UDC FOIA Advisory Opinion (Privacy Exemption)

On November 2, 2021, the Office of Open Government (OOG) issued advisory opinion #OOG-002.10.18.21_AO, concerning whether the personal privacy exemption under D.C. FOIA would apply to the request for transcripts of two University of the District of Columbia (UDC) faculty members.  Review of the matter led OOG to conclude the following: (1) that the privacy interest an employee maintains in their personnel files, including transcripts and documents reflecting their age, are not outweighed by the public interest in disclosure of the information; and (2) that UDC may lawfully withhold the documents pursuant to Exemption 2, D.C. FOIA’s personal privacy exemption (D.C. Official Code § 2-534(a)(2)).