Section 6396 - Protection of trade secrets(a) The Director of Industrial Relations shall protect from disclosure any and all trade secrets coming into the director's possession, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 7924.510 of the Government Code, when requested in writing or by appropriate stamping or marking of documents by the manufacturer or producer of a mixture.(b) Any information reported to or otherwise obtained by the Director of Industrial Relations, or any of the director's representatives or employees, which is exempt from disclosure under subdivision (a), shall not be disclosed to anyone except an officer or employee of the state or of the United States of America, in connection with the official duties of that officer or employee under any law for the protection of health, or to contractors with the state and their employees if in the opinion of the director the disclosure is necessary and required for the satisfactory performance of a contract for performance of work in connection with this act.(c) Any officer or employee of the state, or former officer or employee, who by virtue of that employment or official position has obtained possession of or has access to material the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section, and who, knowing that disclosure of the material is prohibited, knowingly and willfully discloses the material in any manner to any person not entitled to receive it, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any contractor with the state and any employee of that contractor, who has been furnished information as authorized by this section, shall be considered to be an employee of the state for purposes of this section.(d) Information certified to by appropriate officials of the United States, as necessarily kept secret for national defense purposes, shall be accorded the full protections against disclosure as specified by that official or in accordance with the laws of the United States.(e)(1) The director, upon the director's own initiative, or upon receipt of a request pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code), for the release of data submitted and designated as a trade secret by an employer, manufacturer, or producer of a mixture, shall determine whether any or all of the data so submitted are a properly designated trade secret.(2) If the director determines that the data is not a trade secret, the director shall notify the employer, manufacturer, or producer of a mixture by certified mail.(3) The employer, manufacturer, or producer of a mixture shall have 15 days after receipt of notification to provide the director with a complete justification and statement of the grounds on which the trade secret privilege is claimed. This justification and statement shall be submitted by certified mail.(4) The director shall determine whether the data are protected as a trade secret within 15 days after receipt of the justification and statement, or if no justification and statement is filed, within 30 days of the original notice, and shall notify the employer or manufacturer and any party who has requested the data pursuant to the California Public Records Act of that determination by certified mail. If the director determines that the data are not protected as a trade secret, the final notice shall also specify a date, not sooner than 15 days after the date of mailing of the final notice, when the data shall be available to the public.(5) Prior to the date specified in the final notice, an employer, manufacturer, or producer of a mixture may institute an action in an appropriate superior court for a declaratory judgment as to whether the data are subjected to protection under subdivision (a).(f) This section does not authorize a manufacturer to refuse to disclose information required pursuant to this chapter to the director.Amended by Stats 2021 ch 615 (AB 474),s 326, eff. 1/1/2022, op. 1/1/2023.Amended by Stats. 1995, Ch. 91, Sec. 109. Effective January 1, 1996.