Unemployment Insurance - Confidentiality of Information
SB 216 revises Maryland’s unemployment insurance confidentiality rules to bring them into alignment with federal law and U.S. Department of Labor regulations, especially 20 C.F.R. Part 603. The bill creates a new general confidentiality section defining “confidential unemployment insurance information,” “claim information,” and “wage information,” and states that such information may not be disclosed except as allowed by federal or state law. It also clarifies when disclosure is permitted for program administration, hearings, statistical uses, public officials performing official duties, authorized representatives, attorneys, elected officials assisting constituents, and certain third parties with informed written consent.
The bill also updates existing provisions governing county officials’ access to unemployment insurance data by making those disclosures expressly subject to federal law. It repeals older, narrower provisions on child support enforcement access and replaces them with a broader framework that allows disclosure to child support enforcement agents under specified safeguards and written agreements. In addition, it adds explicit safeguards for recipients of confidential information, including limits on use, storage, retention, auditability, and redisclosure, and it establishes misdemeanor penalties for unauthorized disclosure by current or former Department of Labor employees and by recipients who misuse the information.
The bill amends several sections of the Labor and Employment Article, repeals outdated confidentiality provisions, and adds a new § 8-111 that becomes the central statutory authority for unemployment insurance confidentiality in Maryland. It expands and modernizes the legal framework for handling unemployment insurance records, while preserving access for legitimate administrative, enforcement, and public-purpose uses. It also strengthens enforcement by extending criminal penalties to unauthorized disclosures by Department employees, former employees, and outside recipients of confidential information.
The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial and received unanimous support in both chambers, passing the Senate 44-0 and the House 127-0. The absence of recorded committee testimony in the provided materials and the unanimous floor votes suggest general agreement that the bill was a technical but important update to comply with federal requirements and protect sensitive claimant and employer information. Overall sentiment was favorable and procedural rather than partisan.
No major opposition is reflected in the available record. The main policy balance in the bill is between stronger confidentiality protections and continued access for unemployment insurance administration, child support enforcement, public officials, and other authorized users. Any potential points of concern would likely center on the scope of permitted disclosures, the use of informed consent releases, and the expanded criminal penalties for unauthorized disclosure, but the voting history indicates these issues did not generate visible controversy.