Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government properly relied on KRS 61.878(1)(c)1. and KRS 61.878(1)(g) in partially denying Jason Bailey's September 29, 2000, request for "[a]ll documents related to the point factor evaluation and salary grade assignment of 'Public Service Workers' and 'Equipment Operators Senior' . . . ." For the reasons that follow, we affirm LFUCG's partial denial of Mr. Bailey's request.
Following an exchange of correspondence, LFUCG corporate counsel Glenda Humphrey-George notified Mr. Bailey on October 16, 2000, that records containing names, pay grades, and salaries of these employees, as well as their position analysis questionnaires, were available for inspection or copying. She deferred action on his request for the point factor analysis pending further review. On November 1, 2000, Ms. George denied Mr. Bailey access to the point factor analysis. Relying on KRS 61.878(1)(c) 1., she maintained that the analysis qualified for exclusion because it was confidentially disclosed to LFUCG, was generally recognized as confidential or proprietary, and that its disclosure would permit an unfair commercial advantage to competitors of William M. Mercer, Inc., the originator of the job evaluation system.
On appeal, Mr. Bailey states that he has obtained a policy memorandum from LFUCG's Division of Human Resources that outlines the procedure used to assign point factors to various positions within the urban county government. It is his position that "a particular enactment of the procedure by which point factors are determined is public record . . . [and] should not be considered 'confidential and proprietary. '" In closing, Mr. Bailey asserts that "the public should be allowed to have access to the most basic justification for the assignment of particular salary grades, the point factors, so that a fair, open, democratic debate on the merits of said system can occur."
In a supplemental response directed to this office following commencement of this appeal, Ms. George elaborated on LFUCG's position. She observed:
When a new or reclassification is requested, an employee completes a Position Analysis Questionnaire ("PAQ") describing job duties and responsibilities. Once the PAQ is completed, it is forwarded to the Division of Human Resources. An analyst in the Division of Human Resources reviews the PAQ and assigns a score based on the six Mercer, Inc. factors. They are as follows: knowledge and experience; complexity and creativity; impact on operations; internal and external contacts; discretion exercised; and physical demands and working conditions.
In determining the score for Factor 1, knowledge and experience, Mercer, Inc. has developed a chart with five levels of knowledge and six levels of experience. Each level contains different requirements. Depending on the amount of knowledge and level of experience required, a score is assessed. Factor 2 relates to complexity and creativity. In determining the score for this factor, there are six degrees of complexity and creativity. A degree is assessed and converted to a score which is based on the difficulty of the task necessary to complete job assignments. Factor 3 relates to impact of operations. This factor is designed to measure an employee's job responsibility. In assessing this score, there is a grid which contains six levels of freedom of action and five levels of magnitude. Based on job responsibilities, a score is assessed. Factor 4 relates to internal and external contacts. This factor also contains a grid. There are four levels of interaction and five levels of nature of contact. Depending on each level, a score is assessed. Factor 4 relates to direction exercised. This level is designed to measure the supervisory responsibility of employees. There are seven degrees and a degree is assessed and converted to a score depending on the level of supervision exercised. Finally, Factor 6 relates to physical demands and working conditions. A grid with five levels of physical demands and four levels of working conditions is measured to determine a score. The scores for all six factors are added and the score is used to determine the job classification and pay grade.
Once the initial assessment process is complete, the analyst presents the PAQ to the Mercer Committee, which is comprised of employees of the Government. The committee also reviews the PAQ's and assigns a score for each factor which converts to a job classification and pay grade. If there is a large disparity between the scores assigned by the Division of Human Resources and the Mercer Committee, the PAQ is forwarded to Mercer, Inc. for assignment of the score, pay grade and job classification.
Ms. George maintained that release of the point factor system "would allow competitors to copy the system developed by Mercer, Inc., use it for their own gain, and thereby eliminate Mercer, Inc.'s competitive edge in the field of job evaluation studies." In support, she attached a copy of job evaluation plan, including the point factor system, and a letter to LFUCG from Mercer, Inc., prohibiting release of the point factor analysis sheets. 1
Additionally, Ms. George argued that release of the point factor system "would provide employees with information used to classify their positions . . . [and] is analogous to the release of test answers before the test is administered. " She explained that LFUCG's compensation system would be compromised if employees knew what factors were considered, including those receiving the highest point values, inasmuch as they could then describe their positions on the position analysis questionnaire in such a way as to insure the highest point value in all categories. Although she did not specifically cite the exception, it is apparent that Ms. George relied on KRS 61.878(1)(g) as the additional basis for denying access. Although we do not find sufficient proof in the record to support LFUCG's reliance on KRS 61.878(1)(c)1., we affirm its denial of Mr. Bailey's request on the basis of KRS 61.878(1)(g).
The latter exemption authorizes nondisclosure of:
Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or academic examination before the examination is given or if it is to be given again[.]
In OAG 92-80, the Attorney General upheld the Jefferson County Division of Human Resources' denial of a request for a "Training and Experience Rating Score" used in the hiring process. At page 4 of that decision, we noted that the prohibition on release of a rating scale "is prompted by a concern that candidates who have been afforded access to [it] will be given an unfair advantage in the application process." We concluded:
While this Office has never had occasion to rule on the precise issue raised in this appeal, it is our opinion that the rating scale, which can be characterized as an inactive examination, falls squarely within the parameters of the exception to Open Records codified at KRS 61.878(1)[(g)]. This provision has been the subject of three previous opinions of this Office, none of which are dispositive of this appeal. However, in both OAG 86-2 and OAG 87-56, we recognized that test questions, which will be used again, are excluded from public inspection. Whether classified as a "scoring key" or "other examination data," we believe that the training and experience rating scale was properly withheld pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)[(g)].
OAG 92-80, p. 4; see also, OAG 87-56 (holding that KRS 61.878(1)(g) authorized nondisclosure of test questions in the SRI Teacher Perceiver Interview which was part of teacher selection); OAG 92-5 (holding that agency properly invoked KRS 61.878(1)(g) in anticipation of request for standards of tests administered to county employee). We find that the logic of these decisions extends to the instant appeal inasmuch as disclosure of the point factor system would give an unfair advantage to employees who were afforded access.
LFUCG's statement that release of the point factor analysis would compromise its compensation system, potentially necessitating the development of a new system, suggests another basis upon which access to the analysis might have been denied. Although there is no catch-all exemption in the Open Records Act for records the disclosure of which would impede important government operations, the Attorney General has recognized:
that a public agency may properly invoke KRS 61.872(6) to deny a request for public records . . . if release of those records would compromise a significant governmental interest, thereby necessitating an immediate revision of policy or practice so as to avoid the subversive use of the records, or information contained therein. Such a request may be treated as unreasonably burdensome within the meaning of KRS 61.872(6) which provides:
If the agency can establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that an application for public records would place an unreasonable burden on it because the agency would be forced to overhaul an existing system each time the records were requested and released, it may properly invoke this provision. The clear and convincing standard which is built into this provision is sufficient, in our view, to discourage abuse by public agencies.
95-ORD-121, p. 8. We do not decide whether disclosure of the point factor analysis at issue in this appeal implicates these concerns, thereby warranting invocation of KRS 61.872(6), since KRS 61.878(1)(g) prohibits access to the analysis by employees of LFUCG and the general public.
Nor do we decide if KRS 61.878(1)(c)1. authorizes nondisclosure of the point factor system. Although Ms. George explained the complexity of the system developed by Mercer, Inc., and attached a 1996 letter from the company asserting that it is proprietary in nature, we do not believe that the record contains sufficient proof relative to the issue of whether such records are generally recognized as confidential or proprietary to support LFUCG's position that the requested records qualify for exclusion under KRS 61.878(1)(c)1. This is not to say that such a case could not be made, only that it has not yet been made. Ultimately, of course, this question need not be resolved inasmuch as KRS 61.878(1)(g) is controlling.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 That letter, dated September 6, 1996, and marked "confidential, " stated that the job evaluation plan "contains proprietary information and is intended to be utilized by designated Urban County Government officials in administering the program." The letter warned against dissemination to the general employee population, and suggested as an alternative the creation of a plan summary highlighting the compensable factors used for measuring job value. It was signed by Charles F. Schanie, Ph.D.