Lisa Ducharme v. Westfield State University (SPR 20182057)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 26, 2018 SPRlS/2057 Tricia Oliver Westfield State University 333 Western Ave Westfield, MA O1 086 Dear Ms. Oliver: I have received the petition of Lisa Ducharme appealing the response of Westfield State University (University) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Lisa Ducharme requested a copy of the University's compensation practices. In an email dated December 20, 2018, you expressed to Ms. Ducharme that "[a]ll records responsive to your request were provided in my email response to you on Dec 6, 2018. There are no additional records responsive to this request, specifically there is no document that sets forth the 'university's compensation practices." Unsatisfied with this response, Ms. Ducharme petitioned this office and as a result, SPRl 8/2057 was opened. Current Appeal In an email to this office dated December 2ot\ Ms. Ducharme provided this office a memo written by Dr. Jalisa Williams, the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources at the University. In the memo dated September 26, 2018, Dr. Williams states, "[t]he University established the month of October as the start of the fiscal year budget cycle for the purpose of APA members' submission of salary increase request to department vice presidents." In the September 26th memo, Dr. Williams further writes, "[a]rea VPs must consult with the Office of Human Resources to ensure the appropriateness of request and approved increase amounts to ensure consistency with compensation practices." In her current appeal, Ms. Ducharme states, "[a]t no time has anyone made a correction to that memo, despite the fact I raised concerns about not being able to find the university compensation practice a day after the memo was sent." 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

Tricia Oliver SPR18/2057 Page 2 December 26, 2018 Conclusion Please be advised, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii). Although the University states, "there is no document that sets forth the 'university's compensation practices", in light of the issues raised in Mr. Ducharme's appeal, it is unclear if the University possesses any other records responsive to her request. The University must clarify this matter. See G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(ii). Order Accordingly, the University is ordered to provide Ms. Ducharme 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, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Lisa Ducharme