Records Update, September 2011
- Introduction to Records Management Workshops
- UC Information Security Shredding Event
- Leg & Reg
- Records in the News
Introduction to Records Management Workshops
The next Introduction to Records Management workshops will be held October 11 and October 13.
During this workshop we will discuss the benefits you will receive from efficiently managing your records, UC’s records program, your 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 sessions will be held in Blegen Library's Marge Schott Seminar Room from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The workshops are free, but registration is required. You only need to register for one session; the same information will be presented at both.
Register here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XQRF9CR. When you see SurveyMonkey's "Thank you for taking this survey" page your registration has been sent.
UC Information Security Shredding Event
In conjunction with their annual Information Security Awareness Week, InfoSec will be offering a free shredding event to the University community on Thursday October 6th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on McMicken Commons.
A flyer is available with more information.
Leg & Reg
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Affecting Records and Information Management
State of Ohio
Pubic Records Cases
State ex rel. Bell v. London, 2011-Ohio-3914
The Madison County Court of Appeals ruled that there was sufficient evidence that the London Police Department complied with Ohio Revised Code 149.39 when destroying police dispatch tapes according to the Ohio Historical Society’s approved practice of erasing tapes every 30 days providing no action was pending.
Decided August 8, 2011
State ex rel. Cavanagh v. Cleveland, 2011-Ohio-3840
The Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals ruled that the City of Cleveland provided public records in a timely manner in response to a voluminous request resulting in more than 600 pages of material. In this opinion, the court noted that “we can only find that the degree of public benefit was minimal at best, since the request for public records was clearly employed in place of discovery…”
Decided August 3, 2011
Strothers v. Mayor of E. Cleveland, 2011-Ohio-3694
The Cuyahoga County Court of Appeals awarded statutory damages in the amount of $1000 to the requestor of public records after the Mayor of Cleveland took 47 days to completely fill the request. One judge dissented, stating that due to the records and volume 47 days was reasonable.
Decided July 26, 2011
State ex rel. Callos Staffing Co., L.L.C. v. Ohio Dept. of Job & Family Servs., 2011-Ohio-3662
The Mahoning County Court of Appeals ruled that documents held by the Department of Job and Family Services relating to an audit of the requestor’s unemployment insurance records are not public records.
Decided July 13, 2011
Cases Involving Legal Discovery of Records
Medina v. Medina Gen. Hosp., 2011-Ohio-3990
The Cuyahoga Court of Appeals ruled that extracting non-privileged information from confidential medical records in response to interrogations does not violate statutory physician-patient privilege and HIPAA regulations.
Decided August 11, 2011
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.
Ohio, Regional & Local
State questioned record-keeping of GOP candidate for attorney general
Kentucky.com—July 1, 2011
Republican attorney general candidate Todd P'Pool has been warned twice by Kentucky officials for not keeping adequate records that justify the time he bills the state for working on child-support collection cases as Hopkins County attorney.
Detective in Widmer case to be questioned again about personnel file
Middletown Journal—July 15, 2011
Ryan Widmer’s defense attorneys couldn’t use former Hamilton Twp. Detective Jeff Braley’s false employment records against him, but attorneys in a civil lawsuit against him will.
Lowe’s agrees to pay federal government $90,000
Dayton Daily News—July 18, 2011
Lowe’s, the home improvement store retailer, has agreed to pay the federal government $90,000 and review three years of medical records for work-related injury claims at 24 southern and southwest Ohio stores, to settle complaints brought by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Lawsuit: CVG improperly awarded contract
Cincinnati.com—July 21, 2011
The complaint also accuses the airport board of violating Kentucky's open records laws in denying DeBra-Kuempel records it requested about how the contract was awarded, such as a final evaluation and ranking of the bidders.
Children’s Private Documents Made Public
WBNS-TV10—August 3, 2011
An investigation continued on Wednesday to determine the person who failed to destroy private documents from a foster care and left them sitting outside near a recycling bin on the north side.
Former Butler County Auditor Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Conspiracy ...
Media Newswire—August 3, 2011
CINCINNATI-Butler County Auditor Mary C. Rogers was sentenced in United States District Court to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution to National City Bank in the amount of $4 million for conspiracy and filing a false income tax return.
Kentucky state social worker indicted for falsifying child abuse records
Louisville City Hall Examiner—August 4, 2011
Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway announced Wednesday that an Anderson County grand jury has returned an indictment against a former employee of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Community Based Services. The grand jury indicted 60-year-old Margaret “Geri” Murphy on nine counts of tampering with public records in connection with her role as a front-line employee investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect in Anderson County.
Federal prosecutors subpoena documents from Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority
Cleveland.com—August 4, 2011
A subpoena delivered to port officials last week ordered them to turn over a number of documents related to its dealings with Veterans Development LLC, a company that the port helped to finance $115 million of a project near the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.
Judge: Ohio school operator must turn over records
Dayton Daily News—August 4, 2011
A judge in Ohio has ruled that a private management company that operates a group of publicly funded charter schools must turn over financial records requested by the schools' governing boards.
Clermont Co. judge releases contested Pierce Twp. records
Cincinnati.com—August 4, 2011
Clermont County Common Pleas Judge Victor Haddad today denied a request for a injunction to prevent the release of records relating to Police Chief James T. Smith.
Complaint: Documents being withheld by city officials
The [Lorain] Chronicle-Telegram—August 11, 2011
Joseph Montelon’s lawyer has complained to a federal judge that he’s not getting the cooperation he believes he is entitled to from the city of Lorain as he gathers information for the lawsuit Montelon filed over what he believes to be an illegal raid on his Wickliffe home nearly three years ago.
Oxford Press—August 12, 2011
State BMV officials say Ohio’s public records laws do not require local BMV-contractors to reveal how much they spend to operate their offices. The state BMV itself does not know, a BMV spokesperson said.
Higher Education
S.C. State University trustees keep president's evaluation private
The Times and Democrat—July 13, 2011
South Carolina State University will not release the results of its annual evaluation of the college president, trustees decided Tuesday. But an attorney for the S.C. Press Association says that's not legal.
Cambridge man accused of hacking MIT computers to steal 4m scientific papers
Boston Globe—July 19, 2011
A Cambridge man who was a fellow at Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics is now facing federal charges that he hacked into a Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer archive system to steal more than 4 million articles from scientific journals and academic work.
Department of Justice files amicus brief supporting U of I student privacy case vs. Chicago Tribune
University of Illinois—July 20, 2011
The Department of Justice, on behalf of the United States government, today joined Illinois public universities and national higher education and privacy rights advocates in supporting the University of Illinois’ appeal of a federal court ruling that threatens to undermine a nearly 40-year-old law to protect student records, puts hundreds of millions in federal student financial aid at risk and establishes a two-tier hierarchy that favors private colleges over public universities.
Student records stolen from SASB North
Daily Tar Heel—August 2, 2011
Confidential records for 31 students were stolen after a break-in at the student judicial system office in Student and Academic Services Building North, according to UNC News Services. The larceny was discovered at 8 a.m. Monday.
UWM computers hacked; data on 75,000 exposed
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel—August 10, 2011
A computer system at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was hacked and bugged with malicious software, potentially exposing the names and Social Security numbers of about 75,000 students, faculty and staff, the school announced Wednesday.
U.Va. document disclosure plans worry science groups
PilotOnline.com—August 11, 2011
The Union of Concerned Scientists has asked University of Virginia officials to be selective in releasing climate change research records to an interest group seeking them, arguing some should be shielded to protect privacy and academic integrity.
AAUP Says U. of Virginia Is Giving Group Too Much Access to Climate Researchers' Documents
The Chronicle of Higher Education—August 11, 2011
The American Association of University Professors is urging the University of Virginia's president, Teresa A. Sullivan, to revise and scale back an agreement to accommodate a conservative group that filed an open-records request seeking e-mails and other documents from climate scientists.