Mike Beaudet v. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (SPR 20182036)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords January 2, 2019 SPR18/2036 Charles Pearce Director of Communications Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development One Ashburton Place, Suite 2112 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Mr: Pearce: I have received the petition of Mike Beaudet appealing the response of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Beaudet requested information about individuals who have filed multiple claims with the Department of Industrial Accidents. EOLW D responded on December 6, 2018 by providing a synopsis of relevant cases. Tlte Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public · records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507,511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records cµstodian must provide the responsive records. One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Charles Pearce SPR18/2036 Page2 January 2, 2019 Appeal On October 26, 2018 you indicated" ... in terms of what information we can provide in the cases flagged there are limitations on what we can reveal. Providing names is not possible, but we can speak in general terms about these cases." You noted that EO L WD was creating a synopsis of each case, but "[a]s for any case-specific documents, we may be able to [provide them], but they would have to be heavily redacted and include no personally identifying information." EO L WD provided the synopsis on December 6th. In his appeal petition Mr. Beaudet indicates "[w ]hile they created synopses of some of the cases, they are not providing names. This is a public court and I believe names as well as supporting documents should be released." Based on its responses, it is unclear which exemption EOLW D is claiming to withhold records. Further, EOL WD did not identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that it intends to withhold from disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b )(iv) (a written response must "identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based ..." ). Please note that availability from other sources may lessen privacy interests. See People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) v. Dep't of Agric. Res., 477 Mass. 280,292 (2017). Mr. Beaudet and EOLW D are encouraged to communicate further to facilitate the production ofresponsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii) (an agency shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Mr. Beaudet may wish to clarify what type ofrecords he seeks. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i)(the request must reasonably describe the record being sought). Conclusion Accordingly, EOL WD is ordered to provide Mr. Beaudet with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, M m A ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor. of Records cc: Mike Beaudet