Franchesca A. Gonzales v. Human Resources Division (SPR 20253652)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 6, 2026 SPR25/3652 Michele Heffernan, Esq. General Counsel Human Resources Division One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Heffernan: I have received the petition of Franchesca A. Gonzalez appealing the response of the Human Resources Division (Division/HRD) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 27, 2025, Ms. Gonzalez requested the following: For each Civil Service Fire Lieutenant and Fire Captain promotional examination administered between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2025, please produce: [1] The email address used by each candidate to: register for the exam, access the exam portal, communicate with HRD, or receive exam-related notices. [2] This includes all email addresses used — both work-issued and personal — without exception. The Division responded on December 11, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Gonzalez petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3652, 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 municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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

Michele Heffernan, Esq. SPR25/3652 Page 2 January 6, 2026 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 Division’s December 11th Response In its December 11, 2025 response, the Division cited Exemption (o) of the Public Records Law to withhold the requested records. Current Appeal In her appeal, Ms. Gonzalez states, “HRD did not provide sufficient or specific reasoning for denying my request, and therefore I would like to appeal ...” Ms. Gonzalez further requested that the Division “proceed immediately with production of work email addresses.” Exemption (o) Exemption (o) applies to: the home address, personal email address and home telephone number of an employee of the judicial branch, an unelected employee of the general court, an agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of a political subdivision thereof or of an authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, in the custody of a government agency which maintains records identifying persons as falling within those categories; provided that the information may be disclosed to an employee organization under chapter 150E, a nonprofit organization for retired public employees under chapter 180, or a criminal justice agency as defined in section 167 of chapter 6. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(o). In its response, the Division advised, “[a]ll fire Lieutenants and Captains who take part in the HRD promotional exams are employed by a governmental entity or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth. Therefore, no personal email addresses will be provided to you. The Human Resources Division can provide a report containing solely work email addresses on file if that is of interest to you. Kindly advise if you would like HRD to proceed with this limited request.”

Michele Heffernan, Esq. SPR25/3652 Page 3 January 6, 2026 Where the personal email addresses Ms. Gonzalez has requested belong to employees of a governmental entity or a political subdivision, Exemption (o) allows the Division to withhold the requested personal email addresses from disclosure. Accordingly, I find that the Division has met its burden in withholding the requested personal email addresses under Exemption (o) of the Public Records Law. In light of the Division’s response and Ms. Gonzalez’s appeal for the work email addresses, I encourage Ms. Gonzalez and the Division to communicate in order to facilitate producing the work email addresses. The Division must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, the Division is ordered to provide Ms. Gonzalez with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Gonzalez may appeal the substantive nature of the Division’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Samantha J. Gonzalez