S.C. Code Regs. § § 71-912

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 10, October 25, 2024

Section 71-912 - Inter-Agency Transfer and Public Disclosure

A. Personally identifiable employee medical information shall not be transferred to another agency or office outside of SC/OSH or disclosed to the public (other than to the affected employee or the original recordholder) except when required by law or when approved by the Commissioner of Labor.

B. Except as provided in paragraph C below, the Commissioner of Labor shall not approve a request for an inter-agency transfer of personally identifiable employee medical information, which has not been consented to by the affected employees, unless the request is by a public health agency which:

(1) needs the requested information in a personally identifiable form for a substantial public health purpose,

(2) will not use the requested information to make individual determinations concerning affected employees which could be to their detriment,

(3) has regulations or established written procedures providing protection for personally identifiable medical information substantially equivalent to that of this subarticle, and

(4) satisfies an exemption to the Privacy Act to the extent that the Privacy Act applies to the requested information (See 5 U.S.C. 552) .

C. Upon the approval of the Commissioner of Labor, personally identifiable employee medical information may be transferred to:

(1) federal OSHA,

(2) the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),

(3) the South Carolina Attorney General's Office with respect to a specific action under South Carolina Statutes, and

(4) the U.S. Department of Justice with respect to a specific action under the Occupational Safety and Health Act or Privacy Act.

D. The Commissioner of Labor shall not approve a request for public disclosure of employee medical information containing direct personal identifiers unless there are compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of an individual.

E. The Commissioner of Labor shall not approve a request for public disclosure of employee medical information which contains information which could reasonably be used indirectly to identify specific employees when the disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy (See 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6) ).

F. Except as to inter-agency transfers as stated in paragraph C above, the SC/OSH Medical Records Officer shall assure that advance notice is provided to any collective bargaining agent representing affected employees and to the employer on each occasion that SC/OSH intends to either transfer personally identifiable employee medical information to another agency or disclose it to a member of the public other than to an affected employee. When feasible, the SC/OSH Medical Records Officer shall take reasonable steps to assure that advance notice is provided to affected employees when the employee medical information to be transferred or disclosed contains direct personal identifiers.

S.C. Code Regs. § 71-912