Executive Order  No. 26: (1st Series) Disclosure of employment information by Division of Employment Security to the U.S. government

WHEREAS, the Division of Employment Security has secured, pursuant to the provisions of General Laws (Ter. Ed.) chapter 151A, certain information relating to the experience, ability and employment history of persons who are or have been employed within this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, said information would be of great value to the government of the United States for the purpose of investigating the qualifications, capabilities and loyalty of persons who are employed or have applied for employment in offices of trust and confidence in connection with the prosecution of the war, or who are engaged in activities connected therewith; and

WHEREAS, the government of the United States, acting through the office of the Provost Marshal of the War Department, has requested that said information be made available to it in so far as said information relates to such employees, applicants or persons; and

WHEREAS, the provisions of section 46 of said chapter 151A prohibit the disclosure of said information to the government of the United States for the purpose of such investigation:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, LEVERETT SALTONSTALL, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, acting under the authority of Acts of 1941, chapter 719, section 7, Acts of 1942, chapter 13, and all other authority vested in me, do hereby issue this order as a measure necessary and expedient for meeting the supreme emergency of the existing war between the United States and certain foreign countries.

1. The Director of the Division of Employment Security is hereby authorized and empowered, to such extent as he deems advisable, to disclose information secured pursuant to General Laws (Ter. Ed.) chapter 151A, to and upon the written request of the War Department, the Navy Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or any other agency of the government of the United States lawfully charged with the investigation of persons who are employed or who have applied for employment in, or who are otherwise connected with, activities related to the prosecution of the existing war, in so far as said information relates directly or indirectly to such employees, applicants or persons.

2. In exercising the authority herein conferred, said Director, in his discretion, may require as a condition of disclosing such information written assurance that such information will be kept confidential and will be used only for the purpose of investigating such persons with respect to such employment or activities.

3. The provisions of General Laws (Ter. Ed.) chapter 151A, section 46, in so far as they are inconsistent with the authority herein conferred, are hereby suspended.

GIVEN at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this 6th day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and forty-two, and of the independence of the United States of America, the one hundred and sixty-seventh.

By His Excellency the Governor,
Leverett Saltonstall

Secretary of the Commonwealth