May 31, 2005, Introduced by Senators ALLEN, TOY and SCHAUER and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
by amending section 11 (MCL 421.11), as amended by 1995 PA 25.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 11. (a) In the administration of this act, the commission
shall cooperate with the appropriate agency of the United States
under the social security act. The commission shall make reports,
in a form and containing information as the appropriate agency of
the
United States may from time to time require,
and shall comply
with such
the provisions
as that the
appropriate agency of the
United
States may from time to time prescribe prescribes to
assure the correctness and verification of the reports. The
commission, subject to this act, shall comply with the regulations
prescribed by the appropriate agency of the United States relating
to
the receipt or expenditure of such the
sums as may be that
are allotted and paid to this state for the purpose of assisting in
the administration of this act. As used in this section, "social
security act" means the social security act, chapter 531, 49 Stat.
620.
(b)(1) Information obtained from any employing unit or
individual pursuant to the administration of this act, and
determinations as to the benefit rights of any individual shall be
held confidential and shall not be disclosed or open to public
inspection other than to public employees in the performance of
their
official duties pursuant to under
this act in any manner
revealing the individual's or the employing unit's identity.
However, all of the following apply:
(i) Information in the commission's possession that may
might
affect a claim for worker's disability compensation under the
worker's
disability compensation act of 1969,
Act No. 317 of the
Public
Acts of 1969, being sections 418.101 to 418.941 of the
Michigan Compiled Laws 1969 PA 317, MCL 418.101 to 418.941, shall
be available to interested parties, regardless of whether the
commission
is a party to an action or proceeding arising under Act
No.
317 of the Public Acts of 1969 that
act.
(ii) Any information in the commission's possession that may
affect
a claim for benefits or a charge to an employer's rating
experience account shall be available to interested parties.
(iii) Except as provided in this act, such
the information and
determinations shall not be used in any action or proceeding before
any court or administrative tribunal unless the commission is a
party to or a complainant in the action or proceeding, or unless
used for the prosecution of fraud, civil proceeding, or other legal
proceeding pursuant
to in the programs indicated
in subdivision
(2).
(iv) Any report or statement, written or verbal, made by any
person to the commission, any member of the commission, or to any
person
engaged in administering this law shall be act is a
privileged communication, and a person, firm, or corporation shall
not be held liable for slander or libel on account of a report or
statement. Such
The records and reports in the custody of the
commission shall be available for examination by the employer or
employee affected.
(v) Subject to restrictions as
that the commission may
prescribes
by rule, prescribe, information
in the commission's
possession may be made available to 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; the bureau of internal revenue of the
United States department of the treasury; the bureau of the census
of the economics and statistics administration of the United States
department of commerce; or the social security administration of
the United States department of health and human services.
(vi) Information obtained in connection with the administration
of the employment service may be made available to persons or
agencies for purposes appropriate to the operation of a public
employment
service. Subject to such restrictions
as that the
commission may
prescribes by rule,
prescribe, the
commission
may
also make such that
information available to agencies of
other
states which that
are responsible for the administration
of
public assistance to unemployed workers, and to the departments of
this state. Information so released shall be used only for purposes
not inconsistent with the purposes of this act.
(vii) The commission may make available to the
department of
treasury
information collected for the income eligibility and
verification
system begun on October 1, 1988 for the purpose of
detection
of potential tax fraud in other areas.
(vii) (viii) Upon request, the commission shall furnish to any
agency of the United States charged with the administration of
public works or assistance through public employment, and may
furnish to any state agency similarly charged, the name, address,
ordinary occupation, and employment status of each recipient of
benefits and the recipient's rights to further benefits under this
act.
(viii) (ix) Subject to restrictions as
the commission may
prescribe
prescribes, by rule or otherwise, the commission may
also
make such information that
it obtains available to colleges,
universities, and public agencies of this state for use in
connection with research projects of a public service nature. A
person
associated with such those
institutions or agencies shall
not
disclose the information in any manner
which that would
reveal the identity of any individual or employing unit from or
concerning whom the information was obtained by the commission.
(ix) (x) The commission may request the comptroller of the
currency of the United States to cause an examination of the
correctness of any return or report of any national banking
association
rendered pursuant to under this act, and may, in
connection with the request, transmit the report or return to the
comptroller of the currency of the United States as provided in
section 3305(c) of the internal revenue code, 26 USC 3305.
(2) The commission shall disclose to qualified requesting
agencies, upon request, with respect to an identified individual,
information in its records pertaining to the individual's name;
social security number; gross wages paid during each quarter; the
name, address, and federal and state employer identification number
of the individual's employer; any other wage information; whether
an individual is receiving, has received, or has applied for
unemployment benefits; the amount of unemployment benefits the
individual is receiving or is entitled to receive; the individual's
current or most recent home address; whether the individual has
refused an offer of work and if so a description of the job offered
including the terms, conditions, and rate of pay; and any other
information which the qualified requesting agency considers useful
in verifying eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits. For
purposes of this subdivision, "qualified requesting agency" means
any state or local child support enforcement agency responsible for
enforcing child support obligations under a plan approved under
part
d of Title title
IV of the social security act, 42 U.S.C.
USC
651 to 669 669b;
the United States department of health and
human services for purposes of establishing or verifying
eligibility
or benefit amounts under Titles titles
II and XVI of
the
social security act, 42 U.S.C. USC
401 to 433 434
and 42
U.S.C.
USC 1381 to
1383d 1383f;
the United States department of
agriculture for the purposes of determining eligibility for, and
amount of, benefits under the food stamp program established under
the
food stamp act of 1977, 7 U.S.C. USC
2011 to 2032 2036;
and
any other state or local agency of this or any other state
responsible for administering the following programs:
(i) The aid to families with dependent children program under
part
a of Title title
IV of the social security act, 42 U.S.C.
USC
601 to 617 619.
(ii) The medicaid program under Title
title XIX of the social
security
act, 42 U.S.C. USC
1396 to 1396u 1396v.
(iii) The unemployment compensation program under section 3304
of
the internal revenue code of 1954, 26
U.S.C. USC 3304.
(iv) The food stamp program under the food stamp act of 1977, 7
U.S.C.
USC 2011 to
2032 2036.
(v) Any state program under a plan approved under Title
title
I, X, XIV, or XVI of the social
security act, 42 U.S.C. USC
301
to 306, 42 U.S.C. USC
1201 to 1206, 42 U.S.C.
USC 1351 to
1355,
and 42 U.S.C. USC
1381 to 1383d 1383f.
(vi) Any program administered under the social welfare
act,
Act
No. 280 of the Public Acts of 1939, being sections 400.1 to
400.119b
of the Michigan Compiled Laws 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to
400.119b.
The information shall be disclosed only if the qualified
requesting agency has executed an agreement with the commission to
obtain such
the information and if the information is requested
for the purpose of determining the eligibility of applicants for
benefits, or the type and amount of benefits for which applicants
are eligible, under any of the programs listed above or under
Titles
title II and XVI of the social security act; for
establishing and collecting child support obligations from, and
locating individuals owing such obligations which are being
enforced pursuant to a plan described in section 454 of the social
security
act, 42 U.S.C. USC
654; or for investigating or
prosecuting alleged fraud under any of these programs.
The
commission shall cooperate with the department of social
human services in establishing the computer data matching system
authorized
in section 83 of Act No. 280 of the Public Acts of
1939,
being section 400.83 of the Michigan Compiled Laws the
social welfare act, 1939 PA 280, MCL 400.83, to transmit the
information requested on at least a quarterly basis. The
information shall not be released unless the qualified requesting
agency agrees to reimburse the commission for the costs incurred in
furnishing the information.
In addition to the requirements of this section, except as
later provided in this subdivision, all other requirements with
respect to confidentiality of information obtained in the
administration of this act shall apply to the use of the
information by the officers and employees of the qualified
requesting agencies, and the sanctions imposed under this act for
improper
disclosure of the information shall be applicable to such
those officers and employees. A qualified requesting agency may
redisclose
information only to the following individuals or
agencies:
(1) the individual who is the subject of the
information, (2)
an attorney or other duly authorized agent
representing the individual if the information is needed in
connection with a claim for benefits against the requesting agency,
or (3)
any criminal or civil prosecuting authorities
authority
acting for or on behalf of the requesting agency.
The commission is authorized to enter into an agreement with
any qualified requesting agency for the purposes described in this
subdivision. Such
The agreement or agreements must comply with
all federal laws and regulations applicable to such agreements.
(3) The commission shall enable the United States department
of health and human services to obtain prompt access to any wage
and unemployment benefit claims information, including any
information that might be useful in locating an absent parent or an
absent parent's employer, for purposes of section 453 of the social
security
act, 42 U.S.C. USC
653, in carrying out the child
support enforcement program under title IV of that act. Access to
the information shall not be provided unless the requesting agency
agrees to reimburse the commission for the costs incurred in
furnishing the information.
(4) Upon request accompanied by presentation of a consent to
the release of information signed by an individual, the commission
shall disclose to the United States department of housing and urban
development and any state or local public housing agency
responsible for verifying an applicant's or participant's
eligibility for, or level of benefits in, any housing assistance
program administered by the United States department of housing and
urban development, the name, address, wage information, whether an
individual is receiving, has received, or has made application for
unemployment benefits, and the amount of unemployment benefits the
individual is receiving or is entitled to receive under this act.
This information shall be used only to determine an individual's
eligibility for benefits or the amount of benefits to which an
individual is entitled under a housing assistance program of the
United States department of housing and urban development. The
information shall not be released unless the requesting agency
agrees to reimburse the commission for the costs incurred in
furnishing the information. For purposes of this subsection,
"public housing agency" means an agency described in section
3(b)(6)
of the United States housing act of 1937, 42 U.S.C.
USC
1437a.
(5) The commission may make available to the department of
treasury information collected for the income eligibility and
verification system begun on October 1, 1988 for the purpose of
detection of potential tax fraud in other areas.
(c) The commission is authorized to enter into agreements with
the appropriate agencies of other states or the federal government
whereby potential rights to benefits accumulated under the
unemployment
compensation laws of other states or
such a law of
the federal government, or both, may constitute the basis for the
payment of benefits through a single appropriate agency under plans
which
that the commission finds will be fair and reasonable as
to all affected interests and will not result in substantial loss
to the unemployment compensation fund.
(d)(1) The commission is authorized to enter into reciprocal
agreements with the appropriate agencies of other states or of the
federal government adjusting the collection and payment of
contributions by employers with respect to employment not localized
within this state.
(2) The commission is authorized to enter into reciprocal
agreements with agencies of other states administering unemployment
compensation, whereby contributions paid by an employer to any
other state may be received by the other state as an agent acting
for and on behalf of this state to the same extent as if the
contributions had been paid directly to this state if the payment
is remitted to this state. Contributions so received by another
state shall be deemed contributions, required and paid under this
act as of the date the contributions were received by the other
state. The commission may collect contributions in a like manner
for agencies of other states administering unemployment
compensation and remit the contributions to the agencies under the
terms of the reciprocal agreements.
(e) The commission may make the state's records relating to
the administration of this act available and may furnish to the
railroad retirement board or any other state or federal agency
administering an unemployment compensation law, at the expense of
that board, state, or agency, copies of the records as the railroad
retirement board deems necessary for its purpose.
(f) The commission may cooperate with or enter into agreements
with any agency of another state or of the United States charged
with the administration of any unemployment insurance or public
employment service law.
The
commission is authorized to may make investigations,
secure and transmit information, make available services and
facilities, and exercise other powers provided in this act with
respect to the administration of this act as it deems necessary or
appropriate to facilitate the administration of any unemployment
compensation
or public employment service law, and
in like manner,
to
may accept and utilize information, services, and
facilities
made available to this state by the agency charged with the
administration of any other unemployment compensation or public
employment service law.
On
request of an agency which that
administers an employment
security
law of another state or foreign government and which
that has found, in accordance with that law, that a claimant is
liable to repay benefits received under that law, the commission
may collect the amount of the benefits from the claimant to be
refunded to the agency.
In any case in which under this subsection a claimant is
liable to repay any amount to the agency of another state or
foreign government, the amount may be collected by civil action in
the name of the commission acting as agent for the agency. Court
costs shall be paid or guaranteed by the agency of that state.
To the extent permissible under the laws and constitution of
the United States, the commission is authorized to enter into or
cooperate in arrangements whereby facilities and services provided
under this act and facilities and services provided under the
unemployment compensation law of the Dominion of Canada may be
utilized for the taking of claims and the payment of benefits under
the unemployment compensation law of this state or under a similar
law of the Dominion of Canada.
Any employer who is not a resident of this state and who
exercises the privilege of having 1 or more individuals perform
service for him or her within this state, and any resident employer
who exercises that privilege and thereafter leaves this state,
shall
be deemed thereby is
considered to appoint
have appointed
the secretary of state as his or her agent and attorney for the
acceptance of process in any civil action under this act. In
instituting such
an the action,
against any employer, the
commission
shall cause such process or notice to be filed with
the
secretary of state, and such the
service shall be sufficient
and shall be of the same force and validity as if served upon the
nonresident or absent employer personally within this state. The
commission immediately shall send notice of the service of process
or notice, together with a copy thereof, by registered mail, return
receipt requested, to the employer at his or her last known
address. The return receipt, the commission's affidavit of
compliance with this section, and a copy of the notice of service
shall be attached to the original of the process filed in the court
in which the civil action is pending.
The courts of this state shall recognize and enforce
liabilities, as provided in this act, for unemployment compensation
contributions, penalties, and interest imposed by other states
which extend a like comity to this state.
The
attorney general is empowered to may commence action in
the appropriate court of any other state or any other jurisdiction
of the United States by and in the name of the commission to
collect unemployment compensation contributions, penalties, and
interest finally determined, redetermined, or decided under this
act to be legally due this state. The officials of other states
which
extend a like comity to this state
are empowered to may sue
in the courts of this state for the collection of unemployment
compensation contributions, penalties, and interest, the liability
for which has been similarly established under the laws of the
other state or jurisdiction. A certificate by the secretary of
another state under the great seal of that state attesting the
authority of the official or officials to collect unemployment
compensation
contributions, penalties, and interest
shall be is
conclusive evidence of that authority.
The
attorney general is authorized to may commence action in
this state as agent for or on behalf of any other state to enforce
judgments and established liabilities for unemployment compensation
taxes or contributions, penalties, and interest due the other state
if the other state extends a like comity to this state.
(g)
The commission is also authorized to may also enter into
reciprocal agreements with the appropriate and authorized agencies
of other states or of the federal government whereby remuneration
and
services, upon the basis of which an individual may become
entitled
that determine entitlement to benefits under the
unemployment compensation law of another state or of the federal
government, shall
be deemed to be are
considered wages and
employment for the purposes of sections 27 and 46, if the other
state agency or agency of the federal government has agreed to
reimburse the fund for that portion of benefits paid under this act
upon the basis of the remuneration and services as the commission
finds
will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests. ,
and
A reciprocal agreement may
provide that wages and employment,
on
the basis of which an individual may become entitled that
determine
entitlement to benefits under this act, shall
be deemed
to
be are considered wages or services on the basis of which
unemployment compensation under the law of another state or of the
federal
government is payable; , and whereby may provide that
services performed by an individual for a single employing unit for
which services are customarily performed by the individual in more
than
1 state shall be deemed to be are considered services
performed entirely within any 1 of the states in which any part of
the individual's service is performed, in which the individual has
his or her residence, or in which the employing unit maintains a
place
of business, if there is , in effect as to such those
services, an election approved by the agency charged with the
administration of the state's unemployment compensation law,
pursuant to which all the services performed by the individual for
the
employing unit are deemed considered
to be performed entirely
within
the state; , and whereby may provide that the
commission
will reimburse other state or federal agencies charged with the
administration of unemployment compensation laws with such
reasonable portion of benefits, paid under the law of any other
state or of the federal government upon the basis of employment and
wages, as the commission finds will be fair and reasonable as to
all
affected interests. Reimbursements
so payable shall
be
deemed
to be under this subsection
are considered benefits for the
purpose of limiting duration of benefits and for the purposes of
sections 20a
20(a) and 26, and the payments shall be charged to
the
contributing employer's rating experience
account for the
purposes of sections 17, 18, 19, and 20, or the reimbursing
employer's
account under section 13c, or 13g, 13i,
or 13l, as
applicable. Benefits paid under a combined wage plan shall be
allocated and charged to each employer involved in the quarter in
which the paying state requires reimbursement. Benefits charged to
this state shall be allocated to each employer of this state who
has employed the claimant during the base period of the paying
state in the same ratio that the wages earned by the claimant
during the base period of the paying state in the employ of the
employer bears to the total amount of wages earned by the claimant
in the base period of the paying state in the employ of all
employers of the state. The commission is authorized to make to
other state or federal agencies and receive from other state or
federal agencies reimbursements from or to the fund, in accordance
with arrangements made pursuant to this section.
(h)
The commission is authorized and directed to may enter
into
any agreement necessary in order that it may to cooperate
with any agency of the United States charged with the
administration of any program for the payment of primary or
supplemental benefits to individuals recently discharged from the
military services of the United States, and to assist in the
establishing
of eligibility and in the payments of benefits
thereunder under those programs, and for those purposes may accept
and administer funds made available by the federal government and
may
accept and exercise any delegated function as may be provided
thereunder
under those programs. The commission shall not have
power
to enter into any agreement providing for, or exercise
any
function connected with, the disbursement of the state's
unemployment trust fund for purposes not authorized by this act.
(i) The commission may enter into agreements with the
appropriate
agency of the United States whereby under which, in
accordance with the laws of the United States, the commission, as
agent
of the United States , or
from funds provided by the United
States, shall
provide provides for the payment of unemployment
compensation or unemployment allowances of any kind, including the
payment of any benefits and allowances that are made available for
manpower development, training, retraining, readjustment, and
relocation. The commission may receive and disburse funds from the
United States or any appropriate agency of the United States in
accordance with any such agreements.
If the federal enactment providing for unemployment
compensation, training allowance, or relocation payments requires
joint federal-state financing of such payments, the commission may
participate in the programs by using funds appropriated by the
legislature to the extent provided by the legislature for such
programs.
(j) The commission shall participate in any arrangement which
provides for the payment of compensation on the basis of combining
an individual's wages and employment covered under this act with
his or her wages and employment covered under the unemployment
compensation laws of other states, if the arrangement is approved
by the United States secretary of labor in consultation with the
state unemployment compensation agencies as reasonably calculated
to assure the prompt and full payment of compensation. An
arrangement shall include provisions for both of the following:
(i) Applying the base period of a single state law to a claim
involving the combining of an individual's wages and employment
covered under 2 or more state unemployment compensation laws.
(ii) Avoiding the duplicate use of wages and employment as a
result of the combining.
(k) In a proceeding before any court, the commission and the
state shall be represented by the attorney general of this state or
attorneys designated by the attorney general. Only the attorney
general or other attorneys designated by the attorney general shall
act as legal counsel for the commission.