Arkansas Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Arkansas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Did the Arkansas AG approve the popular name and ballot title for a constitutional amendment to make government transparency a citizen's right?
Yes, with revisions. The Attorney General substituted his own clearer language for both the popular name and the ballot title and certified the revised version. The substituted popular name is 'The Ar…
How does the Arkansas AG decide whether a school district properly released personnel records under FOIA when the requester challenges the redactions?
The Attorney General cannot review whether a custodian's release was consistent with FOIA when the requester provides no copies of the released records. Without records, the AG can only state the lega…
Can my former law-enforcement employer release my personnel file, internal-affairs investigation, and discipline records under FOIA over my objection?
Mostly yes. Administrative records like hire date, transfers, payroll forms, and acknowledgments are releasable as personnel records, with standard redactions for SSN, DOB, contact info, and the like.…
Was a school district right to withhold teacher personnel files and investigation records under Arkansas FOIA when the suspensions were never appealed to the school board?
The Attorney General could not say. The requester did not provide copies of the records to review. Without them, the AG could only outline the legal framework: personnel records are open unless disclo…
Under Arkansas FOIA, what can a sheriff's office redact from a deputy's personnel file in response to a public records request?
Personal contact info, SSN, employee number, marital status, and dependent information were properly redacted. Emergency contact information, FMLA change-of-status dates, and beneficiary designations …
Can the public see the investigation report and termination paperwork for an Arkansas school superintendent who resigned during a misconduct investigation?
The investigation report, termination notice letter, resignation letter, and the superintendent's attorney letter are all properly disclosable under FOIA. The four-part test for evaluation records is …
Can a public agency release nonelected employees' names alongside their salaries under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. Names of nonelected public employees, paired with their job positions and salary information, are personnel records under Arkansas FOIA. Release does not constitute a 'clearly unwarranted invasio…
Can a city release a former police officer's termination letter under Arkansas FOIA when the officer objects?
Yes. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record because it explains the grounds for termination. All four elements of the release test are met: the officer was terminated, the termination…
Can a county release an internal-investigation report and termination form for a fired county employee under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, both records (the internal-investigation report and the termination form) are properly classified as employee-evaluation records and may be released, but only if the termination is administrative…
Can a school district withhold a teacher's letter of suspension because the suspension is not yet final?
It depends. A letter of suspension is generally a personnel record subject to the Young v. Rice balancing test. But if the suspension is disciplinary (initiated because the employer believes the emplo…
Can a Fayetteville city attorney release a former police officer's personnel action sheet and termination letter under FOIA when the officer objects to release?
Yes. The custodian's decision to release both the personnel action sheet (a personnel record) and the termination letter (an employee-evaluation record meeting all four release elements) is consistent…
Under Arkansas FOIA, can a city withhold a letter notifying a police officer of his administrative reassignment pending an internal investigation?
No. The letter notifying a police officer of his administrative reassignment pending an internal investigation is a personnel record, not an employee evaluation, because it documents an administrative…
Can a city redact a former police officer's records with whiteout, and can it withhold his termination letter and administrative-leave letter under FOIA?
Mostly inconsistent with FOIA. The Bay City Attorney's decisions to disclose some records and redact identifiers (SSN, DOB, DLN) were correct, but two records he withheld are personnel records that mu…
Can a city withhold a former police officer's entire personnel file because his termination was 'unrelated to acts that gave rise to a suspension or termination'?
No. A records custodian cannot withhold an entire former police officer's personnel file based on the conclusion that his termination was 'unrelated' to disciplinary acts. The FOIA requires the custod…
Can I get an Arkansas State Police incident report or dashcam video that shows a juvenile who was stopped, arrested, or just a passenger?
If the juvenile was arrested or detained, all records of that arrest or detention (incident reports, dashcam) must be withheld unless an exception applies. If the juvenile was only a passenger or byst…
Can a police officer block disclosure of his disciplinary records under FOIA because he believes the requester will use them in an unrelated proceeding?
No. A records subject's objection to release based on what they believe the requester will do with the records is not a basis for withholding under Arkansas FOIA. The requester's intent and motives ar…
Can an Arkansas school district refuse to release records about an employee's administrative leave under FOIA?
It depends on whether the leave was disciplinary or non-disciplinary. If non-disciplinary (a routine policy-based suspension while something is investigated), the employee-evaluation exemption does no…
Can a university release an employee's discrimination complaint while withholding the outcome letter from FOIA?
Partly. The retaliation complaint is a mixed personnel record and was correctly released under the personnel-records balancing test. The outcome letter is also a mixed record: an evaluation of the com…
Should a city redact a public employee's net pay (after withholdings) from FOIA-released payment records?
Yes. Net salary payments must be redacted before release. Net pay reveals deductions that touch personal financial information (tax withholdings, retirement contributions, insurance elections, banking…
Is a list of suspensions and disciplinary actions against Arkansas State Troopers a personnel record or an employee-evaluation record?
The classification was wrong. A list of Arkansas State Troopers showing names, suspension grounds, and disciplinary details is an employee-evaluation record (not a personnel record), because it contai…
Can a city redact allegations from a non-disciplinary administrative suspension letter and withhold investigator notes about a resigned employee?
Partially. The administrative suspension letter (which expressly states the suspension is non-disciplinary and pending investigation) is a personnel record, not an evaluation record. The personnel-rec…
Can an Arkansas FOIA custodian use whiteout to redact, and is redacting an entire driver's license image proper?
The custodian's release of the personnel file was partially consistent with FOIA. The whiteout redaction method is wrong (FOIA requires the redaction to show where and how much was deleted, which usua…
Are workplace harassment complaint forms and exit questionnaires personnel records or evaluation records under Arkansas FOIA?
The custodian's release decision was only partly consistent with FOIA. Discrimination/harassment complaint forms are mixed records: evaluation records of the accused (must be withheld absent suspensio…
Can a former employee block release of her Arkansas personnel file by saying she does not know the requester's motive?
No. The requester's identity and motive are irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. The subject of personnel records cannot block disclosure simply because she does not know who requested the file or what the…
Can a former Arkansas deputy block release of his 2014 misconduct investigation records nine years after termination?
The custodian's decision to release the records is consistent with FOIA. Investigative records of police misconduct meet the four-part test for evaluation records: the deputy was terminated, the termi…
Is a Camden suspension letter that doesn't list the grounds a personnel record that must be disclosed under FOIA?
Yes. The City of Camden's decision to release a former employee's suspension letter is consistent with FOIA. A suspension letter that does not recite the grounds for the suspension is a personnel reco…
Can Arkansas executive branch agencies release names, departments, and positions of employees who got merit raises?
Yes. The list of executive-branch employees who received merit raises (with business area, department, name, position title, and grade) is basic employment information that qualifies as personnel reco…
Can a personnel record subject ask the AG to rule that her records are not actually responsive to a FOIA request?
The AG declined to opine. The scope of AG review under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) does not extend to whether a custodian properly identified specific records as responsive to a FOIA request. The s…
Can the subject of an Arkansas workplace investigation get the unredacted memo and emails about the complaint against her?
Yes. The Respondent in an internal complaint investigation can obtain unredacted copies of the investigation memo (her evaluation record) and the related emails (mixed personnel records). A.C.A. § 25-…
Can current and former Rock Region METRO employees block release of their compensation data under Arkansas FOIA?
No. Names, hire dates, salaries, bonuses, overtime, gross wages, and position titles of current and former Rock Region METRO employees must be released under FOIA. The kind of information requested is…
Can the Arkansas State Police release a former trooper's termination letter under FOIA when the misconduct involves departmental rules?
Yes. The Arkansas State Police's decision to release a former trooper's termination letter detailing the policy violations that led to discharge is consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Misconduct by swo…
Can a school board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination be withheld from a FOIA request as an unresolved personnel matter?
Yes, while it remains pending. The Sheridan School Board's letter recommending the superintendent's termination is an 'employee evaluation or job performance record' under Arkansas FOIA. Until there i…
Can a public university release names, ranks, and salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination under Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Arkansas State University System's plan to release names, ranks, employment status, departments, and current salaries of faculty whose positions are being recommended for elimination is consi…
Can a Helena-West Helena city employee block release of her personnel file when the custodian has already classified some records as exempt?
The Arkansas AG declined to give a record-by-record opinion because the records were not provided for review. The opinion lays out the standard FOIA framework: a custodian must classify each responsiv…
Can Arkansas State Police release personnel and evaluation records of a former employee who is now running for sheriff?
The Arkansas AG concluded the Arkansas State Police custodian's decision to release former employee Jim Milam's personnel and employee-evaluation records, with redactions, was mostly consistent with F…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of just her name in connection with her public-employee compensation data?
The Arkansas AG concluded the City of Fort Smith custodian's decision to release employee names along with salaries, hire dates, and position titles was consistent with the FOIA. Christi Fisher's obje…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of her compensation data because she does not know how the requester will use it?
The Arkansas AG concluded that the custodian was correct to release City of Fort Smith employee names, salary, hire dates, and position titles while redacting sensitive personal information. The recor…
Can a Fort Smith employee block release of her name, salary, hire date, and position by claiming the requester might use the data improperly?
The Arkansas AG concluded the City of Fort Smith custodian was correct to release employee names, salary, hire dates, and position titles while redacting sensitive personal information. The record sub…
Does an ongoing police investigation let Little Rock withhold all FOIA records relating to the police chief involved in an officer-involved shooting?
The Arkansas AG concluded that Little Rock's plan to withhold or partially withhold records relating to police Chief Keith Humphrey based on an ongoing criminal investigation was outside the AG's revi…
Can a Fort Smith city employee block release of her name, salary, hire date, and position under the Arkansas FOIA?
The Arkansas AG concluded that the basic employment information requested (employee names, salary, hire dates, position titles) is subject to FOIA inspection and copying, and the custodian was correct…
Can a city refuse to release records of federal pandemic relief payments to its employees under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, the city's decision to release the records was consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Records of ARPA payments to city employees are personnel records subject to the Young v. Rice balancing test, and…
Can a former Little Rock city employee block release of his termination records under the Arkansas FOIA?
The custodian's decision to release the records, while withholding sensitive personal information and limiting evaluation-record release to those underlying a final suspension or termination, is consi…
Can a mayor sit in on an Arkansas Civil Service Commission executive session about the fire chief?
Yes. Where the mayor is the fire chief's immediate supervisor, the mayor may attend an executive session of the city's Civil Service Commission at the Commission's request, provided the session is hel…
Can a former Arkansas State Police trooper block release of his personnel and evaluation records in response to a FOIA request?
The custodian's decision to release the records appears consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. A former employee's privacy objection alone is not enough to block disclosure of personnel records, and the p…
Can a city release a former firefighter's suspension letter, termination notice, and supporting investigation records under FOIA, and does the AG decide whether medical information should be redacted?
Yes, the City of Cabot's decision to release the suspension letter, termination notice, and supporting documentation was consistent with FOIA. The records are employee-evaluation records, all four rel…
Can a city withhold all the records from a police promotion file by classifying them as job-performance records, or do parts of that file have to be released under FOIA?
Mostly consistent with FOIA. Sherwood properly withheld letters of recommendation as job-performance records of the candidates being recommended. But resumes, physical fitness records, and the chief's…
When a former police officer's personnel file is requested under FOIA, can the city release the suspension review along with redacted records, and which items must stay private?
Mostly consistent with FOIA, with corrections. The Employee Conduct Review (the document explaining the suspension) is properly released. But five Facebook posts must stay private under the personnel-…
Can a city release the termination letter of a former firefighter under Arkansas FOIA when the letter explains why he was fired?
Yes. The City of Cabot's decision to release a former firefighter's termination notice was consistent with FOIA. The notice qualified as an employee-evaluation record because it stated the reasons for…
Can a city in Arkansas release the names, job titles, and salaries of its employees in response to a FOIA request, even when an employee objects?
Yes. The Fort Smith records custodian's decision to release employees' names, job positions, and salaries was consistent with the Arkansas FOIA. Under the personnel-records balancing test, the public'…
Can a city release a police captain's name with his salary and job position over his objection that the FOIA request is overly broad and an invasion of all employees' privacy?
Yes. The City of Fort Smith's decision to release Captain Gallant's name in conjunction with his salary and job position is consistent with FOIA. The analysis is identical to Op. Att'y Gen. 2021-084 i…
Can a city release a police detective's name with her salary and job position under FOIA when the detective fears the release will harm her family?
Yes. The City of Fort Smith's decision to release Detective Charity Abbott's name in conjunction with her job position and salary is consistent with FOIA. The analysis is identical to Op. Att'y Gen. 2…
Can the City of Fort Smith release a list of all employees' names, job positions, and salary increases since 2015 over an employee's objection that release would harm or embarrass him?
Yes. Public employees' names, job positions, and salary information (including increases) are personnel records under Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-105(b)(12). Their release does not generally constitute a c…
If a police officer's job application mentions criminal charges that were later sealed or expunged, can the city release that part of the personnel file under FOIA?
The Benton custodian's redacted release was likely not entirely consistent with FOIA. References in Officer Bennett's personnel file to charges that were nolle prossed and later sealed or expunged car…
If a FOIA request for an Arkansas state trooper's personnel file looks politically motivated, can the custodian deny it on that ground, and what should be redacted?
A requester's political or subjective motive is irrelevant under Arkansas FOIA. The Arkansas State Police custodian's stated redaction list (medical, personal contact info, home address, phone, DOB, S…
Can a city release a former employee's personnel and termination records when the misconduct involves honesty violations, even though the subject objects?
The City of Bella Vista's redacted release of the records was consistent with FOIA. The personnel records (job application and similar) qualify for release under Young v. Rice balancing. The evaluatio…
Is every email a public employee sends from their work account automatically a public record under Arkansas FOIA, and can a vague or voluminous request be denied?
No to both. Whether an email is a public record depends on its content, not who sent it. The custodian decides that case by case. A voluminous request can be acknowledged with a longer timeline, but c…
Can the public see how much sick leave or annual leave a public employee has used under Arkansas FOIA, even if the employee objects?
Yes. The AG has consistently held that leave and attendance records are personnel records that should generally be disclosed under FOIA. The public's interest in seeing whether an agency follows its l…
Are recorded promotional interviews of police candidates 'employee evaluation records' (rarely releasable) or 'personnel records' (released after a privacy balancing test) under Arkansas FOIA?
Likely personnel records, not evaluation records. The AG drew on Young v. Rice's treatment of police promotional exam materials. The custodian still has to apply the personnel-records balancing test, …
Can a city release a list of HR complaints against a named public employee under Arkansas FOIA, including allegations that turned out to be unfounded?
Yes. The AG concluded the list of complaints, allegations, and dispositions is a personnel record and the public's interest in seeing how the city handles HR complaints generally outweighs the employe…
When an internal investigation is finished but no discipline has been imposed yet, can the public get the investigation file under Arkansas FOIA?
The final investigative report is an employee-evaluation record, and because no suspension or termination has happened, it cannot be released. But lumping every supporting document in the file under t…
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Attorney general opinions in Arkansas are written by the Arkansas Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.