34:15-128 Limited right to inspect, copy records.

1. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of the chapter to which this act is a supplement or of any other law, no records maintained by the Division of Workers' Compensation or the Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau shall be disclosed to any person who seeks disclosure of the records for the purpose of selling or furnishing for a consideration to others information from those records or reports or abstracts of workers' compensation records or work-injury records pertaining to any claimant. No information shall be disclosed from those records to any person not in the division, unless:

(1) The information is provided in a manner which makes it impossible to identify any claimant;

(2) The records are opened for the exclusive purpose of permitting a claimant, employer, insurance carrier or authorized agent of the claimant, employer or insurance carrier to conduct an investigation by or on behalf of the claimant, employer or insurance carrier in connection with any pending workers' compensation case to which the claimant, employer or insurance carrier is a party, and the party seeking access to the records certifies to the division that the information from the records will be used only for purposes directly related to the case;

(3) The records are opened for the exclusive purpose of permitting a third party directly involved in a workers' compensation case, including any workers' compensation lienholders, or an authorized agent of the third party, to conduct an investigation by or on behalf of the third party in connection with the case, and the party seeking access to the records certifies to the division that the information from the records will be used only for purposes directly related to the case;

(4) The records are subpoenaed by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1983, c.320 (C.17:33A-10) or by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil or criminal proceeding;

(5) The division provides the information to another governmental agency pursuant to law, for a duly recognized purpose of that agency, which agency shall not subsequently disclose any of the information to any person, organization, entity or governmental agency not entitled to receive the information from the Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau or the Division of Workers' Compensation pursuant to the workers' compensation law, R.S. 34:15-1 et seq.; or

(6) The information is information about the claimant requested by the claimant, in which case the division shall disclose the information and the claimant shall not be charged fees in excess of the cost of providing copies of the information.

b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no information from records maintained by the Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau pertaining to any work injury or illness or workers' compensation claim shall be disclosed to any business or other member of the public unless the bureau discloses the information in a manner which makes it impossible to identify the claimant.

c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no information provided by the division to any other governmental agency pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be disclosed by the agency to any business or other member of the public unless the information is disclosed to the business or other member of the public in a manner which makes it impossible to identify the claimant.

d. Notwithstanding the restrictions on disclosure set forth under subsections a. through c. of this section, a claimant may authorize the release of records of the claimant to a specific person not otherwise authorized to receive the records, by submitting written authorization for the release to the division specifically directing the division to release workers' compensation records to that person. However, no such authorization directing disclosure of records to a prospective employer shall be valid, nor shall an authorization permitting disclosure of records in connection with assessing fitness or capability for employment be valid, and no disclosure of records shall be made with respect thereto, unless requested pursuant to and consistent with the federal "Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990," 42 U.S.C. s.12101 et seq. and the "Law Against Discrimination," P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.). It shall be unlawful for any person to consider for the purpose of assessing eligibility for a benefit, or as the basis for an employment-related action, an individual's failure to provide authorization under this subsection.

L.1966,c.164,s.1; amended 2001, c.326, s.4.