Employee Identification numbers classified as not public data provision

A bill for an act

relating to data practices; classifying employee identification numbers as not public

data; amending Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 13.43, subdivision

2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 13.43, subdivision 2, is amended

to read:

Subd. 2.

Public data.

(a) Except for employees described in subdivision 5 and subject

to the limitations described in subdivision 5a, the following personnel data on current and

former employees, volunteers, and independent contractors of a government entity is public:

(1) name;
deleted text begin
employee identification number, which must not be the employee's Social

Security number;
deleted text end
actual gross salary; salary range; terms and conditions of employment

relationship; contract fees; actual gross pension; the value and nature of employer paid

fringe benefits; and the basis for and the amount of any added remuneration, including

expense reimbursement, in addition to salary;

(2) job title and bargaining unit; job description; education and training background;

and previous work experience;

(3) date of first and last employment;

(4) the existence and status of any complaints or charges against the employee, regardless

of whether the complaint or charge resulted in a disciplinary action;

(5) the final disposition of any disciplinary action together with the specific reasons for

the action and data documenting the basis of the action, excluding data that would identify

confidential sources who are employees of the public body;

(6) the complete terms of any agreement settling any dispute arising out of an employment

relationship, including a buyout agreement as defined in section
123B.143, subdivision 2
,

paragraph (a); except that the agreement must include specific reasons for the agreement if

it involves the payment of more than $10,000 of public money;

(7) work location; a work telephone number; badge number; work-related continuing

education; and honors and awards received; and

(8) payroll time sheets or other comparable data that are only used to account for

employee's work time for payroll purposes, except to the extent that release of time sheet

data would reveal the employee's reasons for the use of sick or other medical leave or other

not public data.

(b) For purposes of this subdivision, a final disposition occurs when the government

entity makes its final decision about the disciplinary action, regardless of the possibility of

any later proceedings or court proceedings. Final disposition includes a resignation by an

individual when the resignation occurs after the final decision of the government entity, or

arbitrator. In the case of arbitration proceedings arising under collective bargaining

agreements, a final disposition occurs at the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings, or

upon the failure of the employee to elect arbitration within the time provided by the collective

bargaining agreement. A disciplinary action does not become public data if an arbitrator

sustains a grievance and reverses all aspects of any disciplinary action.

(c) The government entity may display a photograph of a current or former employee

to a prospective witness as part of the government entity's investigation of any complaint

or charge against the employee.

(d) A complainant has access to a statement provided by the complainant to a government

entity in connection with a complaint or charge against an employee.

(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), clause (5), and subject to paragraph (f), upon

completion of an investigation of a complaint or charge against a public official, or if a

public official resigns or is terminated from employment while the complaint or charge is

pending, all data relating to the complaint or charge are public, unless access to the data

would jeopardize an active investigation or reveal confidential sources. For purposes of this

paragraph, "public official" means:

(1) the head of a state agency and deputy and assistant state agency heads;

(2) members of boards or commissions required by law to be appointed by the governor

or other elective officers;

(3) members of the Metropolitan Council appointed by the governor under section

473.123, subdivision 3
;

(4) executive or administrative heads of departments, bureaus, divisions, or institutions

within state government; and

(5) the following employees:

(i) the chief administrative officer, or the individual acting in an equivalent position, in

all political subdivisions;

(ii) individuals required to be identified by a political subdivision pursuant to section

471.701
;

(iii) in a city or a county: managers; chiefs; heads or directors of departments, divisions,

bureaus, or boards; and any equivalent position;

(iv) in a school district: business managers; human resource directors; athletic directors

whose duties include at least 50 percent of their time spent in administration, personnel,

supervision, and evaluation; chief financial officers; directors; individuals defined as

superintendents and principals under Minnesota Rules, part
3512.0100
; and in a charter

school, individuals employed in comparable positions; and

(v) in the Metropolitan Council, a public corporation and political subdivision of the

state established under chapter 473: the chair of the Metropolitan Council appointed by the

governor; the regional administrator appointed as the principal administrative officer by the

Metropolitan Council under section
473.125
; the deputy regional administrator; the general

counsel appointed by the Metropolitan Council under section
473.123, subdivision 8
; the

executive heads of divisions, including the general managers and executive directors; the

executive head responsible for compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity provisions

of federal law; and the chief law enforcement officer of the Metropolitan Transit Police

appointed by the regional administrator under section
473.407, subdivision 4
.

(f) Data relating to a complaint or charge against an employee identified under paragraph

(e), clause (5), are public only if:

(1) the complaint or charge results in disciplinary action or the employee resigns or is

terminated from employment while the complaint or charge is pending; or

(2) potential legal claims arising out of the conduct that is the subject of the complaint

or charge are released as part of a settlement agreement.

This paragraph and paragraph (e) do not authorize the release of data that are made not

public under other law.