Personnel
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Town of South Hill v. Hawkins (COA)
The Court of Appeals affirms the trial court’s decisions requiring several documents to be released with minimal redactions. They do not constitute personnel information as defined by the Virginia Supreme Court (the first time this case went through the appeals process) because disclosure would not be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to a reasonable…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-24
FOIA affirmatively requires that “records of the name, position, job classification, official salary, or rate of pay of, and records of the allowances or reimbursements for expenses paid to, any officer, official, or employee of a public body” be made available to the public. However, while the Virginia personnel information exemption requires the release of…
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Minium v. Chesterfield County (circuit court)
A Chesterfield County Circuit Court ruled that the Chesterfield Police Department can redact names of many of its officers from a spreadsheet of salary information because those officers can be used for undercover operations at any time.
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Minium v. Hines (Hanover Circuit Court)
Hanover Circuit Court says the names of most officers in the Hanover Sheriff’s office can be kept off of a spreadsheet of department salaries because some of those officers might one day work undercover.
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Hawkins v. South Hill (remand)
Mecklenburg Circuit Court judge orders release of redacted records previously withheld under the personnel records exemption.
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Hawkins v. South Hill (Supreme Court)
Supreme Court of Virginia interprets the personnel exemption and imposes guardrails on governments from applying it broadly.
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Hawkins v. Town of South Hill (circuit court)
Mecklenburg County Circuit Court Judge J. William Watson Jr. reviewed seven sets of documents South Hill said were exempt from release as personnel records and concluded that some were and some weren’t. In the process, the judge reviewed past cases and FOIA’s legislative history to determine that “personnel information” should be defined as “all information…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-21
Although personnel records may be withheld from public disclosure, accounting records that reflect payments made by a public body to a former employee pursuant to a settlement agreement are not exempt. As this office is not a trier of fact, only a court has the authority to resolve factual disputes about specific records.
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Harki v. DCJS
Harki v. Department of Criminal Justice Services: DCJS must turn over database of training records for law enforcement officers. Judge Joseph A. Migliozzi Jr. agrees that they are personnel records, but notes that the department said it would turn the records over (i.e., exercise their discretion to release records that could be withheld) and then…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-13
A contract between a public body and a public employee settling an employment dispute may be withheld as a personnel record. However, accounting records that reflect payments pursuant to a settlement agreement are not exempt.
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Saltville v. Surber
Judge in Saltville reviewed under seal several documents related to a former town employee. He eventually ruled that some of them must be released to a newspaper, over the former employee’s objection, and that others did not have to be released because they did not discuss public business. Read the full final order here.
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Bland v. Virginia State University (Supreme Court, 6/8/06)
In FOIA cases, complete set of records must be included on appeal to afford Supreme Court full review on the merits. Trial court erred in refusing plaintiff’s motion to include full set of records.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-05
personnel files at most governmental agencies are available to the subject of the records, but not if the subject is the employee of an educational agency.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-23-04
Citizen applications for a vacant board of supervisors seat are exempt from disclosure as personnel records. A public body may charge $6 for a two-page document if that reflects the actual cost to the public body to produce it.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-03
The general results of an employee survey about working conditions should be released under FOIA, although those portions of the surveys that deal with identifiable individuals may be withheld as a personnel record.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-03
Government body could not withhold personnel records pertaining to an employee subject to a disciplinary action from that employee, even if there was an active investigation in progress. Portions of the record not pertaining to that person could be redacted.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-07-02
Timesheets that reveal more than an employee’s job classification and rate of pay are exempt as personnel records rather than open under the FOIA provision mandating disclosure of salary info for employees making more than $10,000 annually. The Library of Virginia’s Records Management and Imaging Services classification of records does not affect their status as…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-02
FOIA requires the release of records of position, job classification, official salary or rate of pay, and records of allowances or reimbursements for expenses paid. Records pertaining to the retirement of school employees may be withheld as personnel records.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-28-01
Actions taken pertaining to a specific school employee may be withheld, but also may be disclosed; the name, salary and job assignment of school employees must be disclosed.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-15-01
The professional qualifications of a public official are considered part of that official’s personnel record and thus may be withheld.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-01
The personnel records exemption allows the withholding of personally identifiable information regarding a applicant’s education and qualificiations; specific classes taken by city manager part of personnel record, too.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-14-00
Complaints against identifiable individuals are exempt personnel records; settlement amounts are public records, but if a record listing all amounts paid does not exist, public body has no duty to compile such a list; reworded request may yield documents sought.
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Attorney General’s Opinion 1991 #009
Names, qualifications, evaluations, tests used to evaluate, and how indidivual candidates fared under selection criteria all exempt. General selection criteria not exempt. Certificates issued by Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy regarding persons certified to work in mines must be disclosed.
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Attorney General’s Opinion 1985-86 #333
HUD reports are exempt to the extent that they reveal information about identifiable employees