Mass Gaming Commission Sick Time

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

The recent listing of accumulated sick time for employees.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Mary Connaughton

Per the Secretary of State's recent ruling on the issue (https://d3gn0r3afghep.cloudfront.net/foia_files/2015/12/31/12-22-15_MR18126_APP-A_ID15-715.pdf), I would like to request that the names be unredacted.
Also, as a matter of clarification, could you please indicate if these balances are hours or days?
Thank you.

I am appealing the Mass Gaming Commission's decision to withhold names from this release. The argument that revealing employee names would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" is specious, and further compounded by other state agencies willingness to provide the same information without redaction. (https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/mbta-sick-time-18126/#comm-218590)