Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet - Department of Labor violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in partially denying the request of Jed Johnston for "the state report and all of the paperwork to my overtime case" on the bases of KRS 61.878(1)(i) and KRS 337.345. Upon receiving notification of Mr. Johnston's appeal from this office, Margaret Goodlett Miles, Paralegal, supplemented her response on behalf of the Department, advising the undersigned that Mr. Johnston was "provided with copies of a majority of the records contained in case file no. 043-00168." According to Ms. Miles, those copies "not provided are statutorily exempt." More specifically, the "exempt copies are field (rough) notes, exempt under KRS 61.878(1)(i)(j) and complaints of other employees, exempt under KRS 61.878(1)(l) and 337.345." It is the decision of this office that 99-ORD-149 and 95-ORD-56, copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, are controlling on the facts presented.
In 99-ORD-149, this office concluded that the Department, formerly known as the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, "properly relied upon . . . KRS 337.345 in partially denying [a] request for all records in the [Department's] investigative file relating to the requested prevailing wage investigation"; KRS 337.345, incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l), prohibits the Cabinet from releasing the complaint, the name of the complainant, any information identifying employees contacted by the Department during the investigation, and extends to certified payroll records as "information secured from inspection of the records . . . or from inspection of the employer's premises . . . ." Id. at pp. 3-5; 06-ORD-073. Accordingly, the Department did not violate the Open Records Act in partially denying Mr. Johnston's request.
Jed Johnston 205 Leigh LaneLeitchfield, KY 42754
Margaret Goodlett MilesEnvironmental and Public Protection CabinetOffice of Legal ServicesLabor Legal Division1047 U.S. 127 SouthFrankfort, KY 40601
Leslie F. RenkeyGeneral CounselEnvironmental and Public Protection CabinetOffice of Legal ServicesLabor Legal Division1047 U.S. 127 SouthFrankfort, KY 40601