Basic Employee Information
Charlie Kratovil made this OPRA request to Middlesex County as part of a batch sent to 31 authorities This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.
Under OPRA and the common law right of access, please provide documents, lists, reports or statements sufficient to show:
1) the name, title, department/division, current salary, and hire date for all salaried employees as of January 2, 2019
2) the name, title, department/division, current hourly rate, and hire date for all hourly employees as of January 2, 2019
3) the names of all employees currently enrolled in each healthcare insurance program/plan
4) the names of all employees currently enrolled in each public pension system
5) the names and pay status for each employee currently suspended from duty
6) the total 2018 base pay, overtime pay, and extra-duty pay for each employee
Thank you very much. Please don't hesitate to contact me if I can help clarify this request.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
Editor, New Brunswick Today
732-993-9697
I am currently out on maternity leave. If you need immediate assistance,
please call 732-745-3080. Thank you.
Dear Middlesex County,
Please confirm you have received this request.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Middlesex County OPRA Center <[1][email address]>
Date: Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 2:15 PM
Subject: OPRA Request :: W006327-012219
To: [2][email address] <[3][email address]>
Cc: [4][email address]
<[5][email address]>,
[6][email address]
<[7][email address]>
Attachments:
[8]Medical___Plan_Members.pdf
[9]Employee_Pension_Plan_by_Fund_1.pdf
[10]2019_Employee_Salaries___2018_Basepay_Overtime_1.pdf
--- Please respond above this line ---
Mr. Kratovil:
The following numbered responses correspond with the numbered paragraphs
of your request W006327-012219.
1. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/ overtime.
2. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/ overtime.
3. With regard to item 3 of your request, please see theattached table
which provides general statistical data, as individualizedhealth benefit
information is not subject to disclosure.
OPRA explicitly states that personnel and pensioninformation other than a
person's name, title, position, salary, payrollrecord, length of service,
date of separation, and type and amount of pensionis not considered a
government record and is, therefore, not subject todisclosure. N.J.S.A.
47:1A-10. In addition, information gatheredby a public employer for
transmission to its insurance carrier is not agovernment record and,
therefore not subject to disclosure. N.J.S.A.47:1A-1.1.
4. Please see attachment Employees by Pension Fund.
5. With regard to item 5 of yourrequest, please be advised that the County
is prohibited from disclosingpersonnel records pursuant to N.J.S.A.
47:1A-1.1 et seq. OPRAmandates that, “the personnel or pension records of
any individual in thepossession of a public agency, including but not
limited to records relating toany grievance filed by or against an
individual, shall not be considered agovernment record and shall not be
made available for public access[.]” N.J.S.A.47:1A-10. Further, in
Vaughn v. City of Trenton (Mercer), GRCComplaint No. 2009-177 (June 2010),
the Government Records Council held that,“[a]lthough the Custodian
violated OPRA at N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.g by failingto provide a response to the
Complainant’s request for the disciplinary historyfor Trenton Police
Department Detective, Robert Sheehan (retired), said recordis exempt from
disclosure as a personnel record pursuant to N.J.S.A.47:1A-10 and Merino
v. Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, GRC Complaint No.2003-110.”
Disciplinary records ofCounty employees are personnel records within the
meaning of N.J.S.A.47:1A-10, and are thus exempt from disclosure.
Accordingly, item 5 of yourrequest is denied.
6. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/ overtime.
Very truly yours,
Jeanne-Marie Scollo, Esq.
Deputy County Counsel
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Dear Middlesex County,
I am in receipt of your response to my OPRA request titled "Basic Employee Information" - Thank you for the response.
I must respectfully request that you reconsider your denial of items #3 and #5 of my requests. Identical requests made of dozens of other public agencies, including the County's utilities authority and improvement authority have yielded meaningful responses that identify which employees are currently receiving healthcare benefits as part of their employment (item #3) and which employees, if any, are currently suspended (item #5).
No request has been made for any justification for individual healthcare coverage, the names of any person's dependents, or any claims history. Seeing as how both of the County's established authorities have already disclosed the names of their employees who receive healthcare benefits through the authorities, I hope you will agree that this type of information should be public information and release the names of County employees who receive healthcare benefits through their public employment.
Further, I am a reporter covering the issues of community concern in Central New Jersey, including but not limited to the Middlesex County government. It has been widely reported that Middlesex County Sheriff's Officer Joshua Padilla has been suspended from duty pending the disposition of criminal charges that have been filed against him in Pennsylvania. To my knowledge, our publication was the first to report on the criminal charges against Officer Padilla, and in the course of reporting on the story, I asked Sheriff Mildred Scott to confirm the status of Officer Padilla (active, suspended with pay, or suspended without pay). Sheriff Scott responded in writing on February 4, stating: "As result of the charges brought, Officer Padilla has been suspended from his duties, without pay."
It would therefore be highly relevant information for my news organization (and for the general public) to know if any other County employees are currently suspended, and if so, whether or not they are being paid during their suspension. I explain all of this only to strengthen my case under the common law right of access.
Further, if the only currently suspended county employee is Officer Padilla, there is nothing to be lost or gained if the County simply confirms his widely-known status as suspended without pay. If there are one or more additional suspended employees, especially if they are Sheriff's Officers or employees of the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office, I would submit that my interest as a journalist covering this story would outweigh any interests the County might assert in support of keeping the information secret from the public. It is also my contention that the information is clearly OPRA-able, and should be released under OPRA before any common law test is weighed. I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
I am currently out on maternity leave. If you need immediate assistance,
please call 732-745-3080. Thank you.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Jeanne-Marie Scollo <[1][email address]>
Date: Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 11:31 AM
Subject: RE: OPRA Request :: W006327-012219
To: Charlie Kratovil <[2][email address]>
Cc: Daniele Reitsma <[3][email address]>
Mr. Kratovil,
After much consideration, the County has determined that you may review
the attached file which contains the type of coverage elected by County
employees, when applicable.
With regard to the names of employees involved in personnel matters, the
County’s position has not changed.
Very truly yours,
Jeanne-Marie Scollo, Esq.
Deputy County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
Administration
75 Bayard Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 745-3228
[4]http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/
[5]/Users/fernandabiagini/Desktop/x.TopRight/Middlesex/Phase 2/Visual
Identity/Logo/Middlesex_logo.png
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From: Charlie Kratovil <[6][email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 12:18 PM
To: Jeanne-Marie Scollo <[7][email address]>
Cc: Daniele Reitsma <[8][email address]>
Subject: Re: OPRA Request :: W006327-012219
CAUTION: This email originated from outside the Middlesex County
organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize
the sender and know the content is safe.
Thanks, hope you are doing well. I'll look forward to hearing from you
soon.
Charlie
On Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 10:15 AM Jeanne-Marie Scollo
<[9][email address]> wrote:
Mr. Kratovil:
The County is continuing to review your response and conduct research.
Your patience is appreciated.
Jeanne-Marie Scollo, Esq.
Deputy County Counsel
Office of the County Counsel
Administration
75 Bayard Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 745-3228
[10]http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/
[11]/Users/fernandabiagini/Desktop/x.TopRight/Middlesex/Phase 2/Visual
Identity/Logo/Middlesex_logo.png
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY
This message, including any prior messages and attachments, may contain
advisory, consultative and/or deliberative material, confidential
information or privileged communications of the County of Middlesex.
Access to this message by anyone other than the sender and the intended
recipient(s) is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient of
this message, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or
not taken in reliance on it, without the expressed written consent of
the County, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error,
you should not save, scan, transmit, print, use or disseminate this
message or any information contained in this message in any way and you
should promptly delete or destroy this message, any attachments, and all
copies of same. Please notify the sender by return e-mail if you have
received this message in error.
From: Charlie Kratovil <[12][email address]>
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2019 4:43 PM
To: Middlesex County OPRA Center <[13][email address]>
Cc: Daniele Reitsma <[14][email address]>;
Jeanne-Marie Scollo <[15][email address]>
Subject: Re: OPRA Request :: W006327-012219
CAUTION: This email originated from outside the Middlesex County
organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Middlesex County,
I am in receipt of your response to my OPRA request titled "Basic
Employee Information" - Thank you for the response.
I must respectfully request that you reconsider your denial of items #3
and #5 of my requests. Identical requests made of dozens of other public
agencies, including the County's utilities authority and improvement
authority have yielded meaningful responses that identify which
employees are currently receiving healthcare benefits as part of their
employment (item #3) and which employees, if any, are currently
suspended (item #5).
No request has been made for any justification for individual healthcare
coverage, the names of any person's dependents, or any claims history.
Seeing as how both of the County's established authorities have already
disclosed the names of their employees who receive healthcare benefits
through the authorities, I hope you will agree that this type of
information should be public information and release the names of County
employees who receive healthcare benefits through their public
employment.
Further, I am a reporter covering the issues of community concern in
Central New Jersey, including but not limited to the Middlesex County
government. It has been widely reported that Middlesex County Sheriff's
Officer Joshua Padilla has been suspended from duty pending the
disposition of criminal charges that have been filed against him in
Pennsylvania. To my knowledge, our publication was the first to report
on the criminal charges against Officer Padilla, and in the course of
reporting on the story, I asked Sheriff Mildred Scott to confirm the
status of Officer Padilla (active, suspended with pay, or suspended
without pay). Sheriff Scott responded in writing on February 4, stating:
"As result of the charges brought, Officer Padilla has been suspended
from his duties, without pay."
It would therefore be highly relevant information for my news
organization (and for the general public) to know if any other County
employees are currently suspended, and if so, whether or not they are
being paid during their suspension. I explain all of this only to
strengthen my case under the common law right of access.
Further, if the only currently suspended county employee is Officer
Padilla, there is nothing to be lost or gained if the County simply
confirms his widely-known status as suspended without pay. If there are
one or more additional suspended employees, especially if they are
Sheriff's Officers or employees of the Middlesex County Sheriff's
Office, I would submit that my interest as a journalist covering this
story would outweigh any interests the County might assert in support of
keeping the information secret from the public. It is also my contention
that the information is clearly OPRA-able, and should be released under
OPRA before any common law test is weighed. I look forward to your
response.
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Kratovil
On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 2:15 PM Middlesex County OPRA Center
<[16][email address]> wrote:
Attachments:
[17]Medical___Plan_Members.pdf
[18]Employee_Pension_Plan_by_Fund_1.pdf
[19]2019_Employee_Salaries___2018_Basepay_Overtime_1.pdf
--- Please respond above this line ---
[20]Image removed by sender.
Mr. Kratovil:
The following numbered responses correspond with the numbered
paragraphs of your request W006327-012219.
1. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/
overtime.
2. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/
overtime.
3. With regard to item 3 of your request, please see theattached table
which provides general statistical data, as individualizedhealth
benefit information is not subject to disclosure.
OPRA explicitly states that personnel and pensioninformation other
than a person's name, title, position, salary, payrollrecord, length
of service, date of separation, and type and amount of pensionis not
considered a government record and is, therefore, not subject
todisclosure. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-10. In addition, information gatheredby
a public employer for transmission to its insurance carrier is not
agovernment record and, therefore not subject to disclosure.
N.J.S.A.47:1A-1.1.
4. Please see attachment Employees by Pension Fund.
5. With regard to item 5 of yourrequest, please be advised that the
County is prohibited from disclosingpersonnel records pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 et seq. OPRAmandates that, “the personnel or
pension records of any individual in thepossession of a public agency,
including but not limited to records relating toany grievance filed by
or against an individual, shall not be considered agovernment record
and shall not be made available for public access[.]”
N.J.S.A.47:1A-10. Further, in Vaughn v. City of Trenton (Mercer),
GRCComplaint No. 2009-177 (June 2010), the Government Records Council
held that,“[a]lthough the Custodian violated OPRA at N.J.S.A.
47:1A-5.g by failingto provide a response to the Complainant’s request
for the disciplinary historyfor Trenton Police Department Detective,
Robert Sheehan (retired), said recordis exempt from disclosure as a
personnel record pursuant to N.J.S.A.47:1A-10 and Merino v. Borough of
Ho-Ho-Kus, GRC Complaint No.2003-110.”
Disciplinary records ofCounty employees are personnel records within
the meaning of N.J.S.A.47:1A-10, and are thus exempt from disclosure.
Accordingly, item 5 of yourrequest is denied.
6. Please see attachment 2019 employee salaries & 2018 base pay/
overtime.
Very truly yours,
Jeanne-Marie Scollo, Esq.
Deputy County Counsel
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