Labor Commission Records

Answer

Under the California Public Records Act (PRA), Government Code section 6250 et seq., records maintained by public agencies are presumptively available for public inspection and copying unless one of the Act’s exemptions applies.  In this case, that exemption that likely applies is found in section 6254(f), which exempts “records of investigations” as well as “investigatory files” held by law enforcement agencies and by any state or local agency that compiles such records for “correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes.”  Gov’t Code § 6254(f). The public agencies entitled to assert such exemption are those with a general law enforcement mission (the attorney general, the Department of Justice, state and local police organizations), and any state or local agency engaged in an activity with a “correctional, law enforcement or licensing” purpose.  Gov’t Code § 6254(f).  It would appear that the Office of Labor Commissioner — which is in charge of adjudicating wage claims, investigating discrimination and public works complaints, and enforcing the Labor Code statutes and Industrial Welfare Commission orders — is an agency entitled to assert such exemption.

However, even if the Labor Commissioner is entitled to assert the law enforcement exemption, that office is obligated to respond to PRA requests for records.  The PRA requires agencies to provide you with the documents requested, or notify you that your request has been denied, within 10 days.  (Gov’t Code § 6253).  If the written request is denied, the agency is obligated to back its denial by citing an exemption in the PRA (such as the law enforcement exemption discussed above) or other state or federal law allowing it to withhold the records you seek.  (Gov’t code § 6255).  It sounds like the Labor Commission is simply ignoring each of your requests.  It might be useful to contact the Commission again, and submit another request under the PRA.  You might remind them of their obligation to cite a specific provision of the PRA or other state or federal law allowing them to withhold such records.  Only then will you be in a better position to determine whether the denial is improper.  A sample PRA request letter can be found on the CFAC website at the following link: https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/cpra-primer/sample-cpra-request-letter/.

The ultimate recourse under the PRA in the event of an improper denial is to initiate litigation.  It is sometimes helpful to remind the agencies that the prevailing parties in a PRA litigation are entitled to their attorneys’ fees.  Govt. Code § 6259(d) (“The court shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the plaintiff should the plaintiff prevail in litigation filed pursuant to this section. The costs and fees shall be paid by the public agency of which the public official is a member or employee and shall not become a personal liability of the public official. If the court finds that the plaintiff’s case is clearly frivolous, it shall award court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the public agency.”).  You might want to highlight this fact in your next communication with the Labor Commission.