Section 309 of the Workforce Investment Act (PL 105-220) codified:

CITE-
    29 USC Sec. 49l-2                                           01/19/04

-EXPCITE-
    TITLE 29 - LABOR
    CHAPTER 4B - FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

-HEAD-
    Sec. 49l-2. Employment statistics

-STATUTE-

    (a) System content
      (1) In general
      The Secretary, in accordance with the provisions of this
      section, shall oversee the development, maintenance, and
      continuous improvement of a nationwide employment statistics
      system of employment statistics that includes - 
        (A) statistical data from cooperative statistical survey and
        projection programs and data from administrative reporting
        systems that, taken together, enumerate, estimate, and project
        employment opportunities and conditions at national, State, and
        local levels in a timely manner, including statistics on - 
          (i) employment and unemployment status of national, State,
          and local populations, including self-employed, part-time,
          and seasonal workers;
          (ii) industrial distribution of occupations, as well as
          current and projected employment opportunities, wages,
          benefits (where data is available), and skill trends by
          occupation and industry, with particular attention paid to
          State and local conditions;
          (iii) the incidence of, industrial and geographical
          location of, and number of workers displaced by, permanent
          layoffs and plant closings; and
          (iv) employment and earnings information maintained in a
          longitudinal manner to be used for research and program
          evaluation;

        (B) information on State and local employment opportunities,
        and other appropriate statistical data related to labor market
        dynamics, which - 
          (i) shall be current and comprehensive;
          (ii) shall meet the needs identified through the
          consultations described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
          subsection (e)(2) of this section; and
          (iii) shall meet the needs for the information identified
          in section 134(d); (!1)


        (C) technical standards (which the Secretary shall publish
        annually) for data and information described in subparagraphs
        (A) and (B) that, at a minimum, meet the criteria of chapter 35
        of title 44;
        (D) procedures to ensure compatibility and additivity of the
        data and information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B)
        from national, State, and local levels;
        (E) procedures to support standardization and aggregation of
        data from administrative reporting systems described in
        subparagraph (A) of employment-related programs;
        (F) analysis of data and information described in
        subparagraphs (A) and (B) for uses such as - 
          (i) national, State, and local policymaking;
          (ii) implementation of Federal policies (including
          allocation formulas);
          (iii) program planning and evaluation; and
          (iv) researching labor market dynamics;

        (G) wide dissemination of such data, information, and
        analysis in a user-friendly manner and voluntary technical
        standards for dissemination mechanisms; and
        (H) programs of - 
          (i) training for effective data dissemination;
          (ii) research and demonstration; and
          (iii) programs and technical assistance.
    (2) Information to be confidential
        (A) In general
        No officer or employee of the Federal Government or agent of
        the Federal Government may - 
          (i) use any submission that is furnished for exclusively
          statistical purposes under the provisions of this section for
          any purpose other than the statistical purposes for which the
          submission is furnished;
          (ii) make any publication or media transmittal of the data
          contained in the submission described in clause (i) that
          permits information concerning individual subjects to be
          reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means; or
          (iii) permit anyone other than a sworn officer, employee,
          or agent of any Federal department or agency, or a contractor
          (including an employee of a contractor) of such department or
          agency, to examine an individual submission described in
          clause (i);

        without the consent of the individual, agency, or other person
        who is the subject of the submission or provides that
        submission.
      	(B) Immunity from legal process
        Any submission (including any data derived from the
        submission) that is collected and retained by a Federal
        department or agency, or an officer, employee, agent, or
        contractor of such a department or agency, for exclusively
        statistical purposes under this section shall be immune from
        the legal process and shall not, without the consent of the
        individual, agency, or other person who is the subject of the
        submission or provides that submission, be admitted as evidence
        or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial
        or administrative proceeding.
        (C) Rule of construction
        Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide
        immunity from the legal process for such submission (including
        any data derived from the submission) if the submission is in
        the possession of any person, agency, or entity other than the
        Federal Government or an officer, employee, agent, or
        contractor of the Federal Government, or if the submission is
        independently collected, retained, or produced for purposes
        other than the purposes of this chapter.
  (b) System responsibilities
    (1) In general
      	The employment statistics system described in subsection (a) of
      	this section shall be planned, administered, overseen, and
      	evaluated through a cooperative governance structure involving
      	the Federal Government and States.
    (2) Duties
      	The Secretary, with respect to data collection, analysis, and
      	dissemination of labor employment statistics for the system,
      	shall carry out the following duties:
        (A) Assign responsibilities within the Department of Labor
        for elements of the employment statistics system described in
        subsection (a) of this section to ensure that all statistical
        and administrative data collected is consistent with
        appropriate Bureau of Labor Statistics standards and
        definitions.
        (B) Actively seek the cooperation of other Federal agencies
        to establish and maintain mechanisms for ensuring
        complementarity and nonduplication in the development and
        operation of statistical and administrative data collection
        activities.
        (C) Eliminate gaps and duplication in statistical
        undertakings, with the systemization of wage surveys as an
        early priority.
        (D) In collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and
        States, develop and maintain the elements of the employment
        statistics system described in subsection (a) of this section,
        including the development of consistent procedures and
        definitions for use by the States in collecting the data and
        information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
        subsection (a)(1) of this section.
        (E) Establish procedures for the system to ensure that - 
          (i) such data and information are timely;
          (ii) paperwork and reporting for the system are reduced to
          a minimum; and
          (iii) States and localities are fully involved in the
          development and continuous improvement of the system at all
          levels, including ensuring the provision, to such States and
          localities, of budget information necessary for carrying out
          their responsibilities under subsection (e) of this section.
  (c) Annual plan
     The Secretary, working through the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
     and in cooperation with the States, and with the assistance of
     other appropriate Federal agencies, shall prepare an annual plan
     which shall be the mechanism for achieving cooperative management
     of the nationwide employment statistics system described in
     subsection (a) of this section and the statewide employment
     statistics systems that comprise the nationwide system. The plan
     shall - 
     (1) describe the steps the Secretary has taken in the preceding
     year and will take in the following 5 years to carry out the
     duties described in subsection (b)(2) of this section;
     (2) include a report on the results of an annual consumer
     satisfaction review concerning the performance of the system,
     including the performance of the system in addressing the needs
     of Congress, States, localities, employers, jobseekers, and other
     consumers;
     (3) evaluate the performance of the system and recommend needed
     improvements, taking into consideration the results of the
     consumer satisfaction review, with particular attention to the
     improvements needed at the State and local levels;
     (4) justify the budget request for annual appropriations by
     describing priorities for the fiscal year succeeding the fiscal
     year in which the plan is developed and priorities for the 5
     subsequent fiscal years for the system;
     (5) describe current (as of the date of the submission of the
     plan) spending and spending needs to carry out activities under
     this section, including the costs to States and localities of
     meeting the requirements of subsection (e)(2) of this section;
     and
     (6) describe the involvement of States in the development of
     the plan, through formal consultations conducted by the Secretary
     in cooperation with representatives of the Governors of every
     State, and with representatives of local workforce investment
     boards, pursuant to a process established by the Secretary in
     cooperation with the States.
  (d) Coordination with the States
    The Secretary, working through the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
    and in cooperation with the States, shall - 
     (1) develop the annual plan described in subsection (c) of this
      section and address other employment statistics issues by holding
      formal consultations, at least once each quarter (beginning with
      the calendar quarter in which the Workforce Investment Act of
      1998 is enacted) on the products and administration of the
      nationwide employment statistics system; and
      (2) hold the consultations with representatives from each of
      the 10 Federal regions of the Department of Labor, elected
      (pursuant to a process established by the Secretary) by and from
      the State employment statistics directors affiliated with the
      State agencies that perform the duties described in subsection
      (e)(2) of this section.
  (e) State responsibilities
     (1) Designation of State agency
      In order to receive Federal financial assistance under this
      section, the Governor of a State shall - 
        (A) designate a single State agency to be responsible for the
        management of the portions of the employment statistics system
        described in subsection (a) of this section that comprise a
        statewide employment statistics system and for the State's
        participation in the development of the annual plan; and
        (B) establish a process for the oversight of such system.
    (2) Duties
      In order to receive Federal financial assistance under this
      section, the State agency shall - 
        (A) consult with State and local employers, participants, and
        local workforce investment boards about the labor market
        relevance of the data to be collected and disseminated through
        the statewide employment statistics system;
        (B) consult with State educational agencies and local
        educational agencies concerning the provision of employment
        statistics in order to meet the needs of secondary school and
        postsecondary school students who seek such information;
        (C) collect and disseminate for the system, on behalf of the
        State and localities in the State, the information and data
        described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(1) of
        this section;
        (D) maintain and continuously improve the statewide
        employment statistics system in accordance with this section;
        (E) perform contract and grant responsibilities for data
        collection, analysis, and dissemination for such system;
        (F) conduct such other data collection, analysis, and
        dissemination activities as will ensure an effective statewide
        employment statistics system;
        (G) actively seek the participation of other State and local
        agencies in data collection, analysis, and dissemination
        activities in order to ensure complementarity, compatibility,
        and usefulness of data;
        (H) participate in the development of the annual plan
        described in subsection (c) of this section; and
        (I) utilize the quarterly records described in section
        136(f)(2) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 [29 U.S.C.
        2871(f)(2)] to assist the State and other States in measuring
        State progress on State performance measures.
    (3) Rule of construction
      Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the
      ability of a State agency to conduct additional data collection,
      analysis, and dissemination activities with State funds or with
      Federal funds from sources other than this section.
  (f) Nonduplication requirement
    None of the functions and activities carried out pursuant to this
    section shall duplicate the functions and activities carried out
    under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
    Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.).
  (g) Authorization of appropriations
    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
    such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1999
    through 2004.
  (h) "Local area" defined
    In this section, the term "local area" means the smallest
    geographical area for which data can be produced with statistical
    reliability.


Labor Market Information