[Kzyxtalk] Disclosure of Personnel Matters

[dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com]

Personnel matters are exempt from disclosure under the state and federal laws that relate to MCPB/KZYX.  They are even exempt under the Brown Act, the California Open Meetings Law, which has the toughest disclosure requirements.  There are two reasons for the exemption.  One, it protects the privacy of the individual.  Two, it protects the organization from liability for defamation of character (libel and slander).

I believe this exemption applies to almost all of the selection process, including the interviews.  But not all.  In particular, the five questions (only) that will be asked of each candidate should be released after the interview process is over.  Choosing those five questions was a board decision, and releasing them would not affect either privacy or liability.  But it would allow the members and the public to evaluate the selection process.

In short, the process itself is open to review, but not the content, when it comes to personnel matters.