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Brian Sparks

Sparks

Pages Released by Records Requests
1396

Latest Articles See all

FBI rejects request for ISIS fighter Jordan MacTaggart's file on "open investigation" grounds

FBI rejects request for ISIS fighter Jordan MacTaggart’s file on “open investigation” grounds

by Brian Sparks
September 13, 2016

Brian Sparks’ FOIA request for the FBI’s file on an American anarchist killed while fighting the Islamic State was rejected on grounds that it was part of “pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding,” or the “open investigation” exemption. What that investigation is is anyone’s guess.

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What happens when a Boston company doesn’t pay its employees?

What happens when a Boston company doesn’t pay its employees?

by Brian Sparks
September 07, 2016

One report of wage theft made to the city of Boston and recently released through a public records request sheds light on how businesses get away with it.

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The human cost of wage theft in Massachusetts

The human cost of wage theft in Massachusetts

by Brian Sparks
May 23, 2016

Over the last several years, nearly one in five wage theft complaints from Boston workers to the Attorney General’s Office involved restaurants, recently released documents indicate. The documents cover complaints made after 2012, when the US Department of Labor found that dozens of Boston-area restaurants owed their workers nearly $1.3 million, or roughly $2,600 to each worker.

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Cambridge leads its neighbors in arbitrary public records fees

Cambridge leads its neighbors in arbitrary public records fees

by Brian Sparks
April 06, 2016

In the last couple years, the People’s Republic has adopted a surprisingly undemocratic approach to public records, charging for search and processing fees that other municipalities were willing to waive - even when the task took as little as six minutes.

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Census Bureau can "neither confirm nor deny" that it shared info with other agencies

Census Bureau can “neither confirm nor deny” that it shared info with other agencies

by Brian Sparks
February 08, 2016

In response to a recent Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on potential abuse of Census records, the FOIA officer sent a letter saying “[t]he U.S. Census Bureau neither confirms nor denies the existence of any records responsive to your request.” This makes Census Bureau just the latest in a string of unlikely agencies to handing out the infamous GLOMAR exemption.

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Latest Requests See all

Title Status Agency Jurisdiction
Wage Theft - Nix's Connecticut No Responsive Documents Office of the Attorney General - Connecticut Connecticut
Reports of Wrongful Liquor Transfer Between Bostonian Hospitality Group Restaurants - CT Completed Department of Consumer Protection Connecticut
Reports of Wrongful Liquor Transfer Between Bostonian Hospitality Group Restaurants No Responsive Documents Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission Massachusetts
FBI File - Jordan MacTaggart Rejected Federal Bureau of Investigation United States of America
Wage Theft - Synergy Health Centers Rejected Attorney General's Office Massachusetts

Recently Completed Requests See all

Title Status Agency Jurisdiction
Wage Theft - Beverly Hills Completed California Department of Industrial Relations California
Delmer Berg - FBI File Completed Federal Bureau of Investigation United States of America
Prepaid Credit Cards - FTC Complaints Completed Federal Trade Commission United States of America
Alaska - Erosion Mitigation Completed Federal Emergency Management Agency United States of America
Federal Flood Insurance Payouts - FEMA Completed Federal Emergency Management Agency United States of America

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