Files on Foxconn facility

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Mr. Knox:

I am writing in response to your records request below, which you appear to have emailed twice.

Wisconsin's Legislature has declared that open records are the policy of the state. Wis. Stat. § 19.31. While this policy of openness is strong, the right to inspect public records is not absolute. See State ex rel. Youmans v. Owens, 28 Wis. 2d 672, 681, 137 N.W.2d 470 (1965); Munroe v. Braatz, 201 Wis. 2d 442, 449, 549 N.W.2d 451 (Ct. App. 1996).

The public records law does not impose unlimited burdens on authorities and records custodians. See State ex rel. Gehl v. Connors, 2007 WI App 238, ¶13, 306 Wis. 2d 247, 742 N.W. 2d 530. The public records law will not be interpreted to impose such a burden upon a records custodian that normal functioning of the office would be severely impaired. Schopper v. Gehring, 210 Wis. 2d 208, 213, 565 N.W.2d 187 (Ct. App. 1997). At some point, an overly broad request becomes sufficiently excessive to warrant rejection pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(h). Gehl, 2007 WI App 238, ¶ 24, 306 Wis. 2d 247, ¶ 24, 742 N.W.2d 530, ¶ 24.

Your request seeks six years of records and fails to identify even a single individual. While the actual number fluctuates on a bi-weekly basis, the Department of Workforce Development employs roughly 1,600 people. Identifying potentially responsive records would require the Department's Bureau of Information Technology to perform an electronic search of all current employees and a manual search of former employees' archives. Moreover, once both searches were complete, each document would need to be reviewed by Department staff to remove any confidential information such as social security numbers, that the responsive documents might contain.

In short, processing the huge volume of records that you have requested would significantly impair the functioning of Department, inhibit performance of job duties and responsibilities, and prevent staff from serving the citizens of this state. Your request is therefore denied as too overbroad to require response under the public records law.

If you believe your request has been improperly denied, you may have a right to have the determination reviewed by mandamus order under Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)(a) or by application to the attorney general or district attorney, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 19.37(1)(b).

Jennifer Wakerhauser
Deputy Legal Counsel
Department of Workforce Development
201 East Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited.

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Mr. Knox:

Attached please find the records responsive to your revised request below. Note, the Department of Workforce Development does not employ James J. Daley and has no record of an email account for Mr. Daley during the period for which you have requested records.

You may want to contact the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission ( http://werc.wi.gov/) regarding that portion of your request.

Jennifer Wakerhauser
Deputy Legal Counsel
Department of Workforce Development
201 East Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited.

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

We have received your open records request and have begun processing your request. We will respond to your request as soon as practicable. Certain fees may apply to your request.

Details about the Department's open records process, including fee information, is available at this website - https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/publications/dwd/sec_6895_p.htm.

Thank you for contacting the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

Hello -

This AM you asked for an update on your request. Responsive documents were sent to you on Feb. 27th. Those documents satisfied the request.

Is there something else in addition to what was previously sent that we can help you with?

Tyler L. Tichenor
Communications Specialist, Adv.
DWD Communications Office
Office: 608-267-4780
Cell: 608-630-6391
201 E. Washington Avenue
Madison, WI 53703

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