Court: $500,000 for errors related to a single Public Records Act request
Update July 13, 2009
Here is another story/editorial from the TNT on this case: "L&I, Justice Sanders run up the bill." Even the TNT notes the harsh nature of the L&I judgment:
A half-million dollars does seem stiff, given that L&I did not contest that it was at fault for withholding the records. An agency spokesman told The Olympian that an employee had failed to take proper action in response to the records request.
Original Post
As noted in this Olympian article, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries was recently ordered to pay $500,000 because of errors related to a single Public Records Act Request. This case demonstrates that the failure to properly respond to a single public records request can have significant economic consequences. One consequence of this judgment will be a significant increase in electrical inspection fees, because it is public dollars that will pay this judgment.
