Section 34-8-121. Information or records shall be private and confidential; release authorized; maintenance of records; disclosure of private and confidential information; destruction of outdated records

   (a) Any information or records concerning an individual or employing unit obtained by the department pursuant to the administration of this chapter or other federally funded programs for which the department has responsibility shall be private and confidential, except as otherwise provided in this article or by regulation. This article does not create a rule of evidence. Information or records may be released by the department when the release is required by the federal government in connection with, or as a condition of funding for, a program being administered by the department. The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (a) of Code Section 34-8-125 shall not apply to such release.

(b) (1) Each employing unit shall keep true and accurate records containing such information as the Commissioner may prescribe. Such records shall be open to inspection and be subject to being copied by the Commissioner or an authorized representative of the Commissioner at any time and as often as may be necessary. In addition to information prescribed by the Commissioner, each employer shall keep records of and report to the Commissioner quarterly the street address of each establishment, branch, outlet, or office of such employer, the nature of the operation, the number of persons employed, and the wages paid at each establishment, branch, outlet, or office.

   (2) The Commissioner or an authorized representative of the Commissioner may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports deemed necessary for the effective administration of this chapter. Any member of the board of review, any administrative hearing officer, or any field representative may require from any employing unit any sworn or unsworn reports, with respect to persons employed by it, which are deemed necessary for the effective administration of this chapter.

   (3) Information, statements, transcriptions of proceedings, transcriptions of recordings, electronic recordings, letters, memoranda, and other documents and reports thus obtained or obtained from any individual, claimant, employing unit, or employer pursuant to the administration of this chapter, except to the extent necessary for the proper administration and enforcement of this chapter, shall be held confidential and shall not be subject to subpoena in any civil action or proceeding, published, or open to public inspection, other than to public employees in the performance of their public duties, in any manner revealing the individual's or employing unit's identity; but any claimant, employer, or a duly authorized representative, at a hearing before an administrative hearing officer or the board of review, shall be supplied with information from such records to the extent necessary for the proper presentation of his or her claim. Any person who violates any provision of this paragraph shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor.

   (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Code Sections 50-6-9 and 50-6-29 relating to the powers of the state auditor to disclose private and confidential information or records obtained by the department pursuant to the administration of this chapter or other federally funded programs for which the department has responsibility, such private and confidential information or records may be disclosed by the state auditor only in accordance with all provisions of this article and the requirements of 20 C.F.R. 603 and, after notice and review, upon the written direction of the Commissioner issued in advance of such disclosure.

   (5) On orders of the Commissioner, any records or documents received or maintained by the Commissioner under the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter may be destroyed under such safeguards as will protect their confidential nature two years after the date on which such records or documents last serve any useful, legal, or administrative purpose in the administration of this chapter or in the protection of the rights of anyone.

Code 1981, § 34-8-121, enacted by Ga. L. 1991, p. 139, § 1; Ga. L. 2009, p. 139, § 7/HB 581.