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Wisconsin Supreme Court clarifies e-mail records law
Posted: 7/16/2010 12:11:59 PM
A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling issued today clarifies Wisconsin’s public records law when it comes to personal e-mail correspondence drafted in line with employer policies.
The Court determined that personal e-mails are not public records simply because they are maintained on a government computer. In order to be a public record under the law, the content must have some connection to government business.
“The decision supports the intent of Wisconsin’s public records law, which clearly states that it does not benefit the public interest to require that any public employee’s miscellaneous personal e-mails that have nothing to do with government business be released,” said Mary Bell, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC). WEAC’s attorneys handled the case on behalf of WEAC members statewide.
At issue in this case was a request by a resident for all e-mail sent and received by five public school teachers, including personal notes created in accordance with the school district’s computer policy which allows them to access the district’s e-mail system for occasional personal use.
The personal contents of these e-mails are not subject to release to a record requester merely because they are sent or received using the government employers' e-mail systems and then stored and maintained on those systems, the Court stated in reversing a circuit court decision.
In all states that have considered this same issue, it has been determined that these types of e-mails – personal in nature and not in violation of any employer or legal regulations – are not public records under the law.
