Chapter 4121-4 | Accessing Confidential Personal Information

Rule 4121-4-01 | Definitions.

• Effective: October 1, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

For the purposes of this chapter of the Administrative Code:

(A) "Access" as a noun means an instance of copying, viewing, or otherwise perceiving, whereas "access" as a verb means to copy, view, or otherwise perceive.

(B) "Acquisition of a new computer system" means the purchase of a "computer system," as defined in this rule, that is not a computer system currently in place nor one for which the acquisition process has been initiated as of the effective date of the commission rule addressing requirements in section 1347.15 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Computer system" means a "system," as defined by section 1347.01 of the Revised Code, that stores, maintains, or retrieves personal information using electronic data processing equipment.

(D) "Confidential personal information" (CPI) has the meaning as defined by division (A)(1) of section 1347.15 of the Revised Code and identified by rules promulgated by the commission in accordance with division (B)(3) of section 1347.15 of the Revised Code that reference the federal or state statutes or administrative rules that make personal information maintained by the commission confidential.

(E) "Employee of the commission" means each employee of the commission regardless of whether he or she holds an appointed office or position within the commission. "Employee of the commission" is limited to the commission.

(F) "Incidental contact" means contact with the information that is secondary or tangential to the primary purpose of the activity that resulted in the contact.

(G) "Individual" means a natural person or the natural person's authorized representative, legal counsel, legal custodian, or legal guardian.

(H) "Information owner" means the individual appointed in accordance with division (A) of section 1347.05 of the Revised Code to be directly responsible for a system.

(I) "Person" means a natural person.

(J) "Personal information" has the same meaning as defined in division (E) of section 1347.01 of the Revised Code.

(K) "Personal information system" means a "system" that "maintains" "personal information" as those terms are defined in section 1347.01 of the Revised Code. "System" includes manual and computer systems.

(L) "Research" means a methodical investigation into a subject.

(M) "Routine" means commonplace, regular, habitual, or ordinary.

(N) "Routine information that is maintained for the purpose of internal office administration, the use of which would not adversely affect a person" as that phrase is used in division (F) of section 1347.01 of the Revised Code, means personal information relating to the commission's employees and maintained by the commission for administrative and human resource purposes.

(O) "System" has the same meaning as defined by division (F) section 1347.01 of the Revised Code.

(P) "Upgrade" means a substantial redesign of an existing computer system for the purpose of providing a substantial amount of new application functionality, or application modifications that would involve substantial administrative or fiscal resources to implement, but would not include maintenance, minor updates and patches, or modifications that entail a limited addition of functionality due to changes in business or legal requirements.

Last updated November 14, 2024 at 1:44 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15, 4121.30, 4121.31
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 2/1/2025

Rule 4121-4-02 | Procedures for Accessing Confidential Personal Information.

• Effective: October 1, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

For personal information systems, whether manual or computer systems that contain confidential personal information, the commission shall do the following:

(A) Criteria for accessing confidential personal information. Personal information systems of the commission are managed on a "need-to-know" basis whereby the information owner determines the level of access required for an employee of the commission to fulfill his or her job duties. The determination of access to confidential personal information shall be approved by the employee's supervisor and the information owner prior to providing the employee with access to confidential personal information within a personal information system. The commission shall establish procedures for determining a revision to an employee's access to confidential personal information upon a change to that employee's job duties including, but not limited to, transfer or termination. Whenever an employee's job duties no longer require access to confidential personal information in a personal information system, the employee's access to confidential personal information shall be removed.

(B) Individual's request for a list of confidential personal information. Upon the signed written request of any individual for a list of confidential personal information about the individual maintained by the commission, the commission shall do all of the following:

(1) Verify the identity of the individual by a method that provides safeguards commensurate with the risk associated with the confidential personal information;

(2) Provide to the individual the list of confidential personal information that does not relate to an investigation about the individual or is otherwise not excluded from the scope of Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code; and

(3) If all information relates to an investigation about that individual, inform the individual that the commission has no confidential personal information about the individual that is responsive to the individual's request.

(C) Notice of invalid access.

(1) Upon discovery or notification that confidential personal information of a person has been accessed by an employee of the commission for an invalid reason, the commission shall notify the person whose information was invalidly accessed as soon as practical and to the extent known at the time. However, the commission shall delay notification for a period of time necessary to ensure that the notification would not delay or impede an investigation or jeopardize homeland or national security. Additionally, the commission may delay the notification consistent with any measures necessary to determine the scope of the invalid access, including which individuals' confidential personal information invalidly was accessed, and to restore the reasonable integrity of the system.

"Investigation" as used in this paragraph means the investigation of the circumstances and involvement of an employee surrounding the invalid access of the confidential personal information. Once the commission determines that notification would not delay or impede an investigation, the commission shall disclose the access to confidential personal information made for an invalid reason to the person.

(2) Notification provided by the commission shall inform the person of the type of confidential personal information accessed and the date(s) of the invalid access.

(3) Notification may be made by any method reasonably designed to accurately inform the person of the invalid access, including written, electronic, or telephone notice.

(D) Appointment of a data privacy point of contact. The chairperson shall designate an employee of the commission to serve as the data privacy point of contact. The data privacy point of contact shall work with the chief privacy officer within the office of information technology to assist the commission with both the implementation of privacy protections for the confidential personal information that the commission maintains and compliance with section 1347.15 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted pursuant to the authority provided by that chapter.

(E) Completion of a privacy impact assessment. The chairperson shall designate an employee of the commission to serve as the data privacy point of contact who shall timely complete the privacy impact assessment form developed by the office of information technology.

Last updated November 14, 2024 at 1:44 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15, 4121.30, 4121.31
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 2/1/2025

Rule 4121-4-03 | Valid Reasons for Accessing Confidential Personal Information.

• Effective: October 1, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

Pursuant to the requirements of division (B)(2) of section 1347.15 of the Revised Code, this rule contains a list of valid reasons, directly related to the commission's exercise of its powers or duties, for which only employees of the commission may access confidential personal information (CPI) regardless of whether the personal information system is a manual system or computer system:

(A) Performing the following functions constitute valid reasons for authorized employees of the commission to access confidential personal information:

(1) Responding to a public records request;

(2) Responding to a request from an individual for the list of CPI the commission maintains on that individual;

(3) Administering a constitutional provision or duty;

(4) Administering a statutory provision or duty;

(5) Administering an administrative rule provision or duty;

(6) Complying with any state or federal program requirements;

(7) Processing or payment of claims or otherwise administering a program with individual participants or beneficiaries;

(8) Auditing purposes;

(9) Eligibility or filing processes;

(10) Investigation or law enforcement purposes;

(11) Administrative hearings;

(12) Litigation, complying with an order of the court, or subpoena;

(13) Human resource matters (e.g., hiring, promotion, demotion, discharge, salary/compensation issues, leave requests/issues, time card approvals/issues);

(14) Complying with an executive order or policy;

(15) Complying with commission policy or a state administrative policy issued by the department of administrative services, the office of budget and management or other similar state agency; or

(16) Complying with a collective bargaining agreement provision.

(B) To the extent that the general processes described in paragraph (A) of this rule do not cover the following circumstances, for the purpose of carrying out specific duties of the commission, authorized employees would also have valid reasons for accessing CPI in these following circumstances:

(1) Where the employee of the commission is researching, reviewing, or otherwise administering a duty as set forth in Chapter 4121, 4123, or 4131 of the Revised Code or Article II, Section 35 of the Ohio Constitution;

(2) Where the employee of the commission is researching, reviewing, or otherwise administering a duty as set forth in agencies 4121, 4123, and 4125 of the Administrative Code;

(3) Where the employee of the commission accesses the CPI in accordance with routine job duties;

(4) Where the employee of the commission is responding to a request by a party or their authorized representative to take some action with respect to the claim;

(5) Where the employee of the commission is responding to a request by an authorized employee of a governmental agency whose official duties require the information to take some action with respect to a claim file.

Last updated November 14, 2024 at 1:44 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15, 4121.30, 4121.31
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 2/1/2025

Rule 4121-4-04 | Confidentiality Statutes.

• Effective: October 1, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

The following federal and state regulations, statutes, and administrative rules make personal information maintained by the commission confidential and identify the confidential personal information within the scope of rules promulgated by this agency in accordance with section 1347.15 of the Revised Code:

(A) Social security numbers: 5 U.S.C. 522a, unless the individual was told the number would be disclosed.

(B) "Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Information" criminal records check results: section 4776.04 of the Revised Code.

(C) Information contained in a worker's compensation claim file: section 4121.10, division (E) of section 4121.36 and section 4123.88 of the Revised Code; rule 4121-3-22 of the Administrative Code.

(D) Information made available to a quality assurance committee of the commission that is responsible for reviewing the professional qualifications and the performance of providers conducting medical examinations or file reviews for the bureau or the commission: sections 2305.24 and 2305.25 of the Revised Code.

Last updated August 23, 2023 at 10:14 AM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15
Amplifies: 1347.15, 4121.30, 4121.31
Five Year Review Date: 2/1/2025

Rule 4121-4-05 | Restricting and logging access to confidential personal information in computerized personal information systems.

• Effective: October 1, 2010
• Promulgated Under: 119.03

For personal information systems that are computer systems and contain confidential personal information, the commission shall do the following:

(A) Access restrictions. Access to confidential personal information that is kept electronically shall require a password or other authentication measure.

(B) Acquisition of a new computer system. When the commission acquires a new computer system that stores, manages or contains confidential personal information, the commission shall include a mechanism for recording specific access by employees of the commission to confidential personal information in the system.

(C) Upgrading existing computer systems. When the commission modifies an existing computer system that stores, manages or contains confidential personal information, the commission shall make a determination whether the modification constitutes an upgrade. Any upgrades to a computer system shall include a mechanism for recording specific access by employees of the commission to confidential personal information in the system.

(D) Logging requirements regarding confidential personal information in existing computer systems.

(1) The commission shall require employees of the commission who access confidential personal information within computer systems to maintain a log that records that access.

(2) Access to confidential information is not required to be entered into the log under the following circumstances:

(a) The employee of the commission is accessing confidential personal information for official commission purposes, including research, and the access is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically named individuals.

(b) The employee of the commission is accessing confidential personal information for routine office procedures and the access is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically named individuals.

(c) The employee of the commission comes into incidental contact with confidential personal information and the access of the information is not specifically directed toward a specifically named individual or a group of specifically named individuals.

(d) The employee of the commission accesses confidential personal information about an individual based upon a request made under either of the following circumstances:

(i) The individual requests confidential personal information about himself/herself.

(ii) The individual, or his or her authorized representative, makes a request that the employee of the commission take some action on that individual's behalf and accessing the confidential personal information is required in order to consider or process that request.

(3) For purposes of this paragraph, the commission may choose the form or forms of logging, whether in electronic or paper formats.

(E) Log management. The commission shall issue a policy that specifies the following:

(1) Who shall maintain the log;

(2) What information shall be captured in the log;

(3) How the log is to be stored; and

(4) How long information kept in the log is to be retained.

Nothing in this rule limits the commission from requiring logging in any circumstance that it deems necessary.

Last updated November 14, 2024 at 1:44 PM

Supplemental Information

Authorized By: 1347.15, 4121.30, 4121.31
Amplifies: 1347.15
Five Year Review Date: 2/1/2025