April 3, 2003; Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
4/3/2003 10:14:43 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:On February 14, 2003, IPAD received an email from Gail Olson, General Counsel for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). In her email, Ms. Olson asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain data that MnSCU maintains. After discussion with IPAD staff, Ms. Olson revised her request in an email dated February 18, 2003. Then, after further discussion with IPAD staff, Ms. Olson, in an email dated March 6, 2003, requested that the Commissioner address another issue in the opinion. IPAD withdrew Ms. Olson's original request and incorporated both issues into a new request. Gary Hill of KSTP-TV contacted IPAD and asked to submit comments, which Paul Hannah, an attorney, provided in a letter dated March 20, 2003. A summary of the facts as Ms. Olson submitted them is as follows. In her February 18, 2003, email, Ms. Olson wrote: ...A media source has requested data from MnSCU about professors at St. Cloud State University and Metropolitan State University affected by the Inter Faculty Organization contract (IFO/MNSCU Agreement 2001-2003. [The IFO is the Inter Faculty Organization, the bargaining group for state university faculty. The IFO/MNSCU Agreement referred to is the collective bargaining agreement.] The requester states they are seeking information about those professors affected by the 'career steps' provision...in that contract agreement. I'd like to know their names, what department they work in, what their education degrees are, their date of employment, their 2002 base salary, and their 2003 base salary. In a February 25, 2003, email, in regard to Issue 2, Ms. Olson wrote: There are frequent requests for salary data, and we would like to have clarification as to how that term should be applied, and whether the various components of an employee's salary (such as base pay, merit increases, COLI increases, overtime pay) are separately identifiable, public information. The relevant language in the IFO/MnSCU agreement states: All faculty members who have completed ten (10) years of service shall receive two (2) additional steps on the salary schedule at the beginning of their eleventh (11) year of service. Faculty members who have completed twenty (20) years of service shall receive an additional two (2) steps on the salary schedule at the beginning of their twenty-first year of service. Faculty members who have completed thirty (30) years of service shall receive an additional two (2) steps on the salary schedule at the beginning of their thirty-first year of service. Issues:In her request for an opinion, Ms. Olson asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
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Legislative authority and intent
Personnel data
Personnel data
Actual gross salary or compensation
Remuneration