Supreme Court Dampens Employee Data Release

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled today that certain information related to public employees, particularly birthdates and personal identification numbers, should be released only in limited circumstances. The court ruled that a balancing test should be applied that weighs the public interest against the privacy and safety concerns of government employees.

Rep. Randy Terrill said the ruling is a victory for the personal privacy and safety of Oklahoma citizens who have state jobs.

“Today’s decision vindicates past legislative efforts to protect the privacy rights and safety concerns of Oklahoma citizens who happen to work for the state,” said Terrill, R-Moore. “The decision makes clear that the blanket release of state employees’ personal identifying information would constitute a clearly unreasonable and unwarranted invasion of privacy.” 

Terrill said the decision clearly prevents the future blanket release of all state employees’ personal data.

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