Employment Development Department: disclosure of wage information: qualified third-party vendors.

Under existing law, the information obtained in the administration of the Unemployment Insurance Code is for the exclusive use and information of the Director of Employment Development in the discharge of the director's duties and is not open to the public. Existing law permits the use of the information for specified purposes, including enabling the California Workforce Development Board and other entities to access any relevant quarterly wage data necessary for the evaluation and reporting of specified workforce program performance outcomes. Existing law makes it a crime for any person to knowingly access, use, or disclose this confidential information without authorization. This bill would require the Employment Development Department to release an employee's wage information to a qualified third-party vendor if the employee has provided the department written permission for that release. The bill would require the department to allow, at the request of the employee, the electronic transmission of the employee's wage information directly to or through a qualified third-party vendor for permissible uses, as defined. The bill would require the department to enter into an agreement with a qualified third-party vendor to allow for electronic transmission of an employee's wage information for permissible uses. The bill would require a qualified third-party vendor to use the employee's wage information for a permissible use and to share the employee's wage information with a subscriber, subject to specified restrictions the bill would impose on the subscriber. The bill would provide that wage information is confidential, as specified. This bill would prohibit the department from expending any state funds to execute the terms of the agreement with a qualified third-party vendor. The bill would require the department to charge and collect fees from a qualified third-party vendor to cover startup costs and the expenses incurred in the administration of these provisions, as specified. The bill would make any person who knowingly accesses, uses, or discloses any information made confidential by the bill's provisions without authorization, as provided, guilty of a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would define various terms for purposes of these provisions. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.