1094.1.
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:(1) “Permissible use” means verifying an employee’s wages or employer or using the employee’s wage information for credit granting and related account maintenance, residential leasing, employment screening, or insurance or government transactions, consistent with the purposes set forth in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
(2) “Qualified third-party vendor” means a consumer reporting agency engaged in the business of furnishing consumer reports and who meets all of the following criteria:
(A) Has executed contracts for the same service in place with at least three other states.
(B) Has completed systems integration for an identical service in one or more states.
(C) Has had its business model and data sharing agreements and other collateral materials reviewed for conformance, either formally or informally, by the United States Department of Labor and found to be in conformity with relevant federal rules and regulations.
(3) “Subscriber” means a person or entity that pays a fee to a qualified third-party vendor to obtain consumer reports or other information from the qualified third-party vendor.
(4) “Wage information” means the employee’s full name, social security number, the employer’s name, and the total amount of wages paid to that employee each quarter, as reported to the department by the employer in its quarterly contribution return and report of wages.
(b) The department shall release an employee’s wage information to a qualified third-party vendor if the employee has provided the department written permission for that release.
(c) The department shall provide the employee’s wage information to the employee or their representative without charge.
(d) The department shall allow, at the request of the employee, the electronic transmission of the employee’s wage information, directly to or through a qualified third-party vendor, for permissible uses.
(e) The department shall enter into an agreement with a qualified third-party vendor to allow for electronic transmission of an employee’s wage information for permissible uses.
(f) The qualified third-party vendor shall use the employee’s wage information received from the department pursuant to this section for a permissible use and may share the employee’s wage information with a subscriber subject to subdivision (g).
(g) (1) A subscriber shall not request or receive wage information from a qualified third-party vendor pursuant to subdivision (f) unless the request is for a permissible use, and shall not use that wage information unless the use is a permissible use.
(2) A subscriber shall only receive wage information about an employee from a qualified third-party vendor pursuant to subdivision (f) if the employee has provided written permission that authorizes the release of that employee’s wage information to a subscriber.
(3) A subscriber shall not resell or redisclose wage information received from a qualified third-party vendor.
(h) All wage information reported to the department and provided to a qualified third-party vendor pursuant to this section shall be confidential and shall remain subject to the confidentiality provisions contained in applicable federal and state laws.
(i) The qualified third-party vendor shall require a person who receives wage information to keep that information confidential and to use the information only for the designated permissible use.
(j) The department shall not expend any additional state funds to execute the terms of the agreement with the qualified third-party vendor.
(k) Any person who knowingly accesses, uses, or discloses any information made confidential pursuant to this section without authorization pursuant to this section is in violation of this section and is guilty of a misdemeanor.