Records Update, March 2010
- RIM Month Workshops
- 2010 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual Now Availalble
- Sunshine Week
- Leg & Reg
- Records in the News
RIM Month Workshops
ARMA International, the professional organization for records and information managers, designates each April as "Records and Information Management Month" to increase awareness of the importance of proper information governance. This year UC Records Management is increasing awareness by offering a slightly expanded set of workshops. Two sessions of our introductory workshop will be offered as well as two sessions of a new workshop on the management of email and electronic records. Participation in these workshops is free, however registration is required and each session is limited to 40 people. Please register using the links provided below.
Introduction to Records Management
During this workshop we will discuss what benefits you will receive from managing your records, UC’s records program and role as a keeper of public records, the definition of a "record," how to perform records inventories, the development of records retention schedules and proper means of records disposal.
Both April 7 sessions will present the same information - you only need to register for one.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
814 Blegen Libraray, West Campus
Limited to 40 people, please register here.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
1:30 - 3:30
Lucas Board Room, Winkler Center, East Campus
Limited to 40 people, please register here.
Managing E-mail and Electronic Records
During this workshop we will discuss the unique characteristics of electronic records that require attention, how to determine if an email message is a university record, retention of email and electronic records, recordkeeping systems, special considerations for websites, databases, and business applications, and disposal of electronic records including transfer to the University Archives.
Both April 14 sessions will present the same information - you only need to register for one.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
814 Blegen Libraray
Limited to 40 people, please register here.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
1:30 - 3:30
Lucas Board Room, Winkler Center, East Campus
Limited to 40 people, please register here.
2010 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual Now Availalble
The 2010 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual is now available for viewing, printing, and downloading from the Attorney General's website at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/YellowBook. Both the Attorney General and the Auditor of State have sections of their websites devoted to Ohio public records:
Attorney General: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Sunshine
Auditor of State: http://www.auditor.state.oh.us/services/opengov/default.htm
Sunshine Week 2010, March 14-20
The week of March 14-20, 2010 has been designated as Sunshine Week by the American Society of News Editors. Sunshine week is observed annually "to open a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information."
As a public institution, the University of Cincinnati is subject to the provisions of the Ohio Public Records Act. This is a good time to review UC's policy on public records requests at http://www.uc.edu/af/documents/general_counsel/PublicRecordsPolicy.pdf.
For more information about Sunshine Week see http://www.sunshineweek.org/.
Leg & Reg
Federal
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009
The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama on May 22, 2009, went into effect on February 22, 2010. While the law is concerned mostly with controlling interest rates, fees, billing practices, and marketing when doing business with customers under the age of 21 and college students, there is an interesting recordkeeping aspect to it. The act amends section 140(f)(1) of the Truth in Lending Act to require an institution of higher education "to publicly disclose any contract or other agreement made with a card issuer or creditor for the purpose of marketing a credit card." The Federal Reserve has stated that the disclosure can be made on the web site or it can be available upon request, provided procedures for requesting the documents are reasonable and free of cost to the requestor, and the requested contracts or agreements are provided within a reasonable time frame. The entire contract must be disclosed and cannot be redacted in any way.
Documents regarding the act can be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-627.
Turk v. Oiler, Civ. Case No. 09-CV-381.
In this case the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, decided that while the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) allows for the release of patient medical records in response to a grand jury subpoena (45 C.F.R. §164.512(f)(1)(ii)(B)), Ohio's privileged communications law (O.R.C. § 2317.02(B)) is more stringent and takes precedence. The Cleveland Clinic had filed a request to dismiss allegations that they released medical records requested via an Ohio grand jury subpoena in violation of Ohio common law, arguing that since grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret there is no violation of the physician-patient privilege. The court found that Ohio’s physician-patient privilege does not contain an exception permitting disclosure in response to a grand jury subpoena.
The case can be found at http://www.kslaw.com/Library/publication/HH020810_Turk.pdf.
Decided February 1, 2010
United States Patriot Act
On February 24, & 25, 2010, both houses of Congress extended some of the provisions of the U.S. Patriot Act that were scheduled to expire at the end of February for one more year with no modifications. One of those provisions allows court-approved seizure of records and property in antiterrorism operations. President Obama is expected to sign the extension before Sunday.
State
State ex rel. Bardwell v. Lyndhurst, 2010-Ohio-525.
In this case the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, denied a writ of mandamus compelling the city of Lyndhurst to fulfill a public records request for police records. In the request, Brian Bardwell claims to have submitted a public records request on May 28, 2009. However, video of his visit showed that while he may have intended to submit the request on that date, he actually left the office after an altercation with the clerk on duty and did not leave it on that date. His petition was filed on July 20, 2009 and he submitted another public records request on July 21, which was filled. The court found that since he did not actually make the request on May 28, but on July 21, he had no grounds on which to petition for a writ on July 20.
The case can be found at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/8/2010/2010-ohio-525.pdf.
Decided February 17, 2010
State ex rel. Braxton v. Nichols, 2010-Ohio-681.
This case was heard in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Eighth Appellate District, County of Cuyahoga. The case, in part, deals with an extensive public records request submitted to the City of Cleveland’s Division of
Workforce Development in relation to a wrongful termination suit that resulted in 5,376 pages of documents. Identical requests were made by three employees in January, 2009, and a mandamus action was filed on July 22, 2009. On September 1, 2009, the City
responded that upon copying and payment of the $268.80 copying
fee, they would provide the records to the attorney, and as of
December 14, 2009, the records were available. At the time of this case neither the requesters nor their attorney had taken
possession of the records nor inspected them and a question arose whether the request was to inspect the records or obtain copies of the records. The court directed that within three weeks the requesters and
their attorney were to inspect the records, take copies of any records desired, pay five cents per page for
copies of any records they take, and certify whether the
records fully satisfied the request or whether there are still records outstanding. If the request was fulfilled, the
requestors could then submit a motion for statutory damages and attorney’s fees
under R.C. 149.43 at that time.
The case can be found at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/8/2010/2010-ohio-681.pdf.
Decided February 23, 2010
State ex rel. Cioffi v. Stuard, 2010-Ohio-829.
The Court of Appeals, Eleventh Appellate District, Trumbull County, Ohio decided this case in which an inmate requested transcripts of hearings via a public records request. The hearing in question was to be an evidentiary hearing. However, since the defendant was not available at the time of the hearing, no evidence was heard and the meeting was not recorded. The requester believed that since a court reporter was present a transcript must be available. The court referred to a Supreme Court of Ohio indication that a public official is not required to create or provide access to a “record” or document which never existed and denied the request. The requester then questioned if no record of the hearing was made whether the judge violated the requirements of Ohio Criminal Rule 22 by failing to ensure that all proceedings in a underlying criminal action were recorded. However, the court determined that the question was outside the scope of the present case.
The case can be found at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/11/2010/2010-ohio-829.pdf
Decided March 5, 2010
Records in the News
The links to stories provided here were active at the time of publication. News links tend to expire quickly due to Associated Press regulations. Apologies for any dead links.
Local & Regional News
Cordray Indicts Cleveland Heights Home Health Agency and Owner for Medicaid Fraud
Ohio Attorney General Website, Feburary 16, 2010
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray announced today that he is indicting a 47-year-old Cleveland Heights woman and the home health agency she operates on felony charges in connection with the alleged falsification of criminal background checks.
Translation Project Expands Access to Court Forms
Supreme Court & Judicial System News, February 19, 2010
Vital court information will be more readily accessible to non-English speaking Ohioans and those with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) as the result of a translation project initiated by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Ohio gets cash for electronic health records
The Columbus Dispatch, February 16, 2010
A future in which doctors and hospitals across Ohio can access patients' records as easily as using an ATM is a little closer. The federal government has awarded $53 million in stimulus funds to two state agencies to create an electronic medical-records system that will connect doctors' offices, hospitals and imaging and ambulatory centers.
Mansfield court clerk must post records policy
Mansfield News Journal, February 16, 2010
Appeals judges have ordered the Mansfield Municipal Clerk of Courts to prominently post the policy for release of public records within his office.
Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo fails to comply with records request
Cleveland.com, February 19, 2010
Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo failed today to comply with a public records request for at least one subpoena -- and possibly two -- related to a federal investigation into possible corruption in his office.
Sylvania man wants his criminal records sealed
WTVG Toledo, February 15, 2010
A Sylvania native who emailed a bomb threat to his high school wants his criminal records sealed
The Cincinnati Enquirer (via Cincinnati.com), February 22, 2010
Cincinnati NAACP President Christopher Smitherman has filed an open-records lawsuit against Cincinnati Public Schools, asking a judge to order CPS to hand over information about the Hughes High School renovations.
- see also Strickland backs NAACP in audit flap at Cincinnati.com, March 9, 2010
States eye ban on public release of 911 calls
The Associated Press, February 24, 2010
Because of situations like Casey's, lawmakers in Alabama, Ohio and Wisconsin are deciding whether to bar the public release of 911 calls.
File-stamp case heard by Ohio Supreme Court
Zanesville Times Recorder, March 10, 2010
Justices with the Ohio Supreme Court listened to arguments from the Zanesville law director and a Columbus defense attorney surrounding whether court documents should be file-stamped.
Local officials don't fight records requests
The News Messenger, March 13, 2010
Central Ohio.com and The News Herald sent information request letters to more than 100 public officials seeking credit card statements and policies as well as expense reports on more than 430 officials working for those agencies.
Westlake school board may change the way it documents public meetings
Cleveland.com, March 11, 2010
School board members agreed Monday to explore potential changes to the way their meetings are documented after one board member claimed the public was denied access to his statements regarding a controversial bond issue vote.
First Student to Pay Big Fine for Violating Driver Records Regulations in Ohio
School Transportation News, March 4, 2010
The Ohio Department of Public Safety announced that the nation's largest school bus contractor paid a $50,000 fine and finds itself again on probation through the end of September after violating Ohio Administrative Code on auditing school bus driver records last year.
Another ODOT vendor pleads guilty to bribery, tampering with records
WKYC, Cleveland/Akron, March 10, 2010
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason confirmed that Philip Marek, an Ohio Department of Transportation vendor who lives in Aurora, pleaded guilty to two counts of bribery and three counts of attempted tampering with records in court Tuesday afternoon.
Higher Education News
Documenting Admissions 'Incidents' at Illinois
Inside Higher Ed, February 17, 2010
As part of its response to last year's admissions scandal, the University of Illinois now keeps a log of all incidents in which someone tries to use influence in the admissions process.
Post, UWM reach settlement in records lawsuit
The UWM Post (Wisconsin), February 15, 2010
The UWM Post and UW-Milwaukee reached a settlement last week for a public records lawsuit filed against UWM by the student newspaper in November of last year.
Inside Higher Ed, February 16, 2010
Step by step, an infrastructure is emerging that would make it possible for dozens of states to share data about the students in their K-12 and postsecondary education systems, creating the equivalent of a national system of data on students' educational progress.
GWU e-mail welcomes rejected early-decision applicants
The Washington Post, February 18, 2010
About 200 students who had sought early-decision admission to George Washington University received an e-mail last week that proclaimed "Congratulations" and welcomed them to the Class of 2014 -- for several hours.
Computer virus may put 900 SIU alumni at risk of identity theft
KFVS Channel 12 (Cape Girardeau, MO), February 17, 2010
A computer security breach at Southern Illinois University may have put hundreds of alumni at risk of identity theft.
Obama Tries New Tack to Collect Student Data
The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 21, 2010
The Obama administration is opening a new campaign to persuade states of their full legal rights to develop and use student-records databases, after stalling in its bid to write new privacy rules that would make those rights unambiguous.
Deluge of Scientific Data Needs to be Curated for Long-Term Use
Resource Shelf, February 24, 2010
Carole L. Palmer, a professor of library and information science, says that data curation – the active and ongoing management of data through their lifecycle of interest to science – is now understood to be an important part of supporting and advancing research.