Sengstock v. Twinsburg

2021 Ohio 4438
CourtOhio Court of Claims
DecidedNovember 17, 2021
Docket2021-00330PQ
StatusPublished

This text of 2021 Ohio 4438 (Sengstock v. Twinsburg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sengstock v. Twinsburg, 2021 Ohio 4438 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2021).

Opinion

[Cite as Sengstock v. Twinsburg, 2021-Ohio-4438.]

LOREN C. SENGSTOCK Case No. 2021-00330PQ

Requester Special Master Jeff Clark

v. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

CITY OF TWINSBURG

Respondent

{¶1} The policy underlying Ohio’s Public Records Act, R.C. 149.43, is that “open government serves the public interest and our democratic system.” State ex rel. Dann v. Taft, 109 Ohio St.3d 364, 2006-Ohio-1825, 848 N.E.2d 472, ¶ 20. Therefore, the Act is construed liberally in favor of broad access, and any doubt is resolved in favor of disclosure of public records. State ex rel. Glasgow v. Jones, 119 Ohio St.3d 391, 2008- Ohio-4788, 894 N.E.2d 686, ¶ 13. R.C. 2743.75 provides a remedy in this court if a public office has denied a person access to public records in violation of R.C. 149.43(B). {¶2} On April 22, 2021, requester Loren Sengstock made a public records request for six financial reports from the clerk of council for respondent City of Twinsburg. (Complaint at 2.) On May 11 and May 20, 2021, the City produced a number of responsive records. (Id. at 4-5.) However, the clerk advised that Redactions have been made for personal employee information which I believe falls under “items that do not document the activities of the public office”. It also has been redacted for underage employee names. (Id. at 5.) Sengstock challenged the redactions, asking the City to “please provide the ORC section(s)” authorizing them. (Id. at 6.) The City law director responded: Although the Sunshine Law does not specifically prohibit the release of children’s names from a records request, the decision was made to hold the privacy of children to a higher standard as compared to the adult employees. Some of our part-time and seasonal employees are as young as 16 years old. We believe that it is prudent to protect their identity from Case No. 2021-00330PQ -2- REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

potential harm that could come to them by publishing their names and positions with the City. (Id. at 7.) On June 16, 2021, Sengstock filed a complaint pursuant to R.C. 2743.75 alleging denial of access to public records in violation of R.C. 149.43(B). On August 18, 2021, the court was notified that the case had not been fully resolved in mediation. On September 1, 2021, the City filed an answer (Response) and a motion to dismiss (MTD). On September 20, 2021, Sengstock filed a reply. {¶3} The parties advise the court that all disputes have been resolved except as to the City’s withholding of names of City employees under the age of eighteen from its Payroll Register. (Response at 1, Reply at 1.) Motion to Dismiss {¶4} In order to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, it must appear beyond doubt that the claimant can prove no set of facts warranting relief after all factual allegations of the complaint are presumed true and all reasonable inferences are made in claimant’s favor. State ex rel. Findlay Publishing Co. v. Schroeder, 76 Ohio St.3d 580, 581, 669 N.E.2d 835 (1996). As long as there is a set of facts consistent with the complaint that would allow the claimant to recover, dismissal for failure to state a claim is not proper. State ex rel. V.K.B. v. Smith, 138 Ohio St.3d 84, 2013-Ohio-5477, 3 N.E.3d 1184, ¶ 10. {¶5} On consideration of the motion, the special master finds that the City’s assertions that juvenile employee names are not “records,” or that personal privacy rights require their withholding, or that the exercise of good sense allows redaction of the names from the Payroll Register, are not conclusively shown on the face of the complaint. Moreover, as the matter is now fully briefed the arguments to dismiss are subsumed in the arguments to deny the claim on the merits. It is therefore recommended that the motion to dismiss be denied. Names of Public Employees are Public Records Case No. 2021-00330PQ -3- REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

{¶6} “‘Public record’ means records kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units.” R.C. 149.43(A)(1). There is no dispute the City is a public office, and the City admits that it keeps the names of its employees in the Payroll Register. If employee’s names function in that document as “records,” then they meet the definition of “public records.” {¶7} The City discloses the names of employees aged 18 and above but claims that names of employees aged 16 and 17 “do not reflect the activities of the public office” and are therefore not records of the City. (MTD at 4.) Sengstock counters that the City is required by statute to maintain a database or list of employee names that “shall be available on request made pursuant to” the Public Records Act and that no other statute exempts the names of juvenile public employees from release. (Reply at 2- 4.) Burden of Proof {¶8} In an action to enforce the Public Records Act (PRA), the burden is on the requester to prove an alleged violation by clear and convincing evidence. Hurt v. Liberty Twp., 2017-Ohio-7820, 97 N.E.3d 1153, ¶ 27-30 (5th Dist.). At the outset, the requester must show he sought identifiable public records from a public office pursuant to R.C. 149.43(B)(1). Welsh-Huggins v. Jefferson Cty. Prosecutor’s Office, 163 Ohio St.3d 337, 2020-Ohio-5371, 170 N.E.3d 768, ¶ 33. The defense that a requested item “is not a record” does not assert an exception, and the burden of proof thus remains with the requester. When this defense is raised, a requester must establish that the withheld document, device, or item meets the statutory definition of a “record.” State ex rel. O’Shea & Assocs. Co., L.P.A. v. Cuyahoga Metro. Hous. Auth., 131 Ohio St.3d 149, 2012-Ohio-115, 962 N.E.2d 297, ¶ 23. Employee Names are “Records” The term “records” as used in R.C. Chapter 149: Case No. 2021-00330PQ -4- REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

includes any document, device, or item, regardless of physical form or characteristic, * * *, created or received by or coming under the jurisdiction of any public office of the state or its political subdivisions, which serves to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office.

R.C. 149.011(G). The use of “includes” as a preface to “any document” is an indication of expansion and great breadth rather than constriction, restriction, or limitation. Kish v. Akron, 109 Ohio St.3d 162, 2006-Ohio-1244, 846 N.E.2d 811, ¶ 20-27. {¶9} All offices, public and private, create records using the names of their employees to document who they have hired, what functions each employee performs, how much they are paid, how long they have been retained, their promotion and disciplinary history – standard administrative recordkeeping. Without names to associate employees with other administrative and operational records, the public cannot ascertain the qualifications, accountability, and performance of government employees, or identify potential policy issues such as nepotism. Payroll files containing information including employees’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers (“SSNs”), birth dates, education, employment status and positions, pay rates, service ratings, annual and sick leave information, overtime hours and pay, and year-to-date employee earnings are routinely recognized as records that “serve to document the organization, functions, [and] operations * * * of the office.” E.g., State ex rel. Beacon Journal Publ. Co. v. Akron, 70 Ohio St.3d 605, 605-606, 640 N.E.2d 164 (1994) (SSNs found to be identification “records” of the office as used in the master payroll file).

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2021 Ohio 4438, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sengstock-v-twinsburg-ohioctcl-2021.