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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAi OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Texas Unemployment Compensation &m~ieslon 

Brown Building 

Austin, T e x a e 

(Pentlemen: 

es, 1940, aubmlte for 

following quaetion, 

‘Colleotion Dietriot of Texas: 

on with the administration of 

surance Contributions Act and the 

Federal Unemployment Tax Aot, (formml. Titles 

VIII and IX of the Soofal Seaurity Act T we have 

in aoms few casEa fauna it practloall~ imposslble to obtaln suffloient reoorde upon whloh to 

base our reoonmendatlon for assessments of taxes 

ageinst the employer. In some instancea we obtaln Information from the taxpayer that your offloe has previously made complete lnvestlgatlon 

in the same oase and -haa built up reoords sufficient to justify the aeaeesment and closing of 

the case. 
Texas Unemployment Compensation Comm:selon, Page E 

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ml In most of such oaeee the taxpayer lnalsts 

that he does not have in his files the oomplete 

data covering the audit. In such oases it would 

be of great assistance to thls offloe If we were 

privileged to obtain from you a transorlpt of 

your audit, or if we were prlvlleged to review 

your files in the case and obtain the neoeesary 

1nfor:mtIon to serve as a basis for aseesement 

of the taxee. 

“1.t will be appreciated if you will take 

thle matter up with the proper authorities and 

advlee what steps should be taken In caees of 

thl~ oharscter where we find It neoeosary to oall 

upon your office for such assistance. ’ 

*We shall appreciate your oplnlon as to 

whether this Commission may make Its records 

available to Mr. 80&‘&&l&l for the pumoeee lndloated in hls letter.. In thls connection your 

attetitlon 1s dlreated to &Ib6eOtiOnS 11 (ej and 

11 (1) of the Texas Uuzh@ployment Compensation 

Act (Artlole 5221b-9 (e) anff Q(l) Vernon’s Re- 

:,. vleed,,,C~vll %atuteo). * 

Article 52Plb-9 (e), Vernon's Annotated Retleea 

Civil Statutea of Texas , provides aa folk owe with respect 

to the recordr and reports involved in your Inquiry: 

*Records anU Reports: Eaoh employing unit 

shall keep true and aocurate employment reoordr, 

oontalnlng such information as the Commlsslon 

may prescribe and which 1s aeeeed necessary to 

the proper admlnlstratlon of thla Act. Suoh records shall be open to lnspectlon and subjedt . 

to being oopled by the ~ommlsslon or Its aaaM$prIced representatives et any reasonable time and 

ae often as may be ncessary. The Commission 

may require from any employing unlt any sworn 

or unsworn reports, with respect to persons employed by It, whioh the CornmissIon deems necesFary for the effect5.ve administration of this 

Act. Information thus obtslned shall not be 

published or be open to public lnepectlon (other 

veee ln the Dermoe OZ. 

the emploglng unit’s 

in any manner revealing 

identity, but any ol+.mant 
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Texas Unemployment Compeneatlon Commlsslon, Page 3 

at a hearing before an appeal tribunal or the 

Commission shall be supplied with lnrormatlon 

from such records to the extent neoessary for 

the proper presentation of his claim. Any employee or member of the Commission who violates 

any provision of this seatlon shall be fined 

not less than Twenty (Ir20.00) Dollars, nor more 

than Two Hundred ($~oo.oo) Dollars, or imprisonment for not longer than nlnety ~(90) d.ays,or 

both.” (Undersoorlng ours) 

Our opinion Ho. O-2416, directed to you under 

date of June 14, 1940 held that your wte Health Officer 

oame within the exoeption to the denial of pub110 lnapeotlon of the records and reports aee%rlbea in the abovei 

quoted statute, beoause suoh records were sought in furtheranoe of the pub110 .health and the control of ocoupatlonal 

health hazards, and he was therefore a public employee in 

the performanoe, of hls pub110 duties. Although, in the 

opinion referred to, the request to examine the reoorde 

ic‘- 

aid not emanate aireotly from a federal officer or agenor, 

as in the lnetanoe caee, it was nevertheless apparent from 

the factual statement submitted that the lnformat$oa sought 

and galne% fr~om Ahe reoords and ,repoYts OS’ the Unemployment Comoeneatlon Commission aotuUly and u&tlmately, and 

through the medium of the State aealth Offloer of Texas, 

came into the knowledge and possession of a federal board 

or agency, namely the United States Pzzbllc Health Servloe 

of Washington, D. C., which was oooperatlng with the State 

Department of Health upon a program of health promotion 

and conservation among the Industrial groups. To draw the 

analogy oloser, the United States Pub110 Health Servloe 

was or anlzed under the Federal Security Administration 

under g itle 6 of the Social Security Act, while the Callector of Internal Revenue in the instant oaee is seeking 

to use the reoorde in question to oolleat the federal unemployment tax under Titles VIII and IX of said Social 

Seourlty Act. 

Therefore upon the Drlnclple established in 

the opinion mentloneh and upon the bare text of the statute (whloh does not limit the opening of the records to 

pub110 employees of the State) we are inclined to accord 

a liberal and enlarged oonstruotlon to this exception to 

secrecy of the reoorde, and hold that the term *publlo 

employees in the performance of ~&BP public duties” ln- 

.- oludes as well ae proper state officials, sll federal officials, boards and agenoles, whose public or statutory 
C 

Texas Unemployment Compenaatlon CommIesion, Page 4 

duties under the Conetltutlon of the United States or Aote 

of Congress bear some reasonable and proper relatlon to 

the Soolal 3 eourlty Program, as related to Unemployment 

Compensation Ineurance, as aa to render the records and 

reports of the Unemployment Compensation GommIsssIon or Texas 

neoessary and proper for their examination andlnspeotton. 

Thea conclusion ia fortified. by the following 

provisions of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act: 

Article 5221b-9 (I) *State-Federal Cooperation: In the administration of this Act, the 

CornmIssIon shall cooperate to the fullest extent 

ooneletent with the rovlslons of this Aot with 

the Social Seourlty 8 aard, created by the bclal 

Securfty Aot, approved Auguet 14, 1935, as amended;. . . .* 

Article 5221b-9a". ; . . 

*The CommIseIon~may afford reasonable oooperation with every agency of the United States 

charged with the administration of any unemployment insurance law. . . . ,* ,, 

The Federal government and the various states of 

the Union, Including the State of Tedas, are engaged ln a 

program of cooperation and mutual seslstanoe for the permanent solution of the recubrent problems of unemployment 

common to both soverel.ntIes. 

-ii 

An examination or Titlee VIII 

and If of the Feeera oolal Seourlty Act, under which the 

taxee Fought to be aeseaee& by the Collector of,Internal 

Revenue are levied, demhnstrates that aame'were enacted by 

Congress ae an Inducement to the v::rIous states to enaot 

similar legislation for the relief of unemployment,-beoause 

a credit against t&e Federal tax.i.8 allowed'to employing 

units of the'varlous states for taxes paid to,state agencies 

under state Unemplpyment Compensation Acts. Moreover, 

Title III of the Social Security Act prcvides for granteIn-aid to the various states for Unemployment Comrensetion 

admInistratIve expenses.. 

Therefore, we see that the ebove-quoted provisions 

of the Texas Unemployment Compensltlon Act are but declaratory of the common purpose of the State tin8 Federal governzents to mutually assist and cooperate one with the other, 

in the furtherance cf the Social Security Program. Assistanoe 
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Texas Unemployment Compensation Commlselon, Page 5 

and cooperation to and with the Collector of Internal Bevenue for the First Collection District of Texas along the 

lines requested by him, Ie tantamount to oooperatlon with 

the Social Security Board, In keeping with this declared 

policy of the State; because said offIoIa1 In seeking reoorde to faollitate the assessment and oolhotlo 

sooial security, taxea, 1s acting for the Soolal 8 

of theee 

eourlty 

Board in the effective administration of the Soolal Seourlty Act. 

It Ie therefore our opinion that the Texas Unemployment Compensation Conmlsalon may properly and legally 

flermlt and allow Bon. Frank Soofleld, Colleotor of Internai 

evenue for the First Colleotion Dletrlot of Texas, his deputies and representatIvea, to lnspeot and review the oomplete flies or audits of the Commleelon uron any or all employing units In this State, or obtain transorlpts thereof, 

for them of asseeelng taxes against suoh employing 

unite under the applloable provlelone of the SooIal Seourlty 

Act. 

Trusting the foregoing fully answer6 your Inquiry, 

we are 

Xourm very truly 

ATWIMEX QEBEBAL OF TEXAS 

By (8) PAT H. NEFF, JR 

Pat W. Neil, Jr. 

Assistant 

PMN:LB 

APPROVED OCTOBER 25, 1940 a - 

(R) WflALD C. UANN 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

ATPROVED 

Opinion Committee 

By BWB 

Chairman