Judge sides with school union in public-records case
July 29, 2009 | Filed in: Open
records | New RTK
Law | Addresses
| Office of
Open Records | Terry
Mutchler
By Robert Moran
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
The union representing most public school employees in Pennsylvania yesterday won a temporary injunction in Commonwealth Court to shield the home addresses of all public-school employees under the new open-records law.
The injunction was requested by the 191,000-member Pennsylvania State Education Association. It also covers public school employees not represented by the PSEA, including Philadelphia's, who are members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The order, if made permanent, could open the door to other public employees - for example, social workers or clerks who handle motor-vehicle forms - who might argue their addresses should be private.
PSEA spokesman Wythe Keever said the association went to court because its members had expressed concern about the possible harm and anxiety that could result if their addresses were released.
Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state's Office of Open Records, said her office would abide by the preliminary injunction while it awaited a hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent.
"While I, too, have expressed concerns about the release of home addresses of public employees, the legislature made abundantly clear that the only addresses protected from release are those of a judge, law enforcement officer, or a minor," Mutchler said.
Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman instructed Mutchler's office to notify school districts around the state that the release of home addresses was barred pending further action by the court.
The open-records law took effect in January.
Mutchler noted that there is an exception in the law if a governmental body can demonstrate that the release of an address would jeopardize someone's personal safety.
She cited a case in which an employee of the Harrisburg School District had requested the home address of a supervisor. The district did not comply with the request and the employee appealed to Mutchler's office.
Mutchler said the district was told it had to comply with the open-records request unless it could provide evidence that the supervisor's safety was at risk. The district did not provide that evidence, she said.
Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer
The union representing most public school employees in Pennsylvania yesterday won a temporary injunction in Commonwealth Court to shield the home addresses of all public-school employees under the new open-records law.
The injunction was requested by the 191,000-member Pennsylvania State Education Association. It also covers public school employees not represented by the PSEA, including Philadelphia's, who are members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.
The order, if made permanent, could open the door to other public employees - for example, social workers or clerks who handle motor-vehicle forms - who might argue their addresses should be private.
PSEA spokesman Wythe Keever said the association went to court because its members had expressed concern about the possible harm and anxiety that could result if their addresses were released.
Terry Mutchler, executive director of the state's Office of Open Records, said her office would abide by the preliminary injunction while it awaited a hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent.
"While I, too, have expressed concerns about the release of home addresses of public employees, the legislature made abundantly clear that the only addresses protected from release are those of a judge, law enforcement officer, or a minor," Mutchler said.
Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Rochelle S. Friedman instructed Mutchler's office to notify school districts around the state that the release of home addresses was barred pending further action by the court.
The open-records law took effect in January.
Mutchler noted that there is an exception in the law if a governmental body can demonstrate that the release of an address would jeopardize someone's personal safety.
She cited a case in which an employee of the Harrisburg School District had requested the home address of a supervisor. The district did not comply with the request and the employee appealed to Mutchler's office.
Mutchler said the district was told it had to comply with the open-records request unless it could provide evidence that the supervisor's safety was at risk. The district did not provide that evidence, she said.