06-IB11 RE: Freedom of Information Act Complaint Against Capital School District
Complainant alleged that the Capital School District violated FOIA when it did not provide information regarding an employee’s attendance records and sign-out sheets. HELD: Overwhelming weight of authority in other states and federal cases leads office to believe that Delaware courts would hold that the personnel file exemption under Delaware’s FOIA does not exempt from disclosure the attendance records or time sheets of a public employee because disclosure would not constitute an invasion of personal privacy. Just as the public has a right to know the salary paid to public employees, the public also has a right to know when their public employees are and are not performing the duties for which they are paid. A Public body may redact from attendance records or time sheets of a public employee information regarding the specific nature of his or her illness or medical treatment of the name of the doctor.
Read More06-IB10 – RE: Freedom of Information Act Complaint Against Cape Henlopen School District
Complainant alleged that the Cape Henlopen School district violated FOIA by denying a records request for documents relating to a charitable contribution referenced on a radio broadcast. Counsel for the School District verified that there were no records responsive to complainant’s request. HELD: FOIA does not require a public body to produce public records that do not exist, and it is the office’s practice to accept representations from an attorney for the custodian of public records that such documents do not exist for purposes of FOIA.
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