Date Posted: Monday, February 6th, 1995
The Complainant alleged that Woodbridge School District impermissibly charged her fees for the compiling of requested documents, in addition to the copying fees. The District had a regulation which allowed for charges for copying fees but did not specify additional charges for time employees spent satisfying the request. Held: Because the statute did not specifically allow for administrative fees, and the District did not follow its own regulations, Complainant was impermissibly charged. This decision was superseded by the August, 2012 amendments to the Delaware Freedom of Information Act which allows for reasonable administrative fees.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, January 25th, 1995
The Requestor sought clarification on what information should be released pursuant to FOIA requests for sworn payroll records filed with the Delaware Department of Labor pursuant to prevailing wage law requirements. These records contain the name, address and Social Security number of each employee working on the public project, the employee’s work classification, total hours worked, rate of pay, amount earned, deductions, types of benefits provided and the cost of those benefits. Held: sworn payroll records must be released under FOIA but social security numbers of workers must be redacted in order to protect the personal privacy of the individuals. Note: this opinion was rescinded and superseded by Del. Op. Att’y Gen. 98-IB07 (1998).
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Date Posted: Tuesday, January 24th, 1995
The Complainant alleged that the Court on the Judiciary improperly refused to allow him to review the record and non-sworn testimony of a case. Held: the deliberations of courts are not public meetings pursuant to 29 Del. C. 10004(h)(4) and the requested records from such deliberations are not public records that can be reviewed.
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Date Posted: Monday, January 23rd, 1995
The Complainant alleged that Woodbridge School District was holding meetings in violation of Delaware’s Open Meeting Law. The District would hold breakfast meetings attended by the Board, district administrative staff and invitees and discuss “suggestions for betterment of the school system.” The District argued that public business was not conducted during these meetings and that the meetings did not meet the definition of “public meeting”. Held: A discussion of suggestions for betterment of the school system is considered public business. Because a quorum of the Board was present, the breakfast meetings should be considered public meetings within the meaning of the statute.
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Date Posted: Wednesday, January 18th, 1995
The Complainant alleged that the Board of Bar Examiners, an arm of the Delaware Supreme Court, improperly refused to provide him with statistics regarding petitions for admission for the Delaware Bar as well as a copy of each petition for admittance of the Delaware bar. Held: the Board of Bar Examiners is not a “public body” within the meaning of the Freedom of Information Act and is, thus, exempt from the requirements of FOIA.
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