Does Little Rock have to release a list of every city employee's name, salary, job title, and full/part-time status if a citizen asks for it?

Plain-English summary

Joy Matlock, director of marketing at the Little Rock Zoo, was the named subject of a FOIA request that the City of Little Rock had received. The request sought, for all current city employees, "name, annual salary, job title, department, part-time/full-time status, and (if part-time) number of hours worked in 2019." Ms. Matlock did not object to release; she just asked the AG to confirm the custodian's decision was correct.

The AG confirmed it. Basic public employment information of the kind requested is a personnel record under the FOIA, and the AG had reached that conclusion in opinion after opinion (Op. Att'y Gen. 2016-101, 2011-044, 2011-041, 2007-184, 2007-070, 2005-100, 99-305, and many earlier). Personnel records are open to inspection unless disclosure would be a "clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," and basic employment data does not come close to that threshold.

The opinion is short. It is the kind of confirmation a custodian asks for when an employee submits a non-objecting "is this right?" inquiry under § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i). It exists primarily to put the AG's seal on a routine release.

For anyone considering a similar request, the practical takeaway: name + job title + department + salary + hours + employment status for current city employees is basic public information. It must be released. An employee who wishes to keep that level of information private would need to find non-government employment.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What if the request is for every employee at every city department?
A: Still releasable. There is nothing in FOIA that scales privacy with the size of the request. Each individual employee's information is separately analyzed and individually disclosable.

Q: What if the requester wants me to compile the data into a new spreadsheet?
A: Arkansas FOIA does not require a public agency to create a record that does not exist. If the data is already in a database or list, the agency must produce it. If it would have to be created from scratch, that is a different question. In this case the requested fields were standard payroll-system data that any city has at hand.

Q: Does this differ for elected officials versus rank-and-file employees?
A: For salary specifically, no. Both elected and appointed/hired public employees have public-funded compensation that is presumptively disclosable.

Q: What about volunteer or contractor names?
A: Volunteers are not employees, so this opinion does not directly address them. Contractors raise procurement-record questions that are addressed elsewhere. The opinion addresses employees of the City.

Q: Can the city take its time on a request like this?
A: FOIA's general rule is that records must be made available promptly. There is no special timing rule that lets a city slow-roll a routine personnel-info request.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion does not relitigate the FOIA framework. It cross-references the consistent AG-opinion line going back to 1999. The applicable statutory provision is Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(b)(12), making personnel records open unless disclosure would be a "clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy." The categories listed in the request (name, salary, title, department, employment status, hours) are the canonical "basic employment information" set the office had repeatedly classified as personnel records subject to release.

Citations

• Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) (AG review)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2019-073
December 13, 2019

Joy E. Matlock, J.D., Director
Marketing & Development Office
Little Rock Zoo
1 Zoo Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205

Dear Ms. Matlock:

You have requested my opinion regarding the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). Your request, which is made as the subject, is based on Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) (Supp. 2017). This subdivision authorizes the custodian, requester, or the subject of certain employee-related records to seek an opinion from this office stating whether the custodian's decision regarding the release of such records is consistent with the FOIA.

Your correspondence indicates that the City of Little Rock has received a request under the FOIA for information on current City employees. In response to the request, the custodian intends to release each employee's "name, annual salary, job title, department, part-time/full-time status, and (if part-time) number of hours worked in 2019." You do not state any objection to the release of the information, but merely inquire if the custodian's decision is correct. It is my opinion that the custodian's decision to release the requested information is consistent with the FOIA.

This office over the years has addressed this type of information numerous times and has consistently concluded that this basic public employment information is properly classified as an employee's personnel record and that it is open to inspection and copying under the FOIA. I need not restate here the legal analysis that compels that conclusion. It is sufficient to state that the analysis remains unchanged since the issuance of those opinions cited above.

Therefore, the custodian's decision to release the requested information is consistent with the provisions of the FOIA.

Sincerely,

LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General