More research needed on to help ex-offenders move into the workplace

Would more employment data research on ex-offenders lead to more effective employment programming?

Sponsored by Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-St. Louis Park), HF3478/ SF2815* would authorize the Department of Corrections to access employment data for research on the effectiveness of employment programming for ex-offenders in the community.

Passed 133-0 by the House Thursday, it now heads to the governor. It was passed 60-0 by the Senate May 12.

The bill would allow data to be disseminated and used by a wealth of agencies, without the consent of the subject of the data, including:

• state and federal agencies specifically authorized access to the data by law;
• any state or federal agency of an unemployment insurance program, child support program, or human rights program;
• any agency responsible for the maintenance of a system of public employment offices;
• the Departments of Revenue, Labor and Industry, Health, and the Commerce Fraud Bureau;
• public and private agencies responsible for publicly financed assistance programs;
• the Department of Human Services and the Office of Inspector General;
• welfare agencies for monitoring the eligibility for assistance programs, identifying employment, wages, and other information;
• law enforcement agencies for the purpose of ascertaining the location of an individual who is the subject of a criminal investigation; and
• the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Corrections for the purpose purposes of case planning and internal research.

Except as authorized, data gathered on any person under the administration of the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Law would be private data.

Data could not be made the basis for any lawsuit unless the action is initiated by the department.