LeToya Lawrence v. Lowell, City of - Law Department (SPR 20252874)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 8, 2025 SPR25/2874 Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. Second Assistant City Solicitor City of Lowell 375 Merrimack Street, Third Floor Lowell, MA 01852 Dear Attorney Hart-Paulson: I have received the petition of LeToya Lawrence appealing the response of the City of Lowell (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 5, 2025, Ms. Lawrence requested the following records for the period of January 1, 2023 through the present: Custodians (School Department) • Finance/Payroll/HR: [identified individuals]; “Payroll Mail” mailbox; HR leadership; any Executive Secretary to the Assistant Superintendent of Finance. • IT/Facilities (for telephony/fax/relocation): relevant School IT lead; Facilities manager. Email/Search Keywords (use logical variants) “Gottman” OR “Magic Relationship Ratio” OR “Shamu” OR “customer service” OR “summer hours” OR “8 to 4” OR “8:00–4:00” OR “3 pm” OR “five days before” OR “out of classification” OR “$75” OR “stipend” OR “buyout” OR “verbal warning” OR “refusal” OR “discipline” OR “relocation” OR “move” OR “privacy” OR “201 CMR 17” OR “WISP” OR “fax” OR “employment verification” OR “978-937-7620” OR “978- 674-4335” OR “time clocks”. Requested Record Categories [1] $75 “Working Out of Classification” Stipends (Clerical/Administrative Assistants) • All policies, SOPs, forms, and approval workflows governing the $75/day stipend. 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

Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. SPR25/2874 Page 2 October 8, 2025 • A list and spreadsheets of all stipend payments (date, employee name, title/grade, department, amount, approver, written pre-approval) for School Dept employees. • All written pre-approvals and emails authorizing stipends, including denials. • Any audits or reviews of stipend payments or exceptions. [2] Job Classifications, Grades, and Descriptions • Current and historical classification/grade tables for clerical/admin positions (e.g., Grades 1–7 or equivalent). • Job descriptions (and revision histories) for: Payroll Clerk (Grade 6/6A), Executive/Administrative Secretary to the Assistant Superintendent of Finance, Deputy CFO, Auditor/Internal Auditor, and any Payroll Finance Officer/Manager roles. [3] Training Materials and Meeting Records (Gottman/“Shamu”/Customer Service) • All agendas, minutes, slide decks, handouts, emails, and assignments for Finance/Payroll/HR meetings referencing: “Magic Relationship Ratio,” “Gottman,” “What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage,” “customer service,” or related materials (e.g., Jan 24, 2025 and Jun 6, 2025 meetings). • Emails circulating or assigning said materials to staff. [4] Summer Hours Policy & Communications (Aug 2025 focus) • Emails, memos, or notices interpreting/announcing summer hours end dates, including communications on or around Aug 18, 2025 (e.g., subject “Surprise – summer hours over!”) and any discussions with SEIU Local 888. • Any side letters/MOAs affecting summer hours for central office clerical staff. [5] Payroll Department Relocation / Fax Line & Privacy • All plans, analyses, emails, and approvals regarding proposed/actual relocation of Payroll in July–Aug 2025 (including floor plans, work orders, timelines). • Telecom/IT tickets and work orders for payroll fax lines (numbers including 978-937-7620 and any prior numbers), outages, installation dates, and rerouting to the business office fax. • Any privacy/security assessments or references to 201 CMR 17.00 or the district WISP related to Payroll’s location, faxing, or handling of employment verification/SSNs. • Any mass communications to staff announcing new payroll fax numbers and instructions.

Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. SPR25/2874 Page 3 October 8, 2025 [6] Employment Verifications & Backlog • Any reports/logs tracking employment verification requests, backlogs, processing times, and call volumes in Aug 2025. • Emails about mortgage/housing/SNAP/employment verification delays due to fax unavailability. [7] Payroll “Buyout” Process / Work Transfers • Policies/SOPs and emails assigning or transferring “buyout” duties from Auditor/Finance to Payroll. • Any training records or materials provided to Payroll staff regarding buyout processing. [8] Discipline/Performance Records (Process-Level, Not Personnel Files) • Policies on progressive discipline for clerical staff and any templates used. • Redacted or anonymized disciplinary logs/reports showing counts of discipline for “refusal” or “insubordination” in Finance/Payroll from Jan 2023–present (names may be redacted; retain titles/departments and dates). • Any aggregate reports used by management reflecting discipline trends. [9] Timekeeping/Overtime Controls (Exec Secretary to Finance, and Finance Clerical) • Policies for after-hours work, overtime pre-approval, and timekeeping for central office clerical staff. • Timesheets/timeclock reports and overtime approval forms for the position titled Executive/Administrative Secretary to the Assistant Superintendent of Finance (or equivalent) from Jan 2023–present. (If names are deemed personnel, provide title-based records with names redacted.) • Any exceptions reports or audits noting missing timesheets or irregular schedules in Finance. [10] Union/SEIU 888 Interactions (Process Records) • Copies of grievance procedure documents, step meeting notices/minutes, and any side letters affecting out-of-classification work or summer hours for central office clerical staff. [11] Records Retention & Search • The records retention schedules applicable to the above. • A description of search methods and locations used to fulfill this request. Following correspondence from the City, Ms. Lawrence modified her request on September 11, 2025, for the following records from January 1, 2023 to the present:

Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. SPR25/2874 Page 4 October 8, 2025 Priority Custodians: • [identified individuals] • “Payroll Mail” mailbox • HR Director (or equivalent) • HR Director (or equivalent) • Facilities Head (or equivalent) • IT/Telecom lead supporting payroll fax/phones Priority Search Terms (use logical variants): “out of classification” OR stipend OR “$75” OR buyout OR “verbal warning” OR refusal OR discipline OR relocation OR “201 CMR 17” OR WISP OR fax OR “978-937-7620” OR “Magic Relationship Ratio” OR Gottman OR Shamu OR “customer service” OR “summer hours”. Initial Priority Record Sets: [1] $75 Out-of-Classification (clerical/finance): policies/SOPs/forms; approval/denial logs (date, employee title, department, amount, approver, written pre-approval); any audits/exceptions. [2] Job Descriptions & Revision Histories (with adoption/revision dates): Payroll Clerk (Grade 6/6A), Internal Auditor/Finance Generalist, Accounts Payable Administrative Assistant, Payroll Supervisor, Deputy CFO. [3] Budget/FTE pages (FY25–FY26) identifying Internal Auditor/Finance Generalist, Accounts Payable, Payroll leadership (Finance Officer–Payroll; Payroll Supervisor). [4] Jan 24, 2025 & June 6, 2025 meeting agendas/handouts and distribution emails (Gottman/“Magic Relationship Ratio”/“Shamu”/customer service). [5] Payroll Relocation & Privacy (July–Aug 2025): relocation plans/approvals; references to 201 CMR 17 or WISP; and fax line 978-937-7620 work orders (install/changes/outages/rerouting). The City responded on September 29, 2025. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Ms. Lawrence petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2874, was opened as a result. The 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, § 10A(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 agency or

Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. SPR25/2874 Page 5 October 8, 2025 municipality 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, § 10(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, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s September 29th Response In its September 29, 2025 response, the City stated, “[y]our modified request is denied based on the same grounds as your original request[.] You are currently in litigation with the City of Lowell’s school department in the MCAD. The records you are requesting are directly related to the litigation and therefore subject to discovery and discovery rules.” Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Lawrence argued the City’s response is deficient for the following reasons: [1] Categorical “litigation” denial (no specific exemptions). [2] No segregable production / overbreadth. [3] No record-by-record privilege / exemption log. [4] Constructive denial / deadline lapse. In a telephone conversation between the City and this office on October 1, 2025, the City confirmed that the requested records are directly related to ongoing litigation currently pending before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). See LeToya Lawrence v. Lowell Public Schools, (MCAD Docket No. 25BEM01444). Pending Litigation 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b) provides in pertinent part: The Supervisor may deny an appeal for, among other reasons if, in the opinion of the Supervisor: The public records in question are the subjects of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation.

Olivia Hart-Paulson, Esq. SPR25/2874 Page 6 October 8, 2025 In light of the pending administrative proceeding, I decline to opine on this matter at this time. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). Please note that a change in the status of this action could impact the applicability of 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: LeToya Lawrence