Private Investigator News: Pennsylvania 911 privacy bill would seal caller info

"It is a piece of legislation that perhaps is garnering little notice, but one that has raised the hackles of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association as a bill putting further restrictions on public records access.

The bill, passed unanimously by the state House Sunday, keeps secret the identifying information of an individual calling a 911 center.

Deborah Musselman, PNA director of government affairs, called it disheartening that groups are chipping away at the Right-to-Know law that opened up more information to the public in the past couple of years."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Oklahoma Supreme Court rules state worker birthdates closed

"The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday sided with the Oklahoma Public Employees Association in a dispute with media outlets over the release of state employee birth dates.


The Tulsa World and The Oklahoman sought dates of birth for state employees, something the Oklahoma Public Employees opposed.

In an opinion handed down Tuesday, the state's high court said agencies must balance an individual's right to privacy against the public interest in releasing the information."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: The Fair Credit Reporting Act & social media: What businesses should know

"You have some job openings at your company or maybe you’re thinking of promoting people to new positions. You’ve winnowed that stack of resumes down to some promising candidates. Now it’s nitty gritty time: background checks.

Employment background checks can include information from a variety of sources: credit reports, employment and salary history, criminal records – and these days, even social media. But regardless of the type of information in a report you use when making hiring decisions, the rules are the same. Companies providing reports to employers – and employers using reports – must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The FTC staff recently looked at a company selling background reports that include information from social media to see if they were complying with FCRA."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Recent civil court filings unavailable at Denver District Court

"If you’re looking for a recent civil case file in Denver District Court, you might want to call ahead.

A glitch involving Qwest has put the public access terminal in the basement of the old courthouse out of commission since Friday."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Riverside County Officials propose public records fee

"Riverside County officials are proposing a fee of up to $50 an hour to retrieve and make copies of public records.

The proposal, which appears on today's Board of Supervisors agenda, would apply to Public Records Act requests for copies and is intended to help recover costs beyond the direct expense of duplication.

'This is a way to try and recoup taxpayer dollars spent on extensive requests that take people away from their other duties,' said county public information officer Ray Smith, who drafted the proposal.

Open-government advocates said Monday the proposal may not be legal and could face a challenge. Charging such a fee hinders access to public records, and retrieving public documents is part of an employee's regular duties, they said."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Public Records Act Requires Disclosure of County Retiree Pension Information

"By now, most local government officials and employees know that their names and associated salary and benefit information are generally considered a matter of public record under the California Public Records Act ('Act'). Back in 2007, the California Supreme Court ruled that disclosure of individual salary information did not violate the constitutional right to privacy. (International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21 AFL CIO v. Superior Court (2007) 42 Cal.4th 319.) Citing a strong public policy in favor of government transparency and the ability of the public to monitor government spending, the Court held that public employees did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their salaries. Only in certain specific situations, such as when an employee's personal safety requires anonymity, can public agencies prevent the disclosure of employee salary information.

In May 2011, a Court of Appeal clarified for the first time that, like public employee salaries, county retiree names and pension amounts are public records subject to disclosure under the Act. (Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System (SCERS) v. Superior Court (Third Appellate District, 2011) No. C065730.)"

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

New Law Would Allow Texas Teachers to View Students' Criminal Records

"A bill on the Texas governor’s desk would allow teachers to view the criminal history of their students.

The “Teacher Protection Bill” would allow teachers to unseal juvenile records, which had previously been protected under state law, the station reported.

'I've seen the list of things our kids are on probation for, things like aggravated sexual assault,” Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, told the station. “That's not a child I want a teacher not knowing about.”"

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Facebook facial-recognition opt out: Here's how to opt out of Facebook's facial-recognition feature

"If you haven't seen it yet, Facebook's new facial-recognition software is a crafty feature. Pass a cursor over a photo that you just uploaded to Facebook and, voila, the person's name pops up like magic.

But what if you're in the photo and you don't want Facebook to automatically identify you? As with many of the social network's features, users have to opt out, and that means navigating a complex web of settings."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Email deletion policy of pension giant CalPERS raises concern

"The California Public Employees' Retirement System has begun automatically deleting any emails older than 60 days, raising concerns among watchdog groups that the giant pension fund could be destroying evidence of misdeeds.

CalPERS has been under state and federal investigation over allegations that former executives and board members improperly influenced the fund's investment decisions and strong-armed a medical benefits vendor to retain a former board member as a consultant, according to an internal review ordered by the fund and released in April."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Facebook Used by Courts to Find Those Who Are ‘Only Online’

"Two years after an Australian lawyer caused a stir by sending a foreclosure notice via Facebook, the practice of online legal service is spreading as a means for courts to keep their dockets moving.

Courts in New Zealand, Canada and the U.K. have adopted the Australian example to avoid having cases stall when people can’t be located and served in person. Lawyers said the U.S. may not be far behind in using the world’s most popular social- networking service.

“There are people who exist only online,” said Joseph DeMarco, co-chair of the American Bar Association’s criminal justice cyber crime committee, and a lawyer at New York-based DeVore & DeMarco LLP. Being able to serve documents by social- media networks would be a useful tool, he said."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Vermont governor signs public records bill

"Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law Wednesday a public records bill championed by open records advocates who say the changes are long overdue for a state that has consistently received poor transparency rankings.

The legislation, H.B. 73, awards attorneys fees and costs to those who fight public records denials in court and win, and creates a committee to review the number of exemptions to the state’s public records statutes.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Donna Sweaney, D-Windsor.
 
“This bill represents an important step toward more open government,” Shumlin said. “We’ve seen too many times in practice that the public records law hasn’t always lived up to its promise. . . . By requiring courts to award attorney’s fees to prevailing plaintiffs in public records cases, this law deputizes every citizen to help hold public agencies -- including the state of Vermont -- accountable.”
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator