Advisory Opinions Library
Search and research 1,071 opinions published by the Minnesota Department of Administration (1993–present). New to the legal archive? Try Exploring by topic.
Narrow down within “Personnel & Employment Data”
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Advisory Opinion 26-008 26-008A government entity asked whether a specific employee was considered a
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Advisory Opinion 26-004 26-004A city asked about the classification of data about its former police chief. The data involved comments received in response to an employee survey that raised concerns about the chief, who ultimately resigned after the …
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Advisory Opinion 26-003 26-003A school district asked about the classification of data it maintained in an investigative report about the alleged misconduct of a school board member. The district noted that it had not made a clear determination on w…
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Advisory Opinion 26-001 26-001A reporter asked about Met Council’s response to a request for data about a former Metro Transit Police Chief. The reporter requested access to public data about an investigation into complaints or charges against the c…
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Advisory Opinion 25-003 25-003A school district asked about the classification of personnel data about a public official who resigned after a personnel investigation was completed but prior to the school board taking any official action based on the…
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Advisory Opinion 22-005 22-005A government entity asked whether a final disposition of disciplinary action occurred for the purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section 13.43, subdivision 2(a)(5) when the entity decided to discipline an employee, the emp…
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Advisory Opinion 21-007 21-007A city asked the Commissioner whether data in a recording made by an employee on a personal device and uploaded to the city’s computer system was government data, subject to the Data Practices Act. If so, the city asked…
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Advisory Opinion 21-005 21-005A school district asked the Commissioner about the classification of data that the district maintained about teachers who attended a professional development program offered by the District. The Commissioner concluded t…
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Advisory Opinion 21-002 21-002A member of the public made a data request to a school district. She requested a copy of the recording of a school district open meeting. The school district denied access to the recording, indicating the recording cont…
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Advisory Opinion 20-003 20-003A member of the public made a data request to a school district. He requested an email attachment that contained a district employee’s “contact list.” The school district denied access to the contact list, asserting con…
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Advisory Opinion 19-011 19-011A City asked about the classification of data that the police department collected from a school district pursuant to a subpoena, as part of a criminal investigation. The District argued that the data were private perso…
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Advisory Opinion 19-008 19-008a City Council held closed meetings to discuss allegations against a staff member after it decided to hire an investigator. Minnesota Statutes, section 13D.05, subd. 2(b), requires a public body to close a meeting(s) to…
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Advisory Opinion 18-017 18-017A city asked about the classification of certain data related to the final disposition of disciplinary action in an “Investigation File,” which is now part of an active criminal investigation. The city discussed the ope…
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Advisory Opinion 18-015 18-015A member of the public asked the Commissioner about the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board’s (PELSB) response to a request for access to additional information regarding the reasons PELSB entered into a…
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Advisory Opinion 18-008 18-008A county asked about the classification of an investigative report about an elected county sheriff. The Commissioner agreed with the County that the sheriff was a public official employee and that “retirement” is a form…
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Advisory Opinion 18-004 18-004A school district asked about the classification of data it maintained about a School Resource Officer (SRO) employed by a city and assigned to the District. Based on Advisory Opinion 97-030, the Commissioner opined tha…
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Advisory Opinion 18-001 18-001A state agency asked about the classification of data in an arbitrator’s order reversing all discipline of a public official. The Commissioner opined that Minn. Stat. § 13.43, subd. 2(e) classified the data as public. R…
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Advisory Opinion 17-009 17-009a County asked about the classification of the “outcome of a complaint” and the transcript of arbitration proceedings. The Commissioner opined that because the arbitrator reversed discipline for the conduct related to t…
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Advisory Opinion 17-001 17-001A member of the public asked whether he could have access to a former teacher’s time sheet data for a time period following a public court case. The District denied access to the data, arguing that the data were private…
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Advisory Opinion 16-001 16-001a school district asked about the classification of data in a Notice of Removal sent to a school board member who was also a former employee of the District. The Notice of Removal stemmed from a complaint against the in…
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Advisory Opinion 15-006 15-006a city asked about the classification of data in a draft investigation report about a former city public official. The Commissioner opined that all data related to the complaint or charge in the report are public becaus…
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Advisory Opinion 15-005 15-005a school district asked whether Minnesota Statutes, section 122A.41, subd. 6(c), requires sharing certain private personnel data with another district. That subdivision states that under certain circumstances, a school …
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Advisory Opinion 14-020 14-020A school district asked about the classification of certain complaint data it maintained about a former principal. The principal resigned following an investigation which did not result in discipline. He also signed a R…
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Advisory Opinion 14-019 14-019A state agency asked about its classification of data determination related to an internal audit of one of its grantees, including supporting documentation and other documents collected as part of the audit. The grantee…
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Advisory Opinion 14-012 14-012A requester asked for the “raw data file” that contained de-identified employee responses to a survey. The request was denied based on section 13.43, subdivision 7(a), which classifies the data as private personnel data…