23FC:0041: James Stratton/Iowa Department of Corrections- Dismissal Order

Date:
07/20/2023

Subject:
James Stratton/Iowa Department of Corrections- Dismissal Order

Opinion:

The Iowa Public Information Board

COMES NOW, Erika Eckley, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Dismissal Order:

On March 29, 2023, James Stratton filed formal complaint 23FC:0041, alleging that the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) violated Iowa Code chapter 22.

Background
On March 2, 2023, Mr. Stratton submitted a public records request to IDOC for a “termination or resignation letter” between IDOC and Anna Armstrong, a former employee of the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility. He also requested “any and all documents relating to an investigation into Anna Armstrong and her work” at the Fort Dodge facility. IDOC refused to release much of the information requested, prompting Mr. Stratton to file this complaint.

IDOC asserts that the resignation letter is confidential under Iowa Code § 22.7(11)(a)(5) and that the documents related to the internal investigation into Ms. Armstrong are confidential under Iowa Code §§ 904.602(2)(k), (10), and 22.7(11); as well as the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, a piece of federal legislation.

Analysis
The Resignation Letter
As a general matter, section 22.7(11) makes confidential “[p]ersonal information in confidential personnel records of government bodies relating to identified or identifiable individuals who are . . . employees of the government bodies.” Section 22.7(11)(a)(5) provides an exception to the general rule that personnel records are confidential:
[T]he following information relating to such individuals contained in personnel records shall be public records . . . The fact that the individual resigned in lieu of termination, was discharged, or was demoted as the result of a disciplinary action, and the documented reasons and rationale for the resignation in lieu of termination, the discharge, or the demotion.

IDOC admits that Ms. Armstrong resigned from her employment, but argues that because she did not resign “in lieu of termination,” her resignation letter does not fall within this exception and remains confidential.

Resignation in lieu of termination means that the employer gave the employee the choice to either resign or be terminated from employment. It requires that termination be a definite outcome if the employee chooses not to resign. An employee who merely resigns from employment, even if such resignation is motivated by a fear of potential future termination, cannot be said to have “resigned in lieu of termination.” In such a situation, termination is not a
definite, explicit consequence of the employee’s choosing not to resign; it is merely a potential outcome that the employee fears is probable.

Here, Ms. Armstrong voluntarily resigned from her employment at the Fort Dodge facility without having been given an ultimatum by IDOC to either resign or be terminated. Therefore, she did not resign in lieu of termination, she merely resigned. As such, her resignation letter does not fall within the confidentiality exception provided under § 22.7(11)(a)(5). Therefore, the letter remains confidential as personal information contained in personnel records under the general protections of § 22.7(11).

The Investigatory File
One of the code sections that IDOC cited in response to this complaint is Iowa Code § 904.602(10), which is quoted below in its entirety:
Regulations, procedures, and policies that govern the internal administration of the department and the judicial district departments of correctional services under chapter 905, which if released may jeopardize the secure operation of a correctional institution operation or program are confidential unless otherwise ordered by a court. These records include procedures on inmate movement and control; staffing patterns and regulations; emergency plans; internal investigations; equipment use and security; building plans, operation, and security; security procedures for inmates, staff, and visitors; daily operation records; and contraband and medicine control. These records are exempt from the public inspection requirements in section 17A.3 and section 22.2. (emphasis added).

This section appears in Chapter 904 of the Code, which governs the Department of Corrections. It explicitly states that internal investigations of IDOC are confidential,1 and that such records are exempt from the public inspection requirements of § 22.2.

Here, the records Mr. Stratton seeks are documents from IDOC’s internal investigation into Ms. Armstrong during her employment with the Department. Therefore, they are confidential under § 904.602(10), and IDOC was not required to release them to Mr. Stratton.

Conclusion
Mr. Stratton requested a resignation letter and all documents related to the internal investigation into an employee of the IDOC Fort Dodge facility, Anna Armstrong. Ms. Armstrong voluntarily resigned from employment with IDOC. IDOC did not force her to choose between resignation or termination. Therefore, she did not resign in lieu of termination, and her resignation letter does not fit within the § 22.7(11)(a)(5) exception to confidentiality of personnel records. Further, internal investigations of IDOC are explicitly confidential under § 904.602(10). Therefore, both the resignation letter and the documents related to the internal investigation into Ms. Armstrong are confidential. IDOC was not required to release these records, and this complaint should be dismissed accordingly.

Iowa Code § 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. Following a review of the allegations on their face, it is found that this complaint does not meet those requirements.

IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 23FC:0041 is dismissed as legally insufficient pursuant to Iowa Code § 23.8(2) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(b).

Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may “delegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.” The IPIB will review this Order on July 20, 2023. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.

By the IPIB Executive Director
_________________________
Erika Eckley, J.D.

1 Section 22.7 is not the exclusive source of confidentiality for public records. Calcaterra v. Iowa Bd. of Med., 965 N.W.2d 899, 906 (Iowa 2021).