Chapter DWD 149

DWD 149.05(1)(b) (b) The Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council when reasonably necessary in the course of its duties under s. 108.14 (5), Stats.

DWD 149.05(1)(c) (c) A local, state, Indian tribal, or federal government official, other than a clerk of court on behalf of a litigant, with authority to obtain the information pursuant to a subpoena or court order.

DWD 149.05(1)(d) (d) A public official or its agent or contractor for use in the performance of official duties, including any of the following:

DWD 149.05(1)(d)1. 1. Any division of the department or corresponding unit in another state agency, the government of another state, or the federal government.

DWD 149.05(1)(d)2. 2. Any legislative service agency listed under ch. 13, Stats.

DWD 149.05(1)(d)3. 3. Any taxing authority of the United States or of this state or any of its political subdivisions.

DWD 149.05(1)(d)4. 4. Colleges, universities, government units, or other organizations or persons for research projects of a public nature that benefit the unemployment insurance program, only if on behalf of a public official.

DWD 149.05(1)(d)5. 5. Any federal law enforcement agency or law enforcement agency of the state or any of its political subdivisions, if the individual or employing unit whose record is being sought is the subject of a criminal investigation.

DWD 149.05(1)(d)6. 6. Any person whom the department authorizes to use, print, or otherwise reproduce unemployment insurance records for purposes of demonstrating services or equipment in connection with the administration of the unemployment insurance program.

DWD 149.05(2) (2) The department may make any other disclosure as provided in this chapter.

DWD 149.05(3) (3) The department may disclose only that portion of the records and information as is necessary to complete the request.

DWD 149.05 History History: Cr. Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; CR 08-019: r. and recr. Register July 2008 No. 631, eff. 8-1-08; CR 18-033: am. (1) (intro.), (a), (c), (d) (intro.), 5. Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19.

DWD 149.06 DWD 149.06 Confidentiality safeguard requirements and disclosure of records to third parties.

DWD 149.06(1) (1) Third party recipients of unemployment insurance records shall comply with all of the following confidentiality safeguard requirements:

DWD 149.06(1)(a) (a) Safeguard disclosed information against unauthorized access or redisclosure.

DWD 149.06(1)(b) (b) Use the disclosed information only for the purposes authorized by law and consistent with any applicable record disclosure agreement under s. DWD 149.07.

DWD 149.06(1)(c) (c) Store disclosed information in a safe place physically secure from unauthorized access.

DWD 149.06(1)(d) (d) Store and process information in electronic format in a way that unauthorized persons cannot obtain the information by any means.

DWD 149.06(1)(e) (e) Ensure that only authorized persons are given access to disclosed information stored in a computer system.

DWD 149.06(1)(f) (f) For third parties authorized to receive information by an individual or employing unit under s. DWD 149.03 (3), maintain a copy of the written release authorizing each access and ensure that access to disclosed information will be only to those authorized under the release.

DWD 149.06(1)(g) (g) Instruct all persons having access to disclosed information of the confidentiality requirements and the penalties for unauthorized disclosure, and have these persons sign an acknowledgement that they have been so instructed and agree to report any infraction promptly.

DWD 149.06(1)(h) (h) Dispose of all disclosed records and copies after the purpose for which the information was disclosed has been served or when the department considers appropriate, except for disclosed information possessed by any court.

DWD 149.06(1)(i) (i) Allow the department to conduct on-site inspections of the disclosed records and to audit for compliance with this section.

DWD 149.06(2) (2) No information provided to a public official under this chapter may be used for solicitation of contributions or expenditures to or on behalf of a candidate for public or political office or a political party.

DWD 149.06(3) (3) No person, government unit, or other entity to which the department discloses an unemployment insurance record under s. DWD 149.03 (2) or (3), 149.04, or 149.05 may redisclose information obtained from that record without the prior written approval of the department. Any redisclosure is subject to the requirements in sub. (1).

DWD 149.06(4) (4) This section does not apply to disclosures of unemployment insurance records to a unit of the federal government that has safeguards in place that meet the confidentiality requirements of 42 USC 503 (a) (1), as determined by the department of labor with notice published in the Federal Register.

DWD 149.06(5) (5) This section does not apply to disclosures of the following:

DWD 149.06(5)(a) (a) Public domain information.

DWD 149.06(5)(b) (b) Disclosures exclusively for statistical purposes under a cooperative agreement with the bureau of labor statistics.

DWD 149.06(5)(c) (c) Disclosures to the internal revenue service for purposes of unemployment insurance tax administration.

DWD 149.06(5)(d) (d) Disclosures to the U.S. citizenship and immigration services for purposes of verifying a claimant’s immigration status.

DWD 149.06(5)(e) (e) Disclosures to the U.S. department of labor for the purpose of oversight and audits of the unemployment insurance program.

DWD 149.06(5)(f) (f) Disclosures of unemployment insurance appeal records under s. DWD 149.02 (2) (b) and disclosures to individuals and employing units under s. DWD 149.03 (1).

DWD 149.06 History History: Cr. Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; CR 08-019: r. and recr. Register July 2008 No. 631, eff. 8-1-08; CR 18-033: am. (4) Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19.

DWD 149.07 DWD 149.07 Record disclosure agreements.

DWD 149.07(1) (1) The department shall require a record disclosure agreement to be in effect before disclosing unemployment insurance records under ss. DWD 149.03 (3), 149.04 (2) (e) to (m) and (3), and 149.05 (1) (d).

DWD 149.07(2) (2) The department may require a record disclosure agreement to be in effect before disclosing unemployment insurance records to any person, government unit, or entity not listed in sub. (1).

DWD 149.07(3) (3) Any record disclosure agreement with an agent of a public official for disclosure must be made with the public official and hold the public official responsible for ensuring the agent complies with the confidentiality requirements in s. DWD 149.06 (1).

DWD 149.07(4) (4) A record disclosure agreement shall be in writing for a prescribed period of time and include all of the following provisions:

DWD 149.07(4)(a) (a) A statement of the purpose for which the record is sought, description of the specific information to be furnished, the methods and timing of requests and responses for information, and the format to be used.

DWD 149.07(4)(b) (b) A requirement that the person, government unit, or entity that is a party to the agreement comply with all of the following:

DWD 149.07(4)(b)1. 1. Use the information only for purposes authorized by law and as stated in the agreement and limit access to the information to those with a need to access it for the stated purpose.

DWD 149.07(4)(b)2. 2. Pay all of the department’s costs in providing information from unemployment insurance records, unless the agreement provides for the reciprocal sharing of costs.

DWD 149.07(4)(b)3. 3. Comply with the confidentiality safeguards requirements of s. DWD 149.06 and not release information obtained from any unemployment insurance record to a third party without prior written approval of the department.

DWD 149.07(4)(b)4. 4. Verify the information in an unemployment insurance record released by the department if the person, government unit, or entity may take any action detrimental to the interests of the employee or employing unit that is the subject of the record.

DWD 149.07(4)(b)5. 5. Maintain a system of security that includes a procedure for the destruction of confidential information and report any infraction of the confidentiality safeguard requirements under s. DWD 149.06 or the agreement under this section fully and promptly.

DWD 149.07(4)(b)6. 6. Allow for on-site inspections by the department to ensure the confidentiality safeguard requirements of the agreement are met.

DWD 149.07(4)(c) (c) For authorized third parties under s. DWD 149.03 (3), the information may be accessed only by those persons with authorization under the release, and the purpose for the release of information shall be limited to providing a service to benefit the individual.

DWD 149.07(5) (5) If the person, government unit, or entity fails to comply with the agreement, including failure to pay or reimburse the department for costs, the agreement shall be suspended. If no corrective action is taken and completed promptly following a suspension, the department shall cancel the agreement and all confidential information shall be surrendered to the department. The department may seek damages, penalties, and restitution as allowed by law.

DWD 149.07(6) (6) The requirements of this section do not apply to disclosures of unemployment insurance records to a federal agency that has in place safeguards adequate to satisfy the confidentiality requirements of 42 USC 503 (a) (1), as determined by the department of labor and published in the Federal Register.

DWD 149.07 History History: Cr. Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; CR 08-019: r. and recr. Register July 2008 No. 631, eff. 8-1-08; CR 18-033: am. (6) Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19.

DWD 149.08 DWD 149.08 Fee for disclosing unemployment insurance records.

DWD 149.08(1) (1) 

DWD 149.08(1)(a) (a) The department shall charge a fee for disclosing an unemployment insurance record when the disclosure is for a third party, government unit, or entity that requests the record and disclosure is not necessary for the proper administration of the unemployment insurance program, unless only incidental staff time and nominal processing costs are involved in making the disclosure.

DWD 149.08(1)(b) (b) The department may charge a fee for disclosure in the following circumstances:

DWD 149.08(1)(b)1. 1. Disclosure of public domain information.

DWD 149.08(1)(b)2. 2. Disclosure to an individual, employing unit, or agent.

DWD 149.08(1)(b)3. 3. The purpose of the disclosure is program oversight or audit.

DWD 149.08(1)(b)4. 4. The disclosure is pursuant to a court order or is to officials with subpoena authority.

DWD 149.08(1)(c) (c) The fee for disclosure may not exceed the actual, necessary, and direct costs of location and disclosure of the record, including photocopy, postage, computer reprogramming, and labor costs, except a record location fee may be charged if the costs of location exceed $50. The department shall require the fee for disclosure to be paid in advance except for good reason.

DWD 149.08(2) (2) The department may permit an individual who is entitled to an unemployment insurance record to photograph the record or the department may photograph the record for the individual, if the form of the record does not permit copying.

DWD 149.08(3) (3) The department may impose reasonable restrictions on the manner of access to an original unemployment insurance record if the record is irreplaceable or easily damaged.

DWD 149.08(4) (4) Payment of the fee for disclosure on a one-time or an ongoing basis may be arranged under a record disclosure agreement under s. DWD 149.07.

DWD 149.08 History History: Cr. Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; CR 08-019: r. and recr. Register July 2008 No. 631, eff. 8-1-08.

DWD 149.09 DWD 149.09 Penalties. Any person who permits inspection or disclosure of an unemployment insurance record provided to that person by the department without authorization of the department shall be subject to the penalties provided under s. 108.24 (4), Stats.

DWD 149.09 History History: Cr. Register, May, 1993, No. 449, eff. 6-1-93; CR 08-019: am. Register July 2008 No. 631, eff. 8-1-08.