Denied: Request sought answers to questions, not records
Denied: A request submitted to
the Department of Labor & Industry regarding
a Wage Payment and Collection Claim, which
consisted primarily of questions, rather than a
request for records.
From
the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information
Coalition
Denied: A request submitted to the Department of Labor & Industry regarding a Wage Payment and Collection Claim, which consisted primarily of questions, rather than a request for records. The department denied one item on the request, which was a request for records it said did not exist.
The Office of Open Records agreed with the Department of L&I, which said "The Right to Know Law permits requesters to access records of an agency, but does not require that agencies act as an 'information desk' by creating a record or compiling information in order to respond to a request."
The OOR concurred, saying that the questions posed in the request did not seek records but sought answers to factual inquiries, and that the Right to Know Law does not require the agency to respond.
The OOR ruled the department properly attested that the one request for records could not be fulfilled because the records did not exist.
Cohen vs. L&I - AP 2009-0099
Denied: A request submitted to the Department of Labor & Industry regarding a Wage Payment and Collection Claim, which consisted primarily of questions, rather than a request for records. The department denied one item on the request, which was a request for records it said did not exist.
The Office of Open Records agreed with the Department of L&I, which said "The Right to Know Law permits requesters to access records of an agency, but does not require that agencies act as an 'information desk' by creating a record or compiling information in order to respond to a request."
The OOR concurred, saying that the questions posed in the request did not seek records but sought answers to factual inquiries, and that the Right to Know Law does not require the agency to respond.
The OOR ruled the department properly attested that the one request for records could not be fulfilled because the records did not exist.
Cohen vs. L&I - AP 2009-0099