2016 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 41 - Labor and Employment
CHAPTER 29 - EMPLOYMENT AND WORKFORCE - DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKFORCE
Section 41-29-170. Permitted disclosure of information.

(A) A claimant or his legal representative must be supplied with information from the records, to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of his claim in a proceeding pursuant to Chapters 27 through 41, subject to restrictions the department may prescribe by regulation.

(B)(1) Upon written request, the department may furnish information obtained through the administration of Chapters 27 through 42 including, but not limited to, the name, address, ordinary occupation, wages, and employment status of a covered worker or recipient of benefits and the recipient's rights to additional benefits pursuant to Chapters 27 through 41, to:

(a) an agency or agent of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment;

(b) a state agency similarly charged or charged with workforce development or training or with jobs recruitment;

(c) an agency or entity to which disclosure is permitted or required by federal statute or regulation or by state law; and

(d) any private or public person or organization when the disclosure is necessary to permit private or public contracting parties to assist in the operation and management of the department in instances where certain departmental functions may be delegated to private or public parties to increase the department's efficiency or quality of service to the public. The private or public person or organization shall use the information or records solely for the purpose for which the information was disclosed and shall be bound by the same rules of privacy and confidentiality as department employees.

(2) This disclosure is subject to restrictions the department may prescribe by regulation.

(C)(1) The State Employment Office must furnish, upon request of a public agency administering the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or child support programs, a state agency administering food stamp coupons, a state or federal agency administering the new hire directory, or a public housing authority, information in its possession relating to:

(a) an individual who is receiving, has received, or has applied for unemployment insurance;

(b) the amount of benefits being received;

(c) the current home address of these individuals;

(d) whether an offer of work has been refused and, if so, a description of the job and the terms, conditions, and rate of pay;

(e) in the case of requests from a public housing authority, a listing of the current employer and previous employers for the available preceding six calendar quarters;

(f) in the case of requests from the state or federal agency that issues food stamp coupons or the new hire directory, a listing of the current employer and address and previous employers and their addresses, including wage information, for the available preceding six calendar quarters.

The requesting agency is responsible for reimbursing the department for actual costs incurred in supplying the information. This information must be provided in the most useful and economical format possible.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 68-67; 1952 Code Section 68-67; 1942 Code Section 7035-91; 1936 (39) 1716; 1939 (41) 487; 1941 (42) 369; 1977 Act No. 161 Section 8; 1995 Act No. 98, Section 3, eff June 12, 1995; 1997 Act No. 71, Section 42, eff June 10, 1997; 2002 Act No. 203, Section 2, eff April 10, 2002; 2010 Act No. 146, Section 41, eff March 30, 2010; 2011 Act No. 3, Section 5, eff March 14, 2011.

Effect of Amendment

The 1995 amendment revised subsection (2) of this section.

The 1997 amendment rewrote this section.

The 2002 amendment, in subsection (A), deleted the second and third sentences; redesignated former subsection (B) as (C), and added a new subsection (B) relating to disclosure of covered worker information to specific agencies upon written request.

The 2010 amendment substituted "department" for "commission" throughout this section; redesignated the subparagraphs of subsections (B) and (C); and made other nonsubstantive changes.

The 2011 amendment in subsection (B)(1)(b), inserted "or charged with workforce development or training or with jobs recruitment", and deleted "and" at the end; in subsection (B)(1)(c), added "; and" at the end; and inserted subsection (B)(1)(d) relating to delegation of work to public or private parties.