1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to employment; authorizing certain employees 
  1.3             to communicate certain threats; amending Minnesota 
  1.4             Statutes 1994, section 268A.05, subdivision 1, and by 
  1.5             adding a subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 268A.05, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [PUBLIC RECORDS; ACCESS.] The employees of 
  1.10  the department specifically authorized by the commissioner shall 
  1.11  have the right to receive from any public records the names, 
  1.12  addresses and information pertinent to their vocational 
  1.13  rehabilitation of persons injured or otherwise disabled.  Except 
  1.14  as provided in subdivision 2, No information obtained from these 
  1.15  reports, nor any copy of the same, nor any of the contents 
  1.16  thereof, nor other confidential information as defined by the 
  1.17  commissioner shall be open to the public, nor shall be disclosed 
  1.18  in any manner by any official or clerk or other employee of the 
  1.19  state having access thereto, but the same may be used, except as 
  1.20  provided in subdivision 2, solely to enable the department to 
  1.21  offer the benefits of vocational rehabilitation to the persons 
  1.22  injured or otherwise disabled. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 268A.05, is 
  1.24  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 3.  [THREATS; AUTHORIZATION TO COMMUNICATE.] When an 
  2.1   employee of the department has specific knowledge of a serious, 
  2.2   specific threat of physical violence against a specific, clearly 
  2.3   identified potential victim, by a vocational rehabilitation 
  2.4   client, the employee may communicate the serious, specific 
  2.5   threat to the potential victim and if unable to make contact 
  2.6   with the potential victim, may communicate the serious, specific 
  2.7   threat to the law enforcement agency closest to the potential 
  2.8   victim or the vocational rehabilitation client.  No liability 
  2.9   and no cause of action or disciplinary action may arise against 
  2.10  an employee for communicating to a third party in a good-faith 
  2.11  effort to warn against or take precautions against a client's 
  2.12  violent behavior.  The authorization to make reasonable efforts 
  2.13  to communicate a serious specific threat of physical violence 
  2.14  arises only under the circumstances specified in this 
  2.15  subdivision.