State Agency - NASACT



TOPIC: Access to Unemployment Insurance Claim InformationOFFICE: AuditorSTATE: ILDATE: 09/26/2014QUESTION / ISSUE: The Office of the Auditor General is part of the legislative branch in Illinois. The OAG would like to know about access by other legislative branch state auditors to unemployment insurance claim records.If you are a state auditor in the legislative branch, please tell us the following:Do you access unemployment insurance information for audit purposes?Has your UI agency questioned your authority to access unemployment insurance information?Is your state auditor an elected or an appointed official?If you have a statutory citation (federal or state) supporting your authority to access UI claim information, please provide it.StateCommentsAlaskaYesNoAppointedAS 24.20.271(7)ConnecticutYes.NoAppointed.There is no specific statutory citation related to our access to UI claim information.?Section 2-90 of the General Statutes gives the Auditors of Public Accounts access to confidential records maintained by state agencies. Please see attached.GeorgiaThe Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts has access to unemployment insurance information for audit purposes. Our Department’s authority to access such information is provided primarily in the following two statutory paragraphs:Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) 50-6-7“All officers, agents, employees, departments, institutions, commissions, authorities, and bureaus of the state shall produce and turn over to the state auditor or his or her assistants for examination and audit, whenever demanded by the state auditor, all of their books, records, accounts, vouchers, warrants, bills, and other papers dealing with or reflecting upon the financial transactions and management of such department, institution, agency, commission, authority, bureau, or office, including any and all cash on hand, but not including cash in banks, the amount of cash in banks to be ascertained by certificate furnished to the state auditor by the bank.”OCGA 50-6-29“For the purpose of more completely discharging the duties resting upon him or her and to discover the truth and to make his or her reports truthful in all matters handled by him or her, the state auditor is empowered to conduct hearings, to summon witnesses, to administer oaths, to take the testimony of such witnesses, and to compel the production, inspection, and copying of documentary evidence, including without limitation evidence in electronic form and documentary evidence that is confidential or not available to the general public, at such time and place as he or she may designate for the purpose of investigating and determining the conduct and record of the employees and officials of any department of the state government. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the state auditor shall have access to inspect, compel production of, and copy confidential information in any form unless the law making such information confidential expressly refers to this Code section and qualifies or supersedes it in that particular instance…”The Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts has been requesting and receiving unemployment insurance information for many years. Our Department’s authority to obtain unemployment insurance information without limitation is well recognized and the Georgia Department of Labor has not recently questioned our Department’s authority to access such information.The State Auditor of Georgia is elected by the General Assembly in accordance with OCGA 50-6-1.LouisianaYes, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s (LLA) office accesses unemployment insurance information for audit purposes.No, to our knowledge, Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) has not questioned our authority to access unemployment insurance information.Per the Louisiana Constitution, Article III, Section 11, the legislative auditor is elected by the concurrence of a majority of the elected members of each house and may be removed by the concurrence of two-thirds of the elected members of each house.The Louisiana Legislative Auditor accesses UI claims information under the following statutory authority:Louisiana Revised Statute (LRS) 24:513(A)(1)(a) states ...the Legislative Auditor shall have access to and be permitted to examine?all papers, books, accounts, records, files, instruments, documents, films, tapes, and any other forms of recordation of all auditees, including but not limited to computers and recording devices, and all software and hardware which hold data, is part of the technical processes leading up to the retention of data, or is part of the security system.?See Attachment 1 (LRS 24:513)20 CFR 603.2(d) defines a public official as an elected official in the federal, State, or local government. 20 CFR 603.5(e) states disclosure of confidential UC information to a public official for use in the performance of his or her official duties is permissible. "performance of official duties" means administration or enforcement of law or the execution of the official responsibilities of a Federal, State, or local elected official. In addition, 20 CFR 603.5(f) states, disclosure of confidential UC information to an agent or contractor of a public official to whom disclosure is permissible under paragraph (e) of this section is also permissible.?Note:?Confidential UC information is defined in paragraphs 603.2(b) and (j) and is required to be kept confidential under 20 CFR 603.4. See Attachment 2 (excerpts from 20 CFR 603):20 CFR 603.9(a) states for disclosures of confidential UC information under 603.5(e) and (f),?a State or State UC agency must require the recipient to safeguard the information disclosed against unauthorized access or redisclosure. In accordance with 20 CFR 603.9(b), the State or State UC agency must enter into a written, enforceable agreement with any agency or entity requiring disclosures of such information in accordance with 20 CFR 603.10. When disclosures are provided under 603.5(f), the agreement must hold the public official responsible for ensuring that the agent or contractor complies with the safeguards of 603.9. The agreement must be terminable if the State or State UC agency determines that the safeguards in the agreement are not adhered to.The LLA and LWC executed a "Data Sharing Agreement" which enables LWC to share with LLA confidential information (i.e., wage information) obtained through its administration of Louisiana's unemployment compensation system to assist the LLA in performing its official duties. The terms and conditions of the data sharing agreement include the data and method of sharing, use of shared data, confidentiality safeguards pursuant to 20 CFR 603, and civil and criminal penalties imposed by LRS 23:1660.?See Attachment 3?and Attachment 2 MaineYesNoElected by the legislatureNothing specific to UI in State statute. Our authority is 5 MRSA Section 243 as follows:Title 5: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND SERVICESPart 1: STATE DEPARTMENTSChapter 11: OFFICE OF THE STATE AUDITOR §243. Powers and dutiesThe Office of the State Auditor has authority: [2013, c. 16, §3 (AMD).]1.?Audit. To audit all accounts and other financial records of State Government or any department or agency of State Government, including the judiciary and the Executive Department of the Governor, except the Governor's Expense Account, and to report annually on this audit, and at such other times as the Legislature may require.MarylandYes, we have full access to unemployment insurance information during our audit of DLLR - Division of Unemployment Insurance (DUI), see . We also have obtained state wage withholding records from DUI for use on other audits; for example, see finding 1 from do not believe so. Appointed.The law governing our Office allows us to access State agency records in general, so unemployment insurance records are included. See below from the Annotated Code of Maryland.?State GovernmentTitle 2. General AssemblySubtitle 12. Staff and Services—Department of Legislative ServicesPart IV. Office of Legislative AuditsMD. State Government Code Ann.?§ 2-1223 (2014)§ 2-1223 Audit procedures(a) Access to records. –(1) Except as prohibited by the federal Internal Revenue Code, during an examination, the employees or authorized representatives of the Office of Legislative Audits shall have access to and may inspect the records, including those that are confidential by law, of any unit of the State government or of a person or other body receiving State funds, with respect to any matter under the jurisdiction of the Office of Legislative Audits.(2) In conjunction with an examination authorized under this subtitle, the access required by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall include the records of contractors and subcontractors that perform work under State contracts.(3) The employees or authorized representatives of the Office of Legislative Audits shall have access to and may inspect the records, including those that are confidential by law, of: (i) any local school system to perform the audits authorized under§ 2-1220 of this subtitle or in accordance with a request for information as provided in§ 5-114(d) of the Education Article; and(ii) the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City to perform the audits authorized under§ 2-1220(f) of this subtitle.(b) Provision of information. -- Each officer or employee of the unit or body that is subject to examination shall provide any information that the Legislative Auditor determines to be needed for the examination of that unit or body, or of any matter under the authority of the Office of Legislative Audits, including information that otherwise would be confidential under any provision of law.(c) Enforcement. – (1) The Legislative Auditor may issue process that requires an official who is subject to examination to produce a record that is needed for the examination.(2) The process shall be sent to the sheriff for the county where the official is located.(3) The sheriff promptly shall serve the process.(4) The State shall pay the cost of process.(5) If a person fails to comply with process issued under this subsection or fails to provide information that is requested during an examination, a circuit court may issue an order directing compliance with the process or compelling that the information requested be provided.HISTORY: An. Code 1957, art. 40, §§ 61B, 61C; 1984, ch. 284, § 1; 1992, ch. 598; 1997, ch. 635, § 2; ch. 636, § 2; 2006, ch. 512; 2009, ch. 60, § 5; 2011, ch. 263.MichiganThe Michigan Office of the Auditor General has access to unemployment insurance information for audit purposes.Please see the attached data sharing agreement example between the Michigan OAG and our UIA.Our state auditor is appointed.Please see the attached data sharing agreement.\sMinnesotaYes, audit team members are provided full access to Minnesota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system and all of its underlying applicant data (identification, claims, wage detail, work history, correspondence, etc.) and employer data (rates, quarterly wage data, correspondence, penalties, etc.). We have used the UI system data to support our work on the State of Minnesota CAFR and to fulfill the federal A-133 Single audit requirements for the UI program.No, the state agency administering the UI program (State of Minnesota – Dept. of Employment and Economic Development) is aware of our legal authority and has provided us with full access to the UI data. We are provided access with the legal obligation to protect its classification as ‘not public’ data.James Nobles, Legislative Auditor is appointed by a State of Minnesota-Legislative Audit Commission to a six-year term.Minnesota Statutes 2013. 3.978, subd. 2 (see attachment) provides the Office of the Legislative Auditor with general legal authority to all data of any classification (including not public data). Each year, when gaining access to the UI system to conduct our audit, we provide the department with a notice (see attachment) citing this authority.MontanaYes. When conducting our financial compliance or information systems audit work at the Department of Labor we access UI claim records. We have also conducted a performance audit of the administration of UI program ()Not when conducting audits of the Department of Labor; however, when conducting work for an audit that is not of the Department of Labor, we have been asked about our authority to access UI files. For example, we conducted performance audit work on Dependent Eligibility for Health Insurance, and cross-matched?records to the Department of Labor and Industry’s Unemployment Insurance Division. If I recall, we were asked to pay $500 under some federal regulation to access the records, because the audit was not of Department of Labor.I am appointed by the Legislative Audit Committee.See below.MCA 5-13-309 (in part):(1) All state agencies shall aid and assist the legislative auditor in the auditing of books, accounts, activities, and records.(2) The legislative auditor may examine at any time the books, accounts, activities, and records, confidential or otherwise, of a state agency. This section may not be construed as authorizing the publication of information prohibited by law.South CarolinaYesYes, in our last review we ended up having to enter into an MOU with the agency in order to get access to UI claims information. We had discussions with the US DOL about this also. Looking back, I have reservations about this way this was done and would not recommend a similar path if it could be avoided. The LAC Director is appointed. See below.SECTION 2 15 61. Access by Council to agency records and facilities; exception.For the purposes of carrying out its audit duties under this chapter, the Legislative Audit Council shall have access to the records and facilities of every state agency during that agency's operating hours with the exception of reports and returns of the South Carolina Department of Revenue as provided in Sections 12 7 1680 and 12 35 1530.There are also federal regulations that discuss access. Our conclusion was that auditors have access but can’t public disclose information that could result in a specific individual’s claim being identified.UtahOur office is not part of the legislative branch.?However, we do access unemployment insurance information for our audits.?The agency does not question our authority but we are required to fill-out requests for access to the system.?The requests include a confidentiality agreement.VirginiaThis response is related to our audit of the Virginia Employment Commission.Yes, we have access online at the Virginia Employment Commission and we can access information on an individual claim. In addition, we get a download from their data warehouse of certain information (tables and fields) related to unemployment claims. The work we do at the Virginia Employment Commission helps support our audit of the Commonwealth’s CAFR.NoAppointedWe don’t have any additional citation related to this audit, we have a general citation that is linked here: . In fact, the administrators of the Wisconsin UI Fund contract with us to perform a financial audit.Appointed.Section 13.94 of the Wisconsin Statutes provides broad authority to access documents:13.94 (intro.) Legislative audit bureau. There is created a bureau to be known as the "Legislative Audit Bureau", headed by a chief known as the "State Auditor". The bureau shall be strictly nonpartisan and shall at all times observe the confidential nature of any audit currently being performed. Subject to s. 230.35 (4) (a) and (f), the state auditor or designated employees shall at all times with or without notice have access to all departments and to any books, records or other documents maintained by the departments and relating to their expenditures, revenues, operations and structure except as provided in sub. (4) and except that access to documents of counties, cities, villages, towns or school districts is limited to work performed in connection with audits authorized under sub. (1) (m). In the discharge of any duty imposed by law, the state auditor may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths and take testimony and cause the deposition of witnesses to be taken as prescribed for taking depositions in civil actions in circuit courts. ................
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