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 a public university employee's work text messages and emails public under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that a university employee's text messages and the emails discussing them are personnel records, and since nothing in them was intimate enough to be a clearly unwar…
Can the public get a fired government employee's personnel file and investigation report under the Arkansas FOIA?
Yes, mostly. Under the Arkansas FOIA, a public employee's personnel records must be disclosed with private details (Social Security number, contact info, financial data) redacted. The one investigatio…
Can Arkansas release an employee's personnel file if personal identifiers are redacted?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the Arkansas Department of Public Safety correctly classified the 16 requested records as personnel records that are open to the public, and that the custodian…
How should a police department handle FOIA release of complaints and medical info in an officer's file?
Partly. The Attorney General found the custodian's plan to release Rachael Kear's records with some redactions was only partially consistent with the FOIA. He said the custodian must look at the facts…
Can a city withhold a fired employee's termination letter and investigative file under Arkansas FOIA?
It depends, but likely yes. The AG could not review the actual records, so he could not confirm the custodian's classification or whether the firing was administratively final. But he explained the ru…
Can a police department release all of a fired officer's records without redacting anything under FOIA?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a blanket release of all the requester's personnel and evaluation records, with no redactions, would be inconsistent with the FOIA. Before releasing anything, t…
Can an Arkansas agency release a police officer's disciplinary suspension record under FOIA?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the 'Disciplinary Action' form was properly treated as an employee-evaluation record, and that the four conditions for releasing such records were met: the off…
When can an Arkansas sheriff's office release suspension letters from a deputy's personnel file under FOIA?
Partially consistent with FOIA. The administrative records and unsolicited third-party commendation letters are releasable with proper redactions. Supervisor commendations and promotion letters must b…
Which records in an Arkansas deputy sheriff's personnel file must be withheld from a FOIA request when there's been no final discipline?
Partially consistent with FOIA. The custodian may release the administrative records and unsolicited third-party commendation letters with proper redactions. The custodian must withhold the employee e…
Is a student complaint about a faculty member a personnel record (releasable) or an evaluation record (closed) under the Arkansas FOIA?
It depends on whether the student submitted the complaint on their own initiative or at the school's behest. An unsolicited complaint is a personnel record, generally releasable. A complaint solicited…
If a Fayetteville police lieutenant recorded my two-hour phone call about a citizen complaint and the city is withholding the audio as an 'employee evaluation,' is that legal under the Arkansas FOIA?
Probably partly. Without seeing the recording, the AG could not definitively rule, but the call sounds like a 'mixed record.' The portion not tied to investigating the citizen complaint is likely a pe…
When a corrections department employee's personnel file gets a FOIA request, are administrative records, promotion letters, and demotion letters all releasable, and how should email addresses and references' contact information be handled?
Mostly yes, with consistency fixes. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded that all the records the Arkansas Department of Corrections planned to release for employee Danielle Conner, administrative r…
When a community supervision officer's personnel file gets a FOIA request, can the employer release it with redactions, and can private-sector references' contact information be redacted along with everything else?
Mostly yes, with adjustments. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded the Arkansas Department of Corrections's decision to release Thelma Delancey's personnel records with redactions was largely consis…
When a public employee's personnel records get a FOIA request, can the employee block release by objecting to the requester's motives or what the requester might do with the records?
No. Attorney General Tim Griffin concluded that under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, the requester's intent and motives are generally irrelevant to the custodian's release decision. Employee…
Can my Arkansas city withhold the entire internal affairs file on a police officer who was not disciplined?
Mostly yes, but not the routine call-for-service report inside it. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Lowell was right to withhold the memorandums, reprimands, and most of the internal affairs …
Can my Arkansas city legally refuse a FOIA request for citizen complaints filed against a police officer who was not disciplined?
Mostly no. AG Tim Griffin concluded that the City of Bryant's refusal to release the complaint files was only partially correct. The internal investigation memorandums must be withheld as employee-eva…
What can a city release when someone FOIAs the file of a recently fired employee, including the termination letter, internal emails, and a social worker's note?
Most of the file comes out, but not all. Routine grievance correspondence, supervisor statements, signed workplace policies, and similar documents are personnel records and must be released (with pers…
Can a prosecutor's office release a 'Brady list' spreadsheet of officer misconduct, plus emails from law enforcement about Brady issues, to a FOIA requester?
Mostly yes, with care. The emails are personnel records and can come out (no clearly unwarranted privacy invasion). The Brady-list spreadsheets are evaluation records: officers who were suspended or t…
Does an Arkansas city have to release records showing how much comp time its employees have accrued, and can a city council member make that FOIA request?
Yes to both. Comp time records are 'personnel records' under FOIA, similar to salary, sick leave, and vacation records, and they are presumptively releasable. The city must redact narrow personal info…
Can the Arkansas State Police release internal-affairs witness statements, transcripts of interviews, and personal emails from a state trooper's personnel file?
Most of it, yes. Witness statements and interview transcripts in an internal affairs file that resulted in suspension are evaluation records that must be released because the four-part FOIA test is me…
When Pulaski County releases a fired employee's file (termination form, incident report, screenshots of text messages), what redactions are required?
The text messages are personnel records (subject to release with privacy redactions). The termination form and incident report are evaluation records and require the four-part FOIA test (suspension/te…
When the Department of Corrections releases a corrections major's personnel file (timesheets, signed policies, PREA forms, employment records, training certificates), what redactions are required and which are improper?
Most of the custodian's redactions are correct, but two corrections are needed: (1) the employee's AASIS personnel number must be redacted from one Administrative Directive form where it is currently …
When Pulaski County releases HR complaint records (exit interviews, employee complaints, HR responses, harassment investigation forms), how do you classify each piece, and what are the release rules?
Mixed. Detailed exit interviews about a supervisor are evaluation records. Routine forwarding emails by HR (passing along an employee complaint) are personnel records. HR replies that just provide com…
When an employee files a Discrimination and Harassment Complaint form on a county template, is that an evaluation record (which can be withheld) or a personnel record (which must be released)?
It depends on whether the employer directed the employee to complete the form. If yes ('at the behest of the employer'), it is an evaluation record and stays confidential unless the subject of the com…
If I'm the subject of a Pulaski County FOIA request for a workplace complaint about me, what can the County actually release and what must it redact?
The County can release emails as personnel records with privacy-related redactions. It must withhold the discrimination/harassment complaint form against you so long as you have not been suspended or …
If my supervisor wrote a memo about a conversation we had and filed a discrimination/harassment complaint against my wishes, can the County release those records under FOIA?
No, not as 'personnel records.' The AG ruled that a memo created by your supervisor describing your work-environment complaints, plus a complaint form completed against your wishes, are employee-evalu…
I FOIA'd Pulaski County for complaints against employees. They redacted entire pages and lots of names. Are those redactions legal under Arkansas FOIA?
Mostly, yes. Whole-page redactions of evaluation records are required when the four-part test isn't met. Name redactions are case-by-case under the privacy balancing test, justified for things like me…
When a county employee files a complaint about a coworker or supervisor under the county's personnel policy, is that complaint a 'personnel record' (mostly disclosable) or an 'employee evaluation' (mostly sealed)?
It's a personnel record. The 'at the behest' test under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(1) requires command or directive, a personnel policy that lets employees file complaints isn't a command. Reprimands and s…
I resigned in lieu of termination from a state job. Can my former employer release my voluntary separation form, resignation letter, and the email and memo about the events that led to my forced resignation?
Yes. The voluntary separation form and resignation letter are personnel records, releasable subject to redactions. The email and memorandum are evaluation records, but a forced resignation counts as '…
A school district got a FOIA request for all complaints about coaches over five years. Which emails are personnel records (releasable) and which are evaluation records (mostly withheld)?
Unsolicited emails from third parties (parents, community members) about coaches are personnel records and must be released, with redactions for things like personal contact information, dates of birt…
Are city civil-service commissioners' personal email addresses and personal phone numbers exempt from a FOIA request?
Yes, they are likely exempt, but not for the reason the city gave. The personal-contact-information exemption in A.C.A. § 25-19-105(b)(13) applies only to nonelected employees of state, municipal, sch…
Can a state agency withhold law-enforcement officer decertification records under FOIA before the Commission has voted on the decertification?
The three exemptions the Department of Public Safety might have reached for (undisclosed investigations, personnel records, and personal contact information) generally do not apply to CLEST decertific…
How does an Arkansas city sort through a police officer's complete personnel file for a FOIA release? Which records go out, which get redacted, and which stay confidential?
The Fayetteville custodian wanted to release everything with redactions, but the AG splits the file across nine categories: administrative records (mostly releasable as personnel records, with college…
I asked Washington County for discipline records on two former employees and the custodian denied everything. Can the county hold all of that back?
Mostly no. The AG concluded the blanket denial is largely inconsistent with FOIA. The emails, three separation notices, and an investigation closure letter are personnel records that should be release…
I'm the same Conway officer in opinion 2025-089 and someone made a separate, broader FOIA request listing ten categories of records about me. The custodian gave me his planned answers for each category. Are they right?
Mostly OK, but several depend on classification calls the custodian must still make. Your personnel file (category 1) needs to be sorted document by document. Categories 2, 3, and 5 (incident records,…
Three coworker complaints have been filed against me, and now they're being released under FOIA. Aren't those internal investigation records? Can I block release?
No. The AG concluded that anonymous complaints filed by coworkers are personnel records, not evaluation records, because they were not created by or at the behest of the employer. They are not transfo…
I'm a Conway police officer. I was terminated, I'm appealing it to the Civil Service Commission, and the city wants to release a big stack of records about my case. Can they?
Mostly no on the records connected to your termination, but several other records can go out. Because your termination is on appeal to the Conway Civil Service Commission, your evaluation records (any…
I run a small police department. Someone has FOIA'd a former officer's personnel file. I have admin records, a written warning, a paid-administrative-leave letter, a final investigation letter, investigative notes, and a resignation letter. What can I release?
Release most of it, but hold the investigative notes unless the resignation was actually a constructive termination. The administrative records (job application, training acknowledgments, separation n…
When a Little Rock police officer is fired, are the off-boarding forms and the termination letter subject to release under Arkansas's FOIA?
The off-boarding and termination clearance forms are personnel records and must be released with limited redactions (personal contact info, employee ID number). The termination letter is an evaluation…
If a city's mayor fires an employee, the city council reverses that decision and reinstates the employee, and an outside investigator's report exists about the employee, can someone get the investigation report under FOIA?
No. Because the council reinstated the employee, the firing was not 'administratively final,' so the four-part test for releasing an employee evaluation record fails. The investigator's report stays w…
If text messages from a state trooper's personal phone end up in the trooper's personnel file because of an investigation, can the public get them under FOIA, even though the trooper says they're personal?
Yes. Once the messages are in the personnel file connected to the trooper's employment, they're personnel records. The custodian must redact family-related personal content but may release the rest. T…
Can the Arkansas AG review whether a police department properly redacted call-for-service and incident reports under FOIA?
Not under the special opinion-request statute the requester invoked. That statute (A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i)) only lets the AG opine on personnel records and employee-evaluation records. Call-for…
If a public agency hires me, can someone get my whole job application (resume, cover letter, references) under FOIA?
Yes, with redactions. Your application, resume, and cover letter are personnel records subject to release. Personal information (date of birth, SSN, contact info) is redacted. Your prior salaries from…
Did Arkansas Corrections properly redact a warden's personnel file before releasing it to a FOIA requester?
Mostly yes, but with two errors. The custodian forgot to redact the warden's tax withholdings and net pay (those should have been redacted) and incorrectly redacted his race, sex, and salary (those sh…
Is a 2013 suspension letter (with a written reprimand inside) and a birth certificate from a Pine Bluff officer's personnel file releasable under FOIA?
The 2013 suspension letter is releasable as an evaluation record (the four-part test is met because the discipline is over twelve years old). But the written reprimand portion of the letter must be re…
When a sheriff's deputy was investigated for two separate complaints, suspended on one, and exonerated on the other, what gets released under FOIA?
The corrective-action form is a personnel record (releasable). The suspension letter that states the grounds is an evaluation record but the four-part test is met for the sustained complaint, so it's …
What gets released and what gets withheld when someone FOIAs the entire personnel file of a long-serving police officer, including commendations, complaints, investigations, and disciplinary records?
Administrative records and unsolicited third-party commendations and complaints come out (with redactions). Department-generated commendations stay closed. Written reprimands and minor warnings stay c…
When the Arkansas Department of Corrections releases a current or former employee's personnel file under FOIA, what specific information has to be blacked out before the file goes to the requester?
The custodian was right to release the personnel file with redactions, but missed several items the AG says must also be redacted: text describing separation from employment on the reference-consent f…
Is a redacted spreadsheet that lists multiple Conway Police Department employees alongside disciplinary dispositions, but doesn't summarize each employee's misconduct, a personnel record or an evaluation record under FOIA, and can the public see it?
It's a 'mixed personnel record' (it relates to multiple employees and was not created to evaluate any of them), and it should be released. Because the spreadsheet only lists names and dispositions, wi…
If the Arkansas Department of Corrections plans to release a current agent's personnel file under FOIA, is the supervisor-completed promotion recommendation a personnel record or an evaluation record, and is a college transcript releasable?
The promotion recommendation is an evaluation record, not a personnel record, because it's created at the employer's request to evaluate the employee. Since the agent has not been suspended or termina…
Someone made a FOIA request for the personnel files and job applications of three of our city's police officers. As the custodian, what do I have to redact and what must I release?
The job applications (titled 'personal history statements') are personnel records and the AG agrees they go out, but with corrections to the redactions. You correctly redacted SSNs, personal contact i…
Can the Arkansas AG review a FOIA decision to release a job application from someone who was never hired?
No. AG Tim Griffin's review power under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i) is limited to personnel records and employee-evaluation or job-performance records. Application materials of someone who was neve…
Can the Arkansas State Police release a state trooper's personnel and internal-affairs file in response to a FOIA request?
Mostly yes. Routine personnel records like hire dates, transfer forms, and pay records are releasable with privacy redactions. Disciplinary suspension letters, internal-affairs files, and the underlyi…
Can a public employee block release of her middle name from a personnel record under Arkansas FOIA?
No. Under Arkansas FOIA, the subject of a personnel record cannot block release of her middle name simply because she does not want it shared. The privacy test is objective. The employee's preference …
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…
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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.