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Privacy policy

Thank you for visiting WorkSourceWA.com and reviewing the Employment Security Department (ESD) Privacy Notice. This statement addresses collection, use and security of and access to information that may be obtained through use of the WorkSourceWA.com website.

This notice covers the following topics:

  • Information collected and how it is used - Statistics are kept on any use of our website for the purpose of determining the value our site provides to its customers. Certain personal information will be asked only if you wish to enroll in a program WorkSource offers, and it will only be used for the purpose of doing WorkSource business.
  • Personal information and choice - Providing personal information is optional. It is most times necessary to provide services, but the choice is up to you.
  • Public access to information - ESD does not make any personal information you provide accessible to the public unless it is at your request or required through Public Disclosure law. ESD has a separate law that exempts from public disclosure personal information collected from job seekers and employers.
  • Nondisclosure of certain personal and private information - If you do not wish to provide personal and private information over the web you may be required to call ESD or come to an office to obtain certain services.
  • Review and correction of personally identifiable information - Through our Public Records Office we make available to you the opportunity to review and correct any personally identifiable information we may have collected about you.
  • Cookies - Some of our program's web pages utilize cookies with the intent of enhancing your experience using our website. A cookie stores information on the computer you are using to save time when you return or navigate to different parts of our site.
  • Security - While we cannot claim to be totally safe from hackers, we have put considerable planning and effort into making our data secure.
  • Disclaimer - You will find links in our website to other agencies, organizations and businesses outside our control to which this privacy notice will not apply.
  • Contact information - We have provided contact information below should you have any questions about our website or this privacy statement.

Information collected and how it is used

Information collected if you only browse this site
If you do nothing during your visit to our website but browse or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

  1. The Internet Protocol Address and domain name used. The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to your Internet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you. This address can be translated to determine the domain name of your service provider (e.g. xcompany.com or yourschool.edu);
  2. The type of browser and operating system you used;
  3. The date and time you visited this site;
  4. The web pages or services you accessed at this site;
  5. The website you visited prior to coming to this website.

The information we automatically collect or store is logged and used by Employment Security Department only to improve the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. We analyze this information to determine how our website is being used, so that we may continually improve the site's usefulness to the public.

What we collect if you volunteer information
If during your visit to our website you provide personal information, participate in a survey, send an email, or perform some other transaction online, the following additional information will be collected:

  1. The email address, and contents of email, for those who communicate with us via email;
  2. Information volunteered in response to a survey;
  3. Information volunteered through an online form for any other purpose.

The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us.

We use your email to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you may identify, to further improve our website, or to forward the email to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information is used to supplement the log file and improve customer satisfaction.

Personal information collected for your WorkSourceWA.com account is kept confidential and can only be accessed by WorkSource staff. The name and contact information is used by staff when it is necessary to contact you for employment purposes. None of the contact information collected will be displayed on the Internet unless you elect to do so. Your social security number is used to transfer information to WorkSource offices and other databases, and to report performance to our federal funding source. Only WorkSource staff have access to this information.

"Legally entitled to work in the US”, veteran questions and demographic information we collect is required for Federal reporting purposes. Your location and employment history is used to support the résumé search feature used by employers to search for potential job candidates. Your résumé text will appear on the Internet only if you choose to have it published. Your résumé text will be sent to employers only if you apply online for a job listed in the WorkSource jobs database.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily provide it to us by sending us email, participating in a survey, or completing an online form. You may choose not to contact us by email, participate in a survey or to provide any personal information using an online form. Your choice to not participate in these activities will not impair your ability to browse our website, and read or download any information provided on the site.

If personal information is requested on the website or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law. If you believe that your personal and/or private information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact the Public Records Officer as shown in the Contact Information Section of this statement. Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children online or by email will be treated the same as information given by an adult, and may be subject to public access.

Public access to information
In the State of Washington, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve various needs including the privacy of individuals. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws. All of the information collected at this site becomes public records that may be subject to inspection and copying by members of the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

RCW 42.17. 260(1) states that each agency, in accordance with published rules, shall make available for public inspection and copying all public records, unless the record falls within the specific exemptions of subsection (6) of this section [RCW 42.17.260(6)], RCW 42.17.310, 42.17.315, or other statute which exempts or prohibits disclosure of specific information or records. To the extent required to prevent an unreasonable invasion of personal privacy interests protected by RCW 42.17.310 and 42.17.315, an agency shall delete identifying details in a manner consistent with RCW 42.17.310 and 42.17.315 when it makes available or publishes any public record; however, in each case, the justification for the deletion shall be explained fully in writing.

RCW 50.13 also exists and is intended to reconcile access to public records granted by the open government act and the discovery rights of judicial and administrative systems with the historical confidentiality of records of the department of employment security and the individual's right of privacy as acknowledged by the open government act. It also supersedes any provisions of RCW 42.17 to the contrary.

Nondisclosure of certain personal and private information
Employment Security Department may ask you to provide certain personal and private information in order to return certain functions. Sharing of the information among WorkSource partners allows you to receive services from them without having to give the same information to each of the partners. You may choose not to provide this information, however, in order to take advantage of the services WorkSource partners offer, you will need to give each one of them information about yourself.

Review and correction of personally identifiable information
You can review any personally identifiable information we collect about you by using the information in the Contact Information section at the end of this Notice. You may recommend changes to your personally identifiable information you believe to be inaccurate by submitting an email or written request that credibly shows the inaccuracy. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. (RCW 43.105.310)

Cookies
To better serve our users we use "session cookies" to store session information and saved search results. Cookies are simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser. Session cookies created on your computer by using this website do not contain personally identifying information and do not compromise your privacy or security. We use the cookie feature to store a random number to identify a unique user session. A session cookie is one which is stored in RAM rather than on disk, and is deleted at the end of the browser session. These cookies can only be read by the originating server, and contain a Session ID - a randomly generated number which identifies the browser session to the web server. This ID is used to manage memory resources, and is not necessary for the site to function. You can disable cookies and the WorkSource website will still function without the benefit of a Session ID. You will notice a slight decrease in performance. Saved job search and résumé search results are stored using cookies. If cookies are disabled, employers will not be able to save résumés, and job seekers will not be able to save jobs or apply for jobs online.

Security
The Employment Security Department, as developer and manager of the WorkSourceWA.com website, has taken several steps to safeguard the integrity of its data and prevent unauthorized access to information maintained by Employment Security Department. These measures are designed and intended to prevent corruption of data, block unknown or unauthorized access to our systems and information, and to provide reasonable protection of private information in our possession. This information should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided via Employment Security websites.

Disclaimer
The WorkSourceWA.com website has many links to other websites. These include links to websites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on the Employment Security Department website and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another website, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

Neither the State of Washington, nor any agency, officer, or employee of the State of Washington warrants the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information published by this system, nor endorses any content, viewpoints, products, or services linked from this system, and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance on the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of such information. Portions of such information may be incorrect or not current. Any person or entity that relies on any information obtained from this system does so at their own risk.

Employment Security's contact information
You may contact Employment Security Department as follows:

To review your personal information, or request correction of your personal information:

  • Records Disclosure Officer
  • Employment Security Department
  • P O Box 9046
  • Olympia, WA 98504
  • FAX: 866-610-9225
  • Phone: 360-292-6036
  • E-mail: RecordsDisclosure@esd.wa.gov

To offer comments about WorkSourceWA.com or about the information presented in this Privacy Notice:

  • WorkSourceWA.com Help Desk
  • Employment Security Department
  • P O Box 9046
  • Olympia, WA 98504
  • Phone: (360) 407-1389
  • E-mail: work@esd.wa.gov