Complaints/investigations of Affirmative Action Officer
Dear Clark Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
In accordance to the responsibilities Affirmative Action Officer of the Clark Township, please provide us with the following
- A copy of the developed “productive affirmative action program” listed in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[1].
- A copy of the stipulation of Settlement entered between the NAACP and the township of Clark mentioned in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[1].
- Copies of the prepared and submitted annual Equal Employment Opportunity forms for the years of 2011 thru 2021 as listed in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[4]
- A yearly list or report detailing the numbers, dates and type of discriminatory complaints made by applicants and employees for the calendar years of 2011 thru 2021, as listed in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[7]
Yours faithfully,
Internal affairs records auditor
To: Internal affairs records Seeker - opra machine
From: Edith Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA - Affirmative Action documents
Date: January 19, 2022
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
To: Internal affairs records Seeker – opramachine
From: Edith Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA - Complaints/investigations of Affirmative Action Officer
Date: January 21, 2022
The attached documents along with the statements below satisfy your Open
Public Records Act request dated January 19, 2022.
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request
on January 19, 2022. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel,
received your OPRA request on January 19, 2022. As such, the seven (7)
business day deadline to respond to your request is January 28, 2022.
This response to your request is being provided to you on the 2nd business
day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.
From: James Ulrich <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2022 10:59 AM
To: Clerk's Dept. <[Clark Township request email]>
Cc: Donna Mazzucco <[email address]>
Subject: FW: OPRA request - Complaints/investigations of Affirmative
Action Officer
Dear Internal Affairs Records Auditor:
This email/letter shall reply to your January 19, 2022, and January 20,
2022 request under the Open Public Records Act and the common law right of
access as follows.
- A copy of the developed “productive affirmative action program” listed
in Section 3:24F.(3)(a)[1] [of the Township’s Ordinances].
As per previously distributed the January 2022, Township of Clark
Personnel and Procedures Manual. Same subsumes the subject “affirmative
action program.”
- A copy of the Stipulation of Settlement entered between the NAACP and
the Township of Clark mentioned in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[1] [of the
Township’s Ordinances].
Please see attached Stipulation of Settlement dated February 22, 1994, and
Order.
- Copies of the prepared and submitted annual Equal Employment Opportunity
forms for the years of 2011 thru (sic) 2021 as listed in section
3:24F.(3)(a)[4] [of the Township’s Ordinances].
Without waiving any applicable exemptions or other bases to maintain the
confidentiality of such information, please see attached 2011 and 2012
completed Equal Employment Opportunity report forms and accompanying cover
letters, as well as an envelope marked “Return to Sender, No Such Number,
Unable to Forward, Return to Sender.”
- A yearly list or report detailing the numbers, dates and type of
discriminatory complaints made by applicants and employees for the
calendar years of 2011 thru (sic) 2021, as listed in section
3:24F.(3)(a)[7] [of the Township’s Ordinances].
Without waiving any applicable exemptions or other bases to maintain the
confidentiality of such information, there is no such list or report
because no such complaints have been filed.
- Copy of the version of the Township of Clark’s Employee Policies and
Procedures handbook in effect prior to January 2022.
Please see attached Policy Personnel Policy 2019-20.pdf
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or
unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a
right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access.
At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior
Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records
Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may
contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O.
Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [1][email address], or at
their web site at
[2]https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlo....
The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions
regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the
Court Clerk in your County.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
Good morning and thank you for your prompt reply as always.
We do wish to clarify your response to this request.
We requested the following:
- Copies of the prepared and submitted annual Equal Employment Opportunity
forms for the years of 2011 thru 2021 as listed in section
3:24F.(3)(a)[4] of the Township’s Ordinances.
But Your response only included the calendar years of 2011 and 2012. We requested the reports for every calendar year from 2011 through 2021, Therefore we are missing 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Can you please advise us when you will complete said request.
Yours sincerely,
Internal affairs records Seeker
Your follow up request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669 ph.
(732) 388-1241 fx.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
Thank you for acknowledging the receipt of my request for clarification.
Can you please advise us if said requested records exist?
If so and since your previous email incorrectly stated our request was satisfied, can you also advise of when we should expect to receive the correct records?
Only at that time will our request will be fully satisfied, u like stated in your last response.
Yours sincerely,
Internal affairs records Seeker
Receipt acknowledged.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669 ph.
(732) 388-1241 fx.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
Again thank you for again ackowledging the receipt of our last message. It is very concerning that you are refusing to clarify your previous email, which stayed our request was satisfied when a large number of the requested records were not provided nor was an explanation of why.
We again ask you to please clarify 1) if the missing requested records exist, 2) why they were not provided to us, and 3) when should we expect them at which time our request will be satisfied.
Yours sincerely,
Internal affairs records Seeker
See attached.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669 ph.
(732) 388-1241 fx.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
In response to the letter from your law department, please find again below an explanation of what records were missing from your response to our request.
We requested the following:
- Copies of the annual Equal Employment Opportunity forms for the years of 2011 thru 2021 as listed in section 3:24F.(3)(a)[4] of the Township’s Ordinances.
Your response, which stated would satisfy our request, only included said the EEO forms the calendar years of 2011 and 2012. We requested the reports for every calendar year from 2011 through 2021. Since you did not provide us with the EEO forms for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, we requested an explanation for the missing records and a time frame it would be deivered to us.
Can you please advise us when you will properly complete our request.
Yours sincerely,
Internal affairs records Seeker
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
In order to better understand your response, is it the Clark Township’s answer that our request was satisfied because the EEO forms from the years 2013 through 2021 do not exist? If that is the case, please advise us accordingly instead of giving us an ambigious answer.
Yours sincerely,
Internal affairs records Seeker
To: Internal affairs records Seeker - opramachine
From: Edith Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA
Date: January 24, 2022
See attached response.
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) follow up request on January 21, 2022 9:00 PM. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on January 24, 2022. This response is being provided on the same business day as the custodians receipt of the request.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.