North Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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When the NC Employment Security Commission settles with an employer accused of 'SUTA dumping' (shifting employees to shell companies to dodge unemployment taxes), is that settlement agreement confidential or a public record?
Public. The NC AG concluded that once an employer appeals an unemployment-tax assessment, the matter becomes a 'proceeding before a hearing officer' under § 96-4(t)(5), and the settlement agreement th…
If a North Carolina city's attorney gave the council legal advice about an employee five years ago, does the local newspaper have a right to see that advice now?
Not if the advice contains confidential personnel information. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-168(a), the municipal personnel-file confidentiality statute, supersedes the thre…
When the federal Environmental Protection Agency shares draft hazardous-site rankings or other pre-decisional documents with North Carolina's environmental department, do North Carolina's open records laws require the state to release them to the public, or can the state keep them confidential under federal Freedom of Information Act exemptions?
The state can keep them confidential, but only by using a specific statutory channel. The 2001 NC AG opinion explained that N.C.G.S. § 130A-304(a)(2), added in 1991 at the EPA's request, makes informa…
When North Carolina's State Highway Patrol or other state law enforcement agencies collect statistics on traffic stops, is the identity of the officer who made each stop a public record, or can the state keep officer names confidential?
The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that, under the freshly enacted HB 1840 (Session Law 2000-67), the identity of the law enforcement officer making a traffic stop is NOT a public record. The General As…
Can a researcher force the NC Employment Security Commission to rebuild its workforce-tracking database to use anonymized identifiers so the data can be analyzed without exposing Social Security numbers?
No. NC's Public Records Act does not require a state agency to create a new database it does not already maintain. The Common Follow-Up System links student and worker records by Social Security numbe…
When a state department surveys its employees about workplace conditions, are the questionnaires, answer sheets, and written comments public records, or are they confidential personnel records?
They are public records, with one carve-out. Surveys created by a state agency in the course of its business are public records under G.S. 132-1 and must be made available unless a specific exception …
If a North Carolina sheriff settles an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination charge through a Conciliation Agreement, and county money pays the settlement, is the agreement a public record that the county must disclose?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 132-1.3, public records include all settlement documents in any suit, administrative proceeding, or arbitration instituted against an agency of NC government in connection with i…
If a North Carolina state agency keeps adding new records to an old database, does that trigger the public-records index requirement under § 132-6.1(b)?
No. Routinely updating or adding records to an existing electronic database is not the same as 'compiling' the database. The 1995 statute let agencies skip the index-creation requirement for databases…
If a teenage driver is involved in a car accident in NC, does the Juvenile Code's confidentiality rule prevent the police report from identifying the teen as the driver?
No. G.S. 7A-675 protects investigations and records under the Juvenile Code (abuse, neglect, delinquency, undisciplined behavior). A factual DMV collision report under G.S. 20-166.1(e) is not a juveni…
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Attorney general opinions in North Carolina are written by the North Carolina 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.