Office of Information Practices

Opinion Letter No. 07-08
May 4, 2007
Personal Information in Agency’s Response to Audit Report

The state auditor asked whether the Office of the Auditor (the “Auditor”), could redact from an agency’s response to an audit individually identifiable employee misconduct information about an audit analyst. OIP found that the misconduct information directly impacted on the performance of the Auditor in its audit of the agency and its overall functioning.

OIP opined that the Auditor cannot redact this information under the UIPA’s privacy exception because the public interest in the information, which directly sheds light on the performance of the Auditor, outweighs any privacy interest the Analyst may have in the information. Thus, in response to a UIPA request, OIP concluded that the Auditor must provide a copy of the agency’s response without redaction.

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