August 3, 2007

Ms. Margo M. Kaiser
Staff Attorney
Texas Workforce Commission
101 East 15^th Street
Austin, Texas 78778-0001

OR2007-09933

Dear Ms. Kaiser:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 288045.

The Texas Workforce Commission (the "commission") received a request for unemployment records involving a named individual and a specified time interval. You claim that the requested information is excepted from disclosure under sections 552.101 and 552.147 of the Government Code. We have considered the exceptions you claim and have reviewed the information you submitted.

Section 552.101 excepts from disclosure "information considered to be confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory, or by judicial decision." Gov't Code § 552.101. This section encompasses information that other statutes make confidential. You state that the submitted information consists of unemployment insurance claims records. The regulations found at section 603 of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations send a clear message that "claim information" in the files of a state unemployment compensation agency is to be disclosed only to a "receiving agency," as defined in the regulations, or to other specified parties. ⁽¹⁾ See 20 C.F.R. § 603.1 et seq.; see also Open Records Decision No. 476 at 4 (1987). Otherwise, pursuant to section 603.4(c) of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, state unemployment compensation agencies such as the commission must protect the confidentiality of claim information. "Claim information" means information regarding whether an individual is receiving, has received, or has applied for unemployment compensation, the amount of compensation the individual is receiving, as well as "[a]ny other information contained in the records of the State agency that is needed by the requesting agency to verify eligibility for, and the amount of, benefits." 20 C.F.R. § 603.2(a). We also note that the names of employers and employees who file unemployment compensation appeals fall within the definition of "claim information" and that the federal regulations prohibit the commission from disclosing this information. See id. § 603.4(b); ORD 476 at 4.

The federal Social Security Act requires states to comply with the directives of the United States Department of Labor in administering state unemployment insurance ("UI") programs, and section 603.5 of title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations specifies the conditions under which such claim information may be released. See 20 C.F.R. § 603.5 (listing permissible disclosures of confidential claim information). You state that the requestor does not fall within the scope of any of the exceptions to the confidentiality requirements imposed by the applicable federal and state laws and regulations. You also state that the release provided by the requestor does not meet the statutory requirements of section 603.5(d)(2). See id. § 603.5(d)(2) (stating the requirements of a written release pertaining to claim records). Based on your representations and our review of the information at issue, we conclude that the commission must withhold the submitted information under section 552.101 of the Government Code in conjunction with federal law. ⁽²⁾

This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id. § 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id. § 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the statute, the attorney general expects that, upon receiving this ruling, the governmental body will either release the public records promptly pursuant to section 552.221(a) of the Government Code or file a lawsuit challenging this ruling pursuant to section 552.324 of the Government Code. If the governmental body fails to do one of these things, then the requestor should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e).

If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental body. Id. § 552.321(a); Texas Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408, 411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ).

Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the Office of the Attorney General at (512) 475-2497.

If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments about this ruling, they may contact our office. Although there is no statutory deadline for contacting us, the attorney general prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling.

Sincerely,

James W. Morris, III

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

JWM/ma

Ref: ID# 288045

Enc: Submitted documents

c: Ms. Christine Rodriguez

Texas Law Offices of Martin A. Harry

P.O. Box 92184

Austin, Texas 78709-2184

(w/o enclosures)

Footnotes

1. We note that a federal statute or an administrative regulation enacted pursuant to statutory authority can provide statutory confidentiality for purposes of section 552.101. See Open Records Decision No. 476 (1987) (addressing statutory predecessor).

2. As we are able to make this determination, we need not address your claim under section 552.147 of the Government Code.

POST OFFICE BOX 12548, AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711-2548 TEL: (512) 463-2100 WEB: WWW.OAG.STATE.TX.US
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