This summer, the New Jersey Supreme Court provided greater clarity on the issue of whether government-related emails in private email accounts are government records that may fall under the state’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). OPRA provides the public with access to government records covered by the law. The act creates a specific process for members of the public to request records and for agencies to respond. The issue in the case before the court, Rosetti v. Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional High School Board of Education, was whether requested logs of government-related emails in school board members’ personal email accounts were government records subject to OPRA that must be produced by the board.
In the case, an OPRA request for records was submitted to the board that sought, among other things, logs of emails from board members’ personal accounts used to discuss board business. Initially, the board did not respond to the request, and the requestor then filed a complaint in the trial court. The board took the position that it was not required to provide the logs because they were not from district email accounts.
To support its position, the board argued that, even if it were able to generate the logs, it would not be able to verify they were accurate because information cannot be recovered from a private email in a similar way to what could be recovered from the board’s systems. The records requestor argued that the board must provide the logs under OPRA no matter where the records are located and regardless of the effort required to obtain the records. Although the trial court initially sided with the board, an appellate court reversed this decision and found that the email logs were, in fact, subject to disclosure under OPRA. The board then appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court more narrowly found that only a log of the board-related emails, and not all emails in the account, was a government record subject to OPRA. The court reiterated that emails on both board and private servers related to board business fall under OPRA. The court stated: “Government agencies should strongly advise their employees, elected officials and others engaged in government-related business to refrain from using their personal email accounts when conducting government-related business.” The court’s decision also suggested a possible acceptable way to respond to the request.
Some locals may weigh whether to submit an OPRA request to address an issue facing members. When deciding to submit an OPRA request in such a case, a local should be aware that it may be entitled to government records in private email accounts. Additionally, employees of government entities, including school districts, should be aware that emails related to school business in private, non-school email accounts may, depending on the content, be government records under the Act. Locals with questions about OPRA and related issues should contact their NJEA field representative for assistance.