Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations on Public Records and Property (excerpts)

19.35 Access to records...
(5) Record destruction. (continued)

Protecting persons who supply information or opinions about an inmate to the parole commission is a public interest that may outweigh the public interest in access to documents that could identify those persons. An employee's right to de novo judicial review of a decision to release information from personnel records recognized Woznicki applies in all cases in which any record custodian decides to disclose information implicating the privacy or reputational interests of a public employee. Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association v. Milwaukee Board of School Directors, 227 Wis. 2d 779, 596 N.W.2d 403 (1999). Individual employees have a strong privacy interest in their names, particularly when coupled with their occupation, wages and hours, and place of employment, and the public has a strong interest in protecting that privacy. That public interest substantially outweighs the public interest favoring disclosure of the names in a public records request for wage records of private employees performing a government contract subject to s. 66.293. The ultimate purchasers of municipal bonds from the bond's underwriter, whose only obligation was to purchase the bonds, were not "contractor's records under sub. (3). Sub. (1) (b) gives the record custodian, and not the requester, the choice of how a record will be copied. The requester cannot elect to use his or her own copying equipment without the custodian's permission. Grebner v. Schiebel, 2001 WI App 17, 240 Wis. 2d 551, 624 N.W.2d 892. Woznicki does not require that a custodian prepare a detailed analysis of the factors used in applying the balancing test between public and private interests in determining whether to release information. Requests for university admissions records focusing on test scores, class rank, grade point average, race, gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic background was not a request for personally identifiable information and release was not barred by federal law or public policy. That the requests would require the university to redact information from thousands of documents under s. 19.36 (6) did not essentially require the university to create new records and, as such, did not provide grounds for denying the request under under s. 19.35 (1) (L). Osborn v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. The police report of a closed investigation regarding a teacher's conduct that did not lead either to an arrest or prosecution, or to any administrative disciplinary action, was subject to release. Examination of birth records cannot be denied simply because the examiner has a commercial purpose. Consideration of a resolution is a formal action of an administrative or minor governing body and when taken in a proper closed session, the resolution and result of the vote must be made available for public inspection absent a specific showing that the public interest would be adversely affected. Inspection of public records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality may be denied if: (1) a clear pledge has been made in order to obtain the information, (2) the pledge was necessary to obtain the information, and (3) the custodian determines that the harm to the public interest resulting from inspection would outweigh the public interest in full access to public records. The custodian must permit inspection of information submitted under an official pledge of confidentiality if the official or agency had specific statutory authority to require its submission. The right to inspection and copying of public records in decentralized offices is discussed. Public records subject to inspection and copying by any person would include a list of students awaiting a particular program in a VTAE (technical college) district school. The investment board can only deny members of the public from inspecting and copying portions of the minutes relating to the investment of state funds and documents pertaining thereto on a case-by-case basis if valid reasons for denial exist and are specially stated. Matters and documents in the possession or control of school district officials containing information concerning the salaries, including fringe benefits, paid to individual teachers are matters of public record. The scope of the duty of the governor to allow members of the public to examine and copy public records in his custody is discussed. 63 Atty. Gen. 400. The public's right to inspect land acquisition files of the department of natural resources is discussed. Financial statements filed in connection with applications for motor vehicle dealers' and motor vehicle salvage dealers' licenses are public records, subject to limitations. Sheriff's radio logs, intradepartmental documents kept by the sheriff and blood test records of deceased automobile drivers in the hands of the sheriff are public records, subject to limitations. The right to examine and copy computer-stored information is discussed. 68 Atty. Gen. 231. After the transcript of court proceedings is filed with the clerk of court, any person may examine or copy the transcript. 68 Atty. Gen. 313. A custodian may not require a requester to pay the cost of an unrequested certification. Unless the fee for copies of records is established by law, a custodian may not charge more than the actual and direct cost of reproduction. 72 Atty. Gen. 36. Copying fees, but not location fees, may be imposed on a requester for the cost of a computer run. The fee for copying public records is discussed. 72 Atty. Gen. 150. Public records relating to employee grievances are not generally exempt from disclosure. Nondisclosure must be justified on a case-by-case basis. 73 Atty. Gen. 20. The disclosure of an employee's birthdate, sex, ethnic heritage and handicapped status is discussed. The department of regulation and licensing may refuse to disclose records relating to complaints against health care professionals while the matters are merely "under investigation"; good faith disclosure of the same will not expose the custodian to liability for damages; prospective continuing requests for records are not contemplated by public records law. Prosecutors' case files are exempt from disclosure. The relationship between the public records law and pledges of confidentiality in settlement agreements is discussed. Ambulance records relating to medical history, condition or treatment are confidential while other ambulance call records are subject to disclosure under public records law.