorized federal employees granted access as provided in this paragraph shall be granted access on a case by case basis as provided in paragraph III. Information under this paragraph shall only be provided upon a finding by the commissioner that sufficient guarantees of continued confidentiality are in place; and
VII. That for the purpose of participating in a joint local employment dynamics program with the United States Census Bureau in order to produce quarterly workforce indicators, the commissioner of the department of employment security may provide quarterly employment and wage information to the United States Census Bureau. The United States Census Bureau's use of the information provided shall be limited to the purposes of its Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program. Information under this paragraph shall only be provided upon a finding by the commissioner that sufficient guarantees of continued confidentiality are in place.
VIII. That for the purpose of preventing and detecting fraud in the unemployment compensation system as well as efficiently coordinating and streamlining integrity improvement efforts, the commissioner of the department of employment security may enter into an agreement with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies' Center for Employment Security Education and Research, Inc. (CESER) as agent for the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) for participation in the Integrity Data Hub (IDH). The department's participation in IDH and any resulting use of confidential data by USDOL and CESER shall be in accordance with all state laws, federal laws as well as state and federal regulations pertaining to prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse in the unemployment compensation system. The information thus provided by the department to the IDH shall be used solely for administration of state and federal unemployment compensation laws. Information under this paragraph shall only be provided upon a finding by the commissioner that sufficient guarantees of continued confidentiality are in place.

Legislative History

1917, 198:5. PL 175:5. 1935, 146:1. 1937, 178:1. 1939, 138:19-21. 1941, 103:32. RL 211:5; 218:9. 1945, 138:20. 1947, 59:19-21. 1949, 185:13. 1950, 5, pt. 18:4-11; 9:1. 1951, 105:1. 1953, 209:7; 265:1. RSA 282:9(M)(2). 1955, 77:2; 141:15, 21. 1957, 118:9-13. 1961, 88:30-35. 1963, 194:9. 1965, 208:10-13. 1967, 400:7, 10. 1969, 460:18, 19. 1973, 528:173, 174; 589:8. 1975, 393:3. 1981, 408:3. 2001, 106:1. 2007, 307:1, eff. Sept. 11, 2007. 2010, 120:1, 2, eff. July 31, 2010. 2016, 249:2, eff. June 10, 2016. 2019, 18:1, eff. May 10, 2019. 2021, 91:296, eff. July 1, 2021.