Senate Bill sb1092

    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1092

    By Senator Wise





    5-733-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to unemployment compensation

  3         records; creating s. 443.17161, F.S.; requiring

  4         the Agency for Workforce Innovation to contract

  5         with consumer-reporting agencies to provide

  6         creditors and employers with secured electronic

  7         access to employer-provided information

  8         relating to the quarterly wages reports;

  9         providing conditions; requiring consent from

10         the credit or employment applicant; prescribing

11         information that must be included in the

12         written consent; providing for confidentiality;

13         limiting use of the information released;

14         providing for termination of contracts under

15         certain circumstances; requiring the agency to

16         establish minimum audit, security, net worth,

17         and liability insurance standards and other

18         requirements it considers necessary; providing

19         that any revenues generated from a contract

20         with a consumer reporting agency must be used

21         to pay the entire cost of providing access to

22         the information; providing that any additional

23         revenues generated must be paid into an agency

24         trust fund for the administration of the

25         unemployment compensation system; providing

26         restrictions on the release of information

27         under the act; defining the terms

28         "consumer-reporting agency" and "creditor";

29         providing an effective date.

30  

31  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1092
    5-733-05




 1         Section 1.  Section 443.17161, Florida Statutes, is

 2  created to read:

 3         443.17161  Authorized electronic access to employer

 4  information.--

 5         (1)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this

 6  chapter, the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall contract

 7  with one or more consumer-reporting agencies to provide

 8  creditors and employers with secured electronic access to

 9  employer-provided information relating to the quarterly wages

10  report submitted in accordance with the state's unemployment

11  compensation law. The access is limited to the wage reports

12  for the preceding 16 calendar quarters.

13         (2)  Creditors and employers must obtain written

14  consent from the credit or employment applicant. Any written

15  consent from the credit or employment applicant must be signed

16  and must include the following:

17         (a)  Specific notice that information concerning the

18  individual's wage and employment history will be released to a

19  consumer-reporting agency;

20         (b)  Notice that the release is made for the sole

21  purpose of reviewing a specific application for credit or

22  employment made by the individual;

23         (c)  Notice that the files of the Agency for Workforce

24  Innovation containing information concerning wage and

25  employment history which is submitted by the individual or his

26  or her employers may be accessed; and

27         (d)  A listing of the parties authorized to receive the

28  released information.

29         (3)  Consumer-reporting agencies, creditors, or

30  employers accessing information under this section must

31  safeguard the confidentiality of the information. A

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1092
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 1  consumer-reporting agency, creditor, or employer may use the

 2  information only to support a single transaction for the user

 3  to satisfy its standard underwriting or eligibility

 4  requirements or for those requirements imposed upon the user,

 5  and to satisfy the user's obligations under applicable state

 6  or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

 7         (4)  If a consumer-reporting agency, creditor, or

 8  employer violates this section, the Agency for Workforce

 9  Innovation shall, upon 30 days' written notice to the

10  consumer-reporting agency, creditor, or employer, terminate

11  the contract established between the Agency for Workforce

12  Innovation and the consumer-reporting agency or require the

13  consumer-reporting agency to terminate the contract

14  established between the consumer-reporting agency and the

15  creditor or employer under this section.

16         (5)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall

17  establish minimum audit, security, net-worth, and

18  liability-insurance standards, technical requirements, and any

19  other terms and conditions considered necessary in the

20  discretion of the state agency to safeguard the

21  confidentiality of the information released under this section

22  and to otherwise serve the public interest. The Agency for

23  Workforce Innovation shall also include, in coordination with

24  any necessary state agencies, necessary audit procedures to

25  ensure that these rules are followed.

26         (6)  In contracting with one or more consumer-reporting

27  agencies under this section, any revenues generated by the

28  contract must be used to pay the entire cost of providing

29  access to the information. Further, in accordance with federal

30  regulations, any additional revenues generated by the Agency

31  for Workforce Innovation or the state under this section must

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                  SB 1092
    5-733-05




 1  be paid into the Administrative Trust Fund of the Agency for

 2  Workforce Innovation for the administration of the

 3  unemployment compensation system.

 4         (7)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation may not

 5  provide wage and employment history information to any

 6  consumer-reporting agency before the consumer-reporting agency

 7  or agencies under contract with the Agency for Workforce

 8  Innovation pay all development and other startup costs

 9  incurred by the state in connection with the design,

10  installation, and administration of technological systems and

11  procedures for the electronic-access program.

12         (8)  The release of any information under this section

13  must be for a purpose authorized by and in the manner

14  permitted by the United States Department of Labor and any

15  subsequent rules or regulations adopted by that department.

16         (9)  As used in this section, the term:

17         (a)  "Consumer-reporting agency" has the same meaning

18  as that set forth in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15

19  U.S.C. s. 1681a.

20         (b)  "Creditor" has the same meaning as that set forth

21  in the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C.

22  ss. 1692 et seq.

23         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.

24  

25            *****************************************

26                          SENATE SUMMARY

27    Directs the Agency for Workforce Innovation to contract
      with one or more consumer-reporting agencies to provide
28    secure electronic access to employer information to be
      used in connection with credit and employment
29    applications. Requires recipients of such information to
      maintain its confidentiality and to pay all costs of
30    providing access to it.

31  

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