Opinion
Opinion By: Chris Gorman, Attorney General; Amye B. Majors, Assistant Attorney General
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
OPEN RECORDS DECISION
This matter comes to the Attorney General on appeal from the Transportation Cabinet's denial of Mr. Lee A. Jackson's November 20, 1992, request to inspect certain documents in the Cabinet's custody. Those documents are identified as:
1) P-1 on all employees in work counties 030 and 054 with a classification of Automotive Mechanic Trainee (1701), Automotive Mechanic (1702), and Automotive Mechanic Senior (1706);
2) All employee incident reports from work counties 030 and 054 for the period 01/01/85 thru 10/31/92;
3) Written reprimand dated September 30, 1988 on John C. Bleier . . .;
4. Department dress code memo (10-200, January, 1984);
5. Doctor statement dated September 1992 submitted by John C. Bleier.
Mr. Jackson is President of the Kentucky Association of State Employees, and his request was made under the Open Records Act.
Mr. Jackson's request was denied by Mr. Joseph K. Heady, Principal Assistant to the Custodian of Records, in a letter dated December 2, 1992. His denial mirrored an earlier denial of an open records request to Ms. Barbara Hamilton, who had made an identical request for records to the Cabinet on November 4, 1992. Although he did not cite an exception authorizing nondisclosure, Mr. Heady asserted that the requested records contain information of a personal nature, and that disclosure of the records would constitute an invasion of personal privacy.
In 93-ORD-12, this Office found that the Transportation Cabinet erred in failing to cite a specific exception authorizing nondisclosure of the records requested by Ms. Hamilton, and failing to briefly explain how the cited exception applies to the records withheld. We believe that that decision, a copy of which is attached, is dispositive of the present appeal. The Cabinet is directed to promptly arrange for Mr. Jackson to inspect the records, after they are sanitized, consistent with KRS 61.878(4) and 93-ORD-12.
The Transportation Cabinet may challenge this decision by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882.