The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) did not respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for phone numbers associated with Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) staff because it thought it was a scam. The Freedom of Information Commission (FOIC) found DAS violated FOIA by ignoring the request for approximately four months.
On June 7, 2024, Roger Codding requested a list of cellphones used by CHRO staff, including the name of the employee associated with the phone number, and text messages sent and received by one phone number for a one-year period.
On June 24, Codding submitted a complaint to the FOIC alleging DAS had violated FOIA by failing to turn over any responsive records.
At a hearing on the complaint, DAS’ unified communications manager testified that he ignored the request because he believed it was a scam. According to the hearing officer’s report, the communications manager, who is unnamed, also testified “that he had asked employees in his agency, including a DAS IT manager for advice and that he was told to ignore the email.” The agency also ignored followup emails inquiring about the request because they believed it was a scam.
DAS did provide Codding with some records on October 29, 2024. But Codding contended that the Verizon cell phone invoices he was provided with were not responsive to his request. The FOIC found that because the invoices included a list of CHRO employee names and their associated phone numbers, they were responsive to the first part of his request.
The hearing officer also found that DAS did not begin searching for responsive records until they were notified Codding had filed a complaint with the FOIC. According to testimony at the hearing, DAS’ communications manager did not consult with the agency’s legal counsel when he received the request.
The FOIC found “ignoring the request and assuming it was a scam was not a reasonable justification for the delay in this matter” and that DAS violated the promptness requirement in FOIA.
The FOIC further found that DAS does not maintain the text messages Codding was seeking and did not violate FOIA by not turning them over.
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