April 18, 2008

Ken Brusic
Editor
Orange County Register
625 N. Grand Ave.
Santa Ana, CA  92701


Dear Mr. Brusic:

I am writing to you on behalf of the more than 13,000 employees of the County of Orange represented by the Orange County Employees Association. This past Wednesday, April 16, 2008, OCEA learned for the first time that The Register has submitted a public records request to the County requesting the "... names, titles, base pay, bonus pay, overtime pay, or any other type of monetary compensation," for all current County employees.

Notwithstanding the California Supreme Court ruling in International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21, AFL-CIO v. Superior Court (Contra Costa Newspapers, Inc.) (2007) 42 Cal. 4th 319, there is no question that the information requested by The Register, and specifically the names of County employees, constitutes the private, personal information of those employees. As discussed below, we urge you in the strongest terms to refrain from publishing the names or any information obtained through The Register's public records request that would personally identify any individual County employee.

As you are aware, whether the media is entitled to certain information, and whether it publishes that information, are two entirely distinct inquiries. The County employees who would be negatively impacted by publication are extraordinarily hard-working public servants. They are law-abiding citizens who diligently serve the public and their dedication to the public good is the only newsworthy thing about them.

There is nothing newsworthy about connecting the names of individual County employees to their salaries. There is no significant value to publicly disclosing their names. In fact, wholesale publication of the names of County employees and their salaries would simply be a not-so-subtle exercise in sensationalist, tabloid journalism.

There is, however, significant harm that could flow from such disclosure. To pose just one example, there are many County employees who have been victims of domestic violence and whose whereabouts are currently unknown by their former perpetrators. Publicly disclosing their names would put them and their families at significant and completely unnecessary risk of violence.

In the Contra Costa Newspapers case the Supreme Court weighed the individual's right to privacy against the public's right to know what public employees earn and on balance favored the public's right to know. To be clear, in accordance with what is now the law of this state, OCEA does not object to the release or publication of what individual public employees earn. However, OCEA strongly objects to the unnecessary publication or other disclosure of the names or other personally identifiable information about employees. The public's right to know, and The Register's legitimate journalistic objectives, can completely and easily be satisfied by referring to employees by, for example, randomly assigned numbers rather than by name, or by simply listing job titles and salaries.

By this letter OCEA requests that The Register use any information it may gather through the California Public Records Act responsibly, publishing only such information as is reasonably appropriate, and in a manner calculated to protect individual privacy rights to the fullest extent possible. We submit that on balance the publication of the names of individual employees is not justified when weighed against both the substantial potential risks such disclosure may pose to many of those employees, and against their Constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy.

The Register has a long and proud tradition of advocating for the rights of the individual and for the protection of individuals from unwarranted invasions of privacy. Unnecessarily publishing identifiable information about County employees would starkly conflict with that tradition and would call into question in the minds of the public the sincerity of The Register as a true proponent of individual rights.

OCEA requests that The Register maintain and honor its advocacy for the individual by respecting the individual privacy rights of County employees, by refraining from publishing their names or other personally identifiable information obtained through the Public Records Act, and by communicating to OCEA in writing its commitment regarding the foregoing.

Thank you for your serious consideration and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


Sincerely,

ORANGE COUNTY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

Nick Berardino
General Manager

April 18, 2008

Thomas G. Mauk
County Executive Officer
County of Orange
10 Civic Center Plaza, 3rd Floor
Santa Ana, CA  92701

Carl Crown
Interim Director, Human Resources and Employee Relations
County of Orange
10 Civic Center Plaza, 2nd Floor
Santa Ana, CA 92701                   

Re:    Meet and Confer Re: Release of Employee Information

Dear Mr. Mauk and Mr. Crown:

This past Wednesday, April 16, 2008, OCEA learned for the first time that the County had received a request under the California Public Records Act from the Orange County Register for the "... names, titles, base pay, bonus pay, overtimes pay, or any other type of monetary compensation," for all current County employees.

OCEA is adamantly opposed to the release by the County of any information that would compromise the privacy rights of OCEA-represented employees. Further, OCEA is outraged that the County apparently received The Register's request more than three weeks ago and concealed that fact from OCEA.

OCEA is intimately familiar with the law in this area. Notwithstanding any ultimate obligation the County may have to The Register, there is no question that any release of personally identifiable information, for whatever purpose, constitutes a change in working conditions that gives rise to an obligation to meet and confer under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.

OCEA therefore requests to immediately commence the meet and confer process regarding any contemplated release of personally identifiable information of OCEA-represented employees, and demands that the County refrain from releasing any such information until that process has been completed.

Please contact me immediately regarding the County's availability.


Sincerely,

ORANGE COUNTY EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION


Nick Berardino
General Manager