CPRA Primer 2023 Update

RESOURCES ACCESS TO RECORDS ACCESSING PUBLIC RECORDS IN CALIFORNIA California Public Records Act Primer Download the CPRA Primer Menu | Resources Table of Contents | CPRA Primer This handbook is a project of the First Amendment Coalition. Our gratitude to James Chadwick, formerly of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton, author of the 2006 guide. Updates by staff of the First Amendment Coalition: Legal Director David Loy and Legal Fellows Monica Price and Khrystan Policarpio, with

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A&A: Request For Public Employee W2 Forms Fulfilled, But Heavily Redacted. Are The Redactions Legal?

Q: I submitted a CPRA request for W2’s for a group of public school employees. When I received the W2 forms, I expected the individual’s Social Security Number and address to be redacted, but the school also redacted the information for the federal income tax withheld, social security tax withheld, medicare tax withheld, “other” withholdings/contributions (Box 14 items which include employer pension/STRS contributions on behalf of the employee), and state income tax withheld. When I

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A&A: Are Citizen Bond Oversight Committee Applications Public Records?

Q: I submitted a CPRA for completed/submitted applications of Citizen Bond Oversight Committee members, however, the school district denied “the request stating my request for the completed applications are protected from disclosure pursuant to Government Code section 6254(c), disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” I reviewed the government code and think it does not apply to the CBOC members since they are volunteers and not personnel. Would you be able

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A&A: City Stonewalls CPRA Request for Sexual Harassment Complaints Against Council Member

Q: I recently submitted a public records act request asking for all complaints filed by city employees against sitting council members. As a local journalist, I got a tip that a council member may have had a number of sexual harassment complaints filed against him. After asking for several extensions, the city responded today. They objected to the request claiming: (a) it seeks documents and information protected by the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work-product doctrine

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A&A: What portion of personnel files are exempt from CPRA disclosure?

Q: Exactly what portion of personnel files are exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act? Specifically, I am trying to find out whether our child’s public school teacher — who was a probationary employee  resigned;  was terminated for cause, or  was “non-reelected” (no reason required per union contract). Our School District maintains that the vast majority of an teacher’s personnel file is non-public, with the exception of a very limited number of basic

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