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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Are deleted emails that exist only on a disaster recovery server subject to release under the Arkansas FOIA?
Probably not. The AG concluded that emails stored only on a disaster recovery system (DRS) are likely not 'public records' under the FOIA because they are not 'kept' in the way the statute uses that t…
Was the Arkansas Treasurer's planned release of a former employee's personnel file consistent with FOIA, and was the redaction of his remaining leave balance proper?
Mostly yes. The AG concluded the Treasurer's Office correctly classified the records as personnel records and correctly decided to release them, because disclosure does not constitute a clearly unwarr…
Did the Arkansas Department of Human Services correctly classify a current employee's records as personnel records, and were its redactions consistent with FOIA?
Mostly yes. The AG concluded the DHS records were properly classified as personnel records and had to be released because disclosure did not constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy. Four …
Can an Arkansas public employee block release of his personnel file by arguing that the FOIA requester is trying to harass him?
No. The AG concluded the records were properly classified as personnel records and had to be disclosed under FOIA, because none of them contained personal or intimate information that gave rise to a g…
Should a Fayetteville police officer's middle initial, diploma, marital status, and views on alcohol be redacted from his personnel file under FOIA?
Partially. Middle initial and diploma are releasable. Marital status, partial SSN, and health insurance records must be redacted. Views on alcohol or drug use by a law enforcement officer must be rele…
Can a city release police officer suspension records when the underlying misconduct was off-duty private conduct with no public impact?
No. The AG said Fayetteville's decision to release the suspension records was inconsistent with the FOIA. Because the off-duty incident involved no taxpayer misuse, no criminal conduct, no public safe…
Are a city employee's emails, expenses, travel records, and personnel file subject to FOIA disclosure?
Travel records, expenses, and dates of employment are clearly public records. Emails, letters, and memos depend on whether they document official functions. The AG could not opine on specific records …
Can a Pulaski County former employee's personnel file be released after redacting certain personal information?
Yes, mostly. The AG flagged that race and gender shouldn't have been redacted from appointment forms, contact info for non-public references shouldn't have been redacted, and a few records still neede…
Can a Fayetteville police officer's personnel file be released after redacting job performance records, addresses, and family info?
Mostly yes, but the AG found a few errors. Race shouldn't have been redacted, and non-public references' contact information shouldn't have been redacted either. A school transcript needed full redact…
What rules govern the release of a Pulaski County former employee's employment records under the Arkansas FOIA?
The AG could not provide a substantive review because the requester did not submit records or specify objections. The opinion summarized the general FOIA framework for employee-related records: the Yo…
Can an Arkansas sheriff's office release a deputy's suspension letter to a third-party FOIA requester even though the deputy was not involved in any of the matters the requester was investigating?
Yes. The suspension letter is an employee-evaluation record showing a violation of rules designed to avoid undermining public trust. As a law enforcement officer's discipline record meeting the four-p…
Are the meetings and records of a committee or subcommittee created by an Arkansas state board open to the public under the FOIA?
Records of committees and subcommittees of public bodies are subject to the FOIA across the board. Meetings depend on the committee's makeup and whether it has decision-making authority. Complete subg…
When someone applies for a job with an Arkansas public employer, are their interview scores released to other applicants under the FOIA?
It depends on whether the applicant was successful and whether they were already a public employee. Successful applicants: name and scores released. Unsuccessful applicants who are already public empl…
Under the Arkansas FOIA, must a city release internal complaint records to an employee who is the subject of a harassment complaint while the investigation is still ongoing?
Yes. The subject of a harassment complaint has FOIA access to records about the complaint regardless of whether they are classified as employee-evaluation records, because an employee can always acces…
Can an Arkansas city pay its outside contract attorney for time spent answering FOIA requests, or does the FOIA forbid it?
The FOIA does not govern what a city pays its outside counsel for FOIA work, as long as those fees are not passed on to the requester. The act regulates what custodians may charge requesters, not what…
Can an Arkansas county sheriff's department withhold a 13-year-old letter of reprimand and suspension issued to a deputy just because the underlying incident never became publicly controversial?
No, in the AG's view. Age and lack of public controversy alone are not enough to defeat the compelling-public-interest test for releasing a law enforcement officer's disciplinary record, especially wh…
Under Arkansas FOIA, can a school district withhold documents that formed the basis for firing a teacher who worked daily with students?
The AG could not rule on the specific Bentonville records but said the documents likely qualified as employee-evaluation records, not just personnel records. If so, the public's compelling interest in…
Can an Arkansas public hospital withhold settlement agreements with departing employees as a privacy invasion?
Probably not. The AG had not seen the records, but his office had repeatedly opined that public-entity settlement agreements are personnel records, and that the public's strong interest in settlement …
When should an Arkansas state agency release the records that led to firing an employee?
The AG agreed with the AHTD HR director's decision to release four records connected to a former employee's suspension and termination. Three were employee-evaluation records that met all four statuto…
When can the AG review an Arkansas custodian's FOIA decision about a public employee's records?
The AG declined to evaluate the City of Rogers custodian's decision because it appeared incomplete. Many of the documents had not been classified as personnel or evaluation records, the disclosure tes…
Can a state agency release a former employee's work emails as personnel records without checking whether they're evaluation records?
Partially. DHS correctly identified most of former employee Leslie Rutledge's emails as personnel records suitable for release. But several emails were employee-evaluation records that needed the four…
When can the press get records from an Arkansas police officer's internal investigation?
Hearst Television's KHBS got partial relief. The AG sided with the custodian on two internal investigations that did not result in suspension or termination (those records stay closed). But he overrul…
If an Arkansas teacher resigns mid-appeal of a suspension, are the suspension records still FOIA-disclosable?
Yes. A Springdale teacher's suspension under A.C.A. § 6-17-1508 became 'final' for FOIA purposes when he resigned mid-appeal. Suspension under that statute is disciplinary even if it's with pay. The F…
What does the AG say when an employee objects to release of her personnel file without giving any details?
The AG could not opine on Mona Struble's objection to release of her AHTD personnel file because he had no records, no custodian classification, and no explanation from her about which documents she w…
If an employee was 'forced to resign' before disciplinary action, can the public still get their employee-evaluation records under Arkansas FOIA?
Not automatically. Coerced resignation can in principle equal a constructive termination that opens the records to disclosure, but the custodian, not the AG, decides as a factual matter whether the re…
Are internal investigation records, including witness statements, accessible under Arkansas FOIA when the employee resigned without being suspended or terminated?
No. Records created by or at the employer's behest to investigate a complaint are employee-evaluation records, and FOIA requires they be withheld unless the employee was suspended or terminated. Resig…
Can a sheriff's office withhold internal-affairs interview records when the deputy was placed on paid administrative leave during the probe and then resigned before the investigation closed?
Yes, if the paid leave was routine (not disciplinary) and the resignation was voluntary. Without a suspension or termination, the records fail the threshold prong of Arkansas FOIA's evaluation-records…
Can an Arkansas records custodian refuse to release a public employee's personnel file when the requester is clearly using FOIA to harass the employee?
No. Custodians cannot weigh a requester's motive or identity under the personnel-records test, even where there is strong evidence of harassment. The remedy lies with a court ('No Contact' order or ha…
Can a city withhold internal-investigation records about a supervisor where the supervisor was investigated but neither suspended nor terminated, even when the complainant herself requests them?
Yes. Recordings, notes, and interview questions created by or at the employer's behest to investigate a complaint are employee-evaluation records, and FOIA bars disclosure absent suspension or termina…
Can a city withhold a 23-page applicant 'Integrity Interview' from a public-records request when most of its 349 questions are about deeply personal matters?
Yes. When highly personal questions predominate (about 70%) and are interspersed line-by-line throughout the document, the exempt information is 'inextricably intertwined' with the non-exempt, and the…
Can a sheriff's office release disciplinary records of a former deputy under Arkansas FOIA when the misconduct involved interactions with the public?
Yes, with one redaction. Disciplinary records of law enforcement misconduct that affects the public typically carry a compelling public interest sufficient to satisfy the four-part FOIA test, but a fa…
Under Arkansas FOIA, must a county disclose a former employee's settlement agreement and emails but withhold the termination letter when the termination was later vacated and the employee resigned by agreement?
Yes to both. The settlement agreement and related documents are personnel records that pass the privacy balancing test. The termination letter is an employee-evaluation record, and because the termina…
Were a custodian's FOIA decisions to release written reprimands and promotion-related letters from a former employee's file consistent with Arkansas FOIA?
The release decision was ultimately right, but the classification mistakes had to be corrected, and White-Out redaction was improper. Some records were evaluation records, some personnel records, and …
When does Arkansas FOIA require disclosure of a school employee's settlement agreement, and what redactions are allowed?
The custodian could not redact a settlement-agreement paragraph using the personnel-records exception because the public's interest in seeing the terms of a public-entity settlement (A.C.A. § 25-18-40…
Can an Arkansas school district custodian withhold a settlement agreement and complaint records about a public employee as personnel records under FOIA?
Workplace complaint records and a public-entity settlement agreement qualify as personnel records under the Arkansas FOIA, but the public's interest in disclosure (heightened by A.C.A. § 25-18-401's b…
Can a journalist get a former public employee's annual performance evaluations under the Arkansas FOIA?
Generally no. Under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(1), employee evaluation records stay confidential unless the evaluation formed the basis for the employee's suspension or termination, the disciplinary proces…
When can a journalist or member of the public get a police officer's personnel file under the Arkansas FOIA?
Generally yes, but with privacy protection. Police officers' personnel records are presumptively public under the Arkansas FOIA, except where disclosure would be a 'clearly unwarranted invasion of per…
Can the Arkansas AG block FOIA release of a police officer's internal affairs file because of his pending criminal trial?
No. The AG's FOIA review authority under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) is limited to evaluating personnel and employee-evaluation exemption decisions, not constitutional fair-trial arguments. The AG …
Can an Arkansas school district refuse to release any of an employee's personnel file under a FOIA request, claiming the whole file is exempt?
No. The AG said a blanket denial of an entire personnel file is inconsistent with Arkansas FOIA. The Act has no blanket exemption. Personnel records must be released unless their disclosure would be a…
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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.