North Dakota Code 65-04-15 – Information in employer’s files confidential – Exceptions – Penalty if employee of organization divulges information
1. The information contained in an employer’s file is confidential and not subject to disclosure under chapter 44-04 and section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota, is for the exclusive use and information of the organization or its agents in the discharge of the organization’s official duties, and is not open to the public nor usable in any court in any court action or proceeding unless the organization is a party to that court action or proceeding. The information contained in the file, however, may be tabulated and published by the organization in statistical form for the use and information of the state departments and of the public.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 65-04-15
- Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
2. An employer file includes all documents and data pertaining to a person that pays premium to the organization, except for information relating to a grant award under section 65-03-04 which the organization is specifically authorized to disclose or under section 65-03-04 which does not disclose payroll or premium information as provided in subsection 3.
3. Upon request, the organization shall disclose the rate classification of an employer to the requester; however, the organization may not disclose any information that would reveal the amount of payroll upon which that employer’s premium is being paid or the amount of premium the employer is paying. The organization may disclose whether an employer’s file is active, canceled, closed, pending, delinquent, or uninsured. The information in the employer’s file may not be released in aggregate form, except to those persons contracting with the organization for exchange of information pertaining to the administration of this title, except upon written authorization by the employer for a specified purpose, or at the discretion of the organization with regard to delinquent and uninsured employers. Disclosure by a public servant of information contained in an employer’s report, except as otherwise allowed by law, is a violation of section 12.1-13-01. Anyone who is convicted under section 12.1-13-01 is disqualified from holding any office or employment with the organization.
4. The organization may provide employer file information to another employer, or the authorized representative of another employer, in instances of employer account transfers, in instances of consolidations, and for application of section 65-04-26.2.
5. The organization may, upon request of the state tax commissioner or the secretary of state, furnish to them a list of employers showing only the names, addresses, and organization file identification numbers of employers as those files relate to this chapter; provided, that any list furnished must be used by the tax commissioner or the secretary of state only for the purpose of administering their duties.
6. The organization may provide any state or federal agency, or any law enforcement agency, information obtained pursuant to the administration of this title. Any information so provided must be used only for the purpose of administering the duties of that state or federal agency or law enforcement agency.
7. Whenever the organization obtains information on activities of a contractor doing business in this state of which officials of the secretary of state, job service North Dakota, or tax commissioner may be unaware and that may be relevant to the duties of those officials, the organization may provide any relevant information to those officials for the purpose of administering their duties.
8. The organization may provide any state agency or a private entity with a list of names and addresses of employers for the purpose of jointly publishing or distributing publications or other information pursuant to section 54-06-04.3. Any information so provided may only be used for the purpose of jointly publishing or distributing publications or other information as provided in section 54-06-04.3.