RCW 50.13.110 Disclosure of confidential information—Duty to prevent—Prohibition—Penalties—Exemptions.

(1) All private persons, governmental agencies, and organizations authorized to receive information from the employment security department under this chapter have an affirmative obligation to take all reasonable actions necessary that are designed to prevent the disclosure of confidential information.

(2) The disclosure of any records or information by a private person, governmental agency, or organization that obtained the records or information from the employment security department under this chapter is prohibited unless expressly permitted by this chapter.

(3) If misuse or an unauthorized disclosure of confidential records or information occurs, all parties aware of the violation must inform the employment security department immediately and take all reasonably available actions to rectify the disclosure to the employment security department's standards.

(4) The misuse or unauthorized disclosure of records or information deemed private and confidential under this chapter by any private person, governmental agency, or organization to which access is permitted by this chapter shall subject the person, governmental agency, or organization to a civil penalty of up to twenty thousand dollars in 2018 and annually adjusted by the employment security department on the first calendar day of each year based on changes in the United States consumer price index for all urban consumers. Other applicable sanctions under state and federal law also apply. The amount of any penalties collected shall be paid into the employment security department administrative contingency fund. The attorney general may recover reasonable attorneys' fees for any action brought to enforce this section.

(5) Any redisclosure of information obtained under this chapter by a private person, governmental agency, or organization must be expressly permitted by the employment security department prior to redisclosure. Failure to obtain prior approval by the employment security department could subject the private person, governmental agency, or organization to the penalties described in subsection (4) of this section.

(6) State and local governmental agencies and federally recognized Indian tribes as defined in Title 26 U.S.C. Sec. 3306(u) of the federal unemployment tax act are exempt from the penalties described in subsection (4) of this section if the redisclosure is necessary for the state, local, or tribal government to conduct a criminal prosecution.

[ 2019 c 81 § 8.]