Request for Current Law on Confidentiality Requirements UIPL

CLASSIFICATION
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
ADVISORY SYSTEM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Washington, D.C. 20210

Unemployment Insurance
CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OUI/DL
DATE
February 23, 2016

ADVISORY:

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 26-13,
Change 2

TO:

STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:

PORTIA WU /s/
Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:

Request for Current Law on Confidentiality Requirements

1. Purpose. To remind states to provide to the U.S. Department of Labor (Department), in their
submissions under Form MA 8-7, information pertaining to confidentiality requirements in
effect as of January 1, 2016, for conformity purposes.
2. References.
• Section 303(a) of the Social Security Act (SSA), 42 U.S.C. 503(a);
• Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), 26 U.S.C. 3301 et seq.;
• 20 CFR Part 603;
• 20 CFR § 601.3;
• 20 CFR § 609.1(d)(1), 614.1(d)(1), and 617.52(c)(1);
• Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 27-07, Required Submission of
Unemployment Compensation Materials Using Form MA 8-7;
• UIPL No. 26-13, Extension of Approval and Reminder of Requirement to Use Form MA
8-7, Transmittal for Unemployment Insurance Materials; and
• Collection of Information, Transmittal of Unemployment Insurance Materials: Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) control number 1205-0222.
3. Background. Section 303(a)(6), SSA, requires, as a condition of a state receiving
unemployment compensation (UC) administrative grants, that state law contain provision for
the “making of such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary
of Labor may from time to time require, and compliance with such provisions as the
Secretary of Labor may from time to time find necessary to ensure the correctness and
verification of such reports.” Departmental regulations at 20 CFR 601.3 in part implement
this requirement by requiring the submission of “all relevant state materials, such as statutes,
executive and administrative orders, legal opinions, rules, regulations, interpretations, court
opinions, etc. . . .” Also, the regulations for the Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Civilian Employees (UCFE) program at 20 CFR 609.1(d)(1), and for the Unemployment
Compensation for Ex-servicemembers (UCX) program at 20 CFR 614.1(d)(1), require
RESCISSIONS

EXPIRATION DATE

None

Continuing

submission of certain documents to assure that states are properly administering these
programs. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which includes Trade
Readjustment Allowances (TRA), provides similar regulatory requirements at 20 CFR
617.52(c)(1).
The MA 8-7 is the mechanism for implementing these submittal requirements, the purpose of
which is to provide the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) with sufficient information to
determine if: (a) state UC law conforms to FUTA, so that employers in a state may qualify
for tax credits; (b) state UC law conforms to Title III, SSA, for the state to obtain UC
administrative grants; and (c) the state fulfills its obligations under Federal UC programs.
4. Confidentiality requirement in Federal law. Section 303(a)(1), SSA, requires state law to
include “methods of administration. . . reasonably calculated to insure full payment of
unemployment compensation when due.” Section 603.4 of 20 CFR interprets this provision
to require that state law—
“must include provision for maintaining the confidentiality of any UC
information which reveals the name or any other identifying particular about any
individual or any past or present employer or employing unit, or which could
foreseeably be combined with any other publicly available information to reveal
any such particulars, and must include provision for barring the disclosure of any
such information. . .[emphasis added].
The Department, on September 27, 2006, published regulations at 20 CFR part 603 titled
Federal-State Unemployment Compensation (UC); Confidentiality and Disclosure of State
UC Information; Final Rule. See 71 Fed. Reg. 56830. The effective date was October 27,
2006. States were given two years from the effective date of the final rule within which to
amend their laws, rules, procedures, or existing agreements to conform to the regulatory
requirements for confidentiality.
This guidance is a reminder to states to provide copies of their confidentiality laws,
regulations, policies and procedures, and precedential court decisions to enable the
Department of Labor to ensure state laws conform to the requirements in 20 CFR part 603.
States are asked to submit all laws governing confidentiality of state UC information as
requested using the attached Form MA 8-7.
States should also submit all conformity materials as changes are made to state law, using the
Form MA 8-7, to update the information previously provided and to allow for continuous
review of state law for conformity purposes.
5. OMB Approval. Persons are not required to respond to this collection of information unless
it displays a currently valid OMB control number. As described in UIPL No. 26-13, OMB
has approved the use of Form MA 8-7 for data collection under control number 1205-0222.

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6. Action Requested. The Department reminds states to use the Form MA 8-7 to submit the
information requested in section 4 of this UIPL, to include statutes, regulations, policy and
procedure memoranda, and precedential agency and court decisions, to the Department no
later than March 31, 2016. States should e-mail submissions to
[email protected].
7. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate regional office.
8. Attachments. Form MA 8-7 and instructions.

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