Senate Bill No. 106
(By Senators Kessler and Hunter)
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[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-10-11 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to disclosure of
employers in default of unemployment compensation payments and
amounts by which employers are in default.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21A-10-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§21A-10-11. Reporting requirements and required information; use
of information; libel and slander actions
prohibited.
(a) Each employer, including labor organizations as defined in
subsection (i) of this section, shall, quarterly, submit certified
reports on or before the last day of the month next following the
calendar quarter, on forms to be prescribed by the commissioner. The reports shall contain:
(1) The employer's assigned unemployment compensation
registration number, the employer's name and the address at which
the employer's payroll records are maintained;
(2) Each employee's social security account number, name and
the gross wages paid to each employee, which shall include the
first eight thousand dollars of remuneration and all amounts in
excess of that amount, notwithstanding subdivision (1), subsection
(b), section twenty-eight, article one-a of this chapter;
(3) The total gross wages paid within the quarter for
employment, which includes money wages and the cash value of other
remuneration, and shall include the first eight thousand dollars of
remuneration paid to each employee and all amounts in excess of
that amount, notwithstanding subdivision (1), subsection (b),
section twenty-eight, article one-a of this chapter; and
(4) Other information that is reasonably connected with the
administration of this chapter.
(b) Information obtained may not be published or be open to
public inspection to reveal the identity of the employing unit or
the individual:
Provided, That upon written request, the
commissioner shall disclose to the person making the request the
list of those employers who have defaulted on their unemployment
compensation payments and the amount by which each employer is in
default to the extent permitted by law.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of this
section, the commissioner may provide information obtained to the
following governmental entities for purposes consistent with state
and federal laws:
(1) The United States Department of Agriculture;
(2) The state agency responsible for enforcement of the
Medicaid program under Title XIX of the Social Security Act;
(3) The United States Department of Health and Human Services
or any state or federal program operating and approved under Title
I, Title II, Title X, Title XIV or Title XVI of the Social Security
Act;
(4) Those agencies of state government responsible for
economic and community development; secondary, post-secondary and
vocational education; vocational rehabilitation, employment and
training, including, but not limited to, the administration of the
Perkins Act and the Job Training and Partnership Act;
(5) The Tax Division, but only for the purposes of collection
and enforcement;
(6) The Division of Labor for purposes of enforcing the wage
bond and the contractor licensing provisions of chapter twenty-one
of this code;
(7) Any agency of this or any other state, or any federal
agency, charged with the administration of an unemployment
compensation law or the maintenance of a system of public employment offices;
(8) Any claimant for benefits or any other interested party to
the extent necessary for the proper presentation or defense of a
claim; and
(9) The Workers' Compensation Commission for purposes of
collection and enforcement:
Provided, That the Workers'
Compensation Commission shall provide similar information to the
Bureau of Employment Programs.
(d) The agencies or organizations which receive information
under subsection (c) of this section shall agree that the
information shall remain confidential as not to reveal the identity
of the employing unit or the individual consistent with the
provisions of this chapter.
(e) The commissioner may, before furnishing any information
permitted under this section, require that those who request the
information shall reimburse the Bureau of Employment Programs for
any cost associated for furnishing the information.
(f) The commissioner may refuse to provide any information
requested under this section if the agency or organization making
the request does not certify that it will comply with the state and
federal law protecting the confidentiality of the information.
(g) A person who violates the confidentiality provisions of
this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or confined in
a county or regional jail not
longer than ninety days, or both.
(h) No action for slander or libel, either criminal or civil,
shall be predicated upon information furnished by any employer or
any employee to the commissioner in connection with the
administration of any of the provisions of this chapter.
(i) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the term
"labor organization" means any organization of any kind, or any
agency or employee representation committee or plan, in which
employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or
in part, of dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor
disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment or conditions of
work. It includes any entity, also known as a hiring hall, which
is used by the organization and an employer to carry out
requirements described in 29 U.S.C. §158(f)(3) of an agreement
between the organization and the employer.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow the Bureau of
Employment programs to disclose the names of employers who have
defaulted on their unemployment premiums and the amounts of the
defaults.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.