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Question: Is the custodian’s decision to release the requested records with redactions consistent with the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)?

Brief Response: This request poses several specific questions that extend beyond asking whether the custodian’s decision regarding employee-related records is consistent with the FOIA. I cannot address those questions because they fall outside the limited authority granted to this Office under A.C.A. § 25-19-105(c)(3)(B)(i). Further, several categories of records identified in the request likely do not constitute personnel or evaluation records. Therefore, any custodial decisions concerning those records likewise fall outside the scope of my review. The only decision that appears to fall within my statutory authority to review is the city’s determination that certain records in the “Training Division file” are not subject to disclosure under A.C.A. §§ 25-19-105(b)(12), -105(b)(13), and -105(c)(1). Although I have not reviewed the records at issue, employment applications, background investigations, and personal history statements are ordinarily best classified as personnel records under the FOIA. As such, they are generally subject to disclosure unless the release of particular information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or another exemption applies. Accordingly, personnel records ordinarily should not be withheld in their entirety merely because they contain exempt information. Rather, the custodian should redact exempt information and disclose the remainder of the record. Because I have not reviewed the records, however, I cannot say whether any specific record has been properly classified or redacted. Instead, I have set out the legal standards governing the disclosure of personnel records and employee-evaluation records under the FOIA.