NJ county employee’s settlement agreement is subject to disclosure under OPRA

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently sided with those in favor of transparency and ruled certain information about an individual’s employment is considered to be a government record subject to disclosure and not confidential personnel information. To the extent a requester seeks the information and it’s contained in a settlement agreement, the material (and by extension the agreement) must be produced in redacted form.

Facts

In October 2017, an incarcerated woman sued Cumberland County and several corrections officers, alleging she was regularly forced to submit to nonconsensual sex acts. One officer accused of “improper fraternization” received a preliminary notice of disciplinary action (PNDA) from the county and ultimately admitted to certain aspects of the alleged misconduct. He tendered his resignation.

When the county told the officer it still intended to pursue discipline, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation into the allegations. Ultimately, the county and the officer entered into a settlement agreement, resulting in a rescission of the PNDA and his retirement in good standing.

The victim sought information about the underlying suit and obtained the minutes from the Board of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS), which had discussed the correction officer’s application for retirement. The PFRS allowed him to retire in good standing but reduced his service credit since the misconduct extended over a period of time and directly touched on his employment.