May 24, 1999; City of St. Paul
5/24/1999 10:15:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion and the response from the government entity with which the person disagrees are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data classified as not public, are available for public access. On April 2, 1999, IPA received a letter from Brad Jacobsen, President of the St. Paul Police Federation. In his letter, Mr. Jacobsen asked the Commissioner to issue an opinion regarding the rights of a Federation member to gain access to certain data maintained by the City of St. Paul. Mr. Jacobsen enclosed copies of related correspondence. In response to Mr. Jacobsen's request, IPA, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Fred Owusu, the St. Paul City Clerk. The purposes of this letter, dated April 6, 1999, were to inform him of Mr. Jacobsen's request, and to ask him to provide information or support for the City's position. On April 15, 1999, IPA received a response from Gerald T. Hendrickson, Assistant City Attorney. Mr. Hendrickson enclosed copies of memoranda from the City's Human Resources director and staff. A summary of the detailed facts of this matter follows. A Federation member applied for a promotion. The Civil Service examination for promotion consists of written, video-taped and oral examinations. According to Mr. Jacobsen, the Federation member requested access to the findings of the oral interview. The City refused the request, on the basis of Minnesota Statutes, section 13.34, which classifies testing or examination materials. According to Mr. Hendrickson, the Civil Service oral examination is conducted by a panel of subject matter experts. Each panelist rates the response of each applicant, using a form provided by the City. This form includes both space for comments and a scoring line. The raw scores are translated in to [sic] scores on a 1-100 point basis by the City's Human Resources staff. Mr. Hendrickson stated that the director of Human Resources for the City has made the determination that disclosure of oral interviewers' notes, and their identities, would compromise the objectivity, fairness, and integrity of the examination process. Issue:In his request for an opinion, Mr. Jacobsen asked the Commissioner to address the following issue:
Discussion:Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 13.34: Data consisting solely of testing or examination materials, or scoring keys used solely to determine individual qualifications for appointment or promotion in public service, or used to administer a licensing examination, or academic examination, the disclosure of which would compromise the objectivity or fairness of the testing or examination process are classified as nonpublic, except pursuant to court order. Completed versions of personnel, licensing, or academic examinations shall be accessible to the individual who completed the examination, unless the responsible authority determines that access would compromise the objectivity, fairness, or integrity of the examination process. Notwithstanding section 13.04, the responsible authority shall not be required to provide copies of completed examinations or answer keys to any individual who has completed an examination. [Emphasis added.] Therefore, in order to be classified under section 13.34, data must consist of objective examination materials; that is, actual tests and/or scoring keys. According to Mr. Hendrickson, the interviewers' notes include subjective evaluations of an applicant's responses to interview questions, and additional comments, which are not tests, examination materials, or scoring keys. In addition, the identity of the individuals who conduct the oral examinations are not tests or scoring keys. Accordingly, the data in question may not be properly classified under section 13.34. Pursuant to section 13.43, the interviewers' evaluations are private data, and the identities of the interviewers are public. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issue raised by Mr. Jacobsen is as follows:
Signed:
David F. Fisher
Dated: May 24, 1999 |
Personnel data
Examination data (13.34)
Interviews
Interviews
