Foxconn in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection)

Liam Knox filed this request with the Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection of Wisconsin.
Tracking #

19-93

Multi Request Foxconn in Wisconsin
Due March 20, 2019
Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Liam Knox


To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of all communications, memos, and other documents related to the Foxconn factory in Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, from 2015-2019, including:
Internal emails regarding the Foxconn facility
Communications with Foxconn employees and administrators regarding the facility and/or conditions for its construction
Reports on the facility and its environmental and economic impact
Communications, memos or reports on the salary, conditions and responsibilities of workers at the Foxconn facility
Communications from constituents about the Foxconn facility
Any document including the key word "Foxconn"

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am an intern for MuckRock, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity. MuckRock is widely known for its investigative work as well as historical pieces based on public records requests.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Liam Knox

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Dear Mr. Knox,

This communication is to acknowledge receipt of your attached public records request. We are processing your request and will respond to you as soon as practicable and without delay.

If you have any questions regarding the status of this request, please contact DATCPPublicRecords@Wisconsin.gov<mailto:DATCPPublicRecords@Wisconsin.gov>.

Thank you,

Sheri Walz
Assistant Legal Counsel - Office of the Secretary
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Phone: (608) 224-4740
Fax: (608) 224-5034
sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov<mailto:sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov>

Please complete this brief survey<https://form.jotform.com/63393850199164> to help us improve our customer service. Thank you for your feedback!

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Mr. Knox,

I am writing with a question about your request. The department may have documents related to Foxconn that are not related to their facility in Mount Pleasant. All of your request except for the last line is focused on the Mount Pleasant facility. As you may know, Foxconn is also involved in some types of food products such as ginseng. Are you also interested in in documents related to Foxconn that do not relate to the Mt. Pleasant facility?

Additionally, I can work with the divisions to see who might have the records you request, if you would like. Your request for "any document including the key word 'Foxconn'" does not provide a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or time period as required by § 19.35(1)(h), Wis. Stats. It would require a search of the email and all other records of each of the Department's 1000+ employees from 2015-2019. This would be an unreasonable burden on the Department's time and resources. See Schopper v. Gehring, 210 Wis. 2d 208, 565 N.W.2d 187 (Ct. App. 1997). Therefore, we must deny that part of your request. Please let me know if you would like me to help narrow this portion of your request.

Thank you,

Sheri

Sheri Walz
Assistant Legal Counsel - Office of the Secretary
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Phone: (608) 224-4740
Fax: (608) 224-5034
sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov<mailto:sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov>

Please complete this brief survey<https://form.jotform.com/63393850199164> to help us improve our customer service. Thank you for your feedback!

From: Liam Knox

Hi Sheri,

Thank you for your help! Yes, I am interested in documents pertaining to Foxconn outside the scope of their facility as well. And if you're able to help me find which department might have the responsive documents for the Mt. Pleasant facility, that would also be greatly appreciated.

As for the keyword, I am still requesting a copy of all department emails relating to Foxconn, but I can narrow my request. Any emails containing the keyword Foxconn, in addition to language relating to the following: concerns about the company's environmental impact; worker conditions, pay, and gross employment under the Foxconn deal. In addition, I'm requesting a copy of all communications with Foxconn employees.

Thanks again! Let me know if I can clarify any further.

Best,

Liam Knox

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Liam,

Thank you for the clarification regarding your request. More than one agency has worked with Foxconn, so you would need to request records from each agency you are interested in.

The department is gathering records to respond to your request; however, as to the keyword email search; the department must deny the part of your request to search emails for the entire agency. This does not provide a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or time period as required by Wis. Stat. § 19.35(1)(h). It would require a search of the email and all other records of each of the Department's employees from 2015-2019. This would be an unreasonable burden on the Department's time and resources. See Schopper v. Gehring, 210 Wis. 2d 208, 565 N.W.2d 187 (Ct. App. 1997).

Please let me know if you would like me to help narrow this portion of your request by searching the emails of the staff most likely to have responsive records. It is probably less than a dozen people.

Thank you,
Sheri

Sheri Walz
Assistant Legal Counsel – Office of the Secretary
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Phone: (608) 224-4740
Fax: (608) 224-5034
sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov<mailto:sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov>

Please complete this brief survey<https://form.jotform.com/63393850199164> to help us improve our customer service. Thank you for your feedback!

From: Liam Knox

Hi Sheri,

I have submitted requests re: Foxconn to you, as well as the department of health services and the department of workforce development. I wasn't sure where else to look for this information, but if you have any advice on other places to submit requests, I would gladly take it!

As for the email keywords, I am more than happy to limit the scope of the search to the 12 people most likely to be have responsive records and communications with Foxconn employees. If you're able and willing to determine who those people are, I have no issue letting you determine which email accounts to search.

Thank you again for your help and patience!

Best,

Liam

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Thank you, Liam.

I don’t have a comprehensive list of agencies that worked with Foxconn. You may wish to check with the Wisconsin Department of Administration as a starting point; they may be able to help coordinate a response from more than one agency.

I have submitted a request to search emails for the staff that are no longer with the agency, and the staff who are still here have searched their emails. We will begin to gather the responses to your request.

I don’t know if the email address you have provided will be able to process the records when we send them. Is there another address to which you would like the records sent when they are compiled?

Thank you,
Sheri

Sheri Walz
Assistant Legal Counsel – Office of the Secretary
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Phone: (608) 224-4740
Fax: (608) 224-5034
sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov<mailto:sheri.walz@wisconsin.gov>

Please complete this brief survey<https://form.jotform.com/63393850199164> to help us improve our customer service. Thank you for your feedback!

From: Liam Knox

Hi Sheri,

Thank you so much! I would definitely like for the email address provided to be sent the records (I am submitting through MuckRock, and this email address links to the organizations website for submitting and receiving FOIA requests and documents). However, I'm happy to supply an email contact to send the files to once they are ready in addition to the one currently listed. You can reach me at liamknox13@gmail.com as well.

Best,

Liam

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Responsive Records 19-93

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19-93 Liam Knox- Foxconn

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From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Dear Mr. Knox,

You should have just received a link to access a folder containing the records responsive to your request. Attached to this email is a response letter. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this.

Thanks,

Bridget Frick
Records/ Form Management Specialist - Office of Legal Counsel
Phone: (608) 224-5023
bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov<mailto:bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov>

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From: Liam Knox

Hi Bridget,

Thank you so much for your help with this request! Unfortunately, I can't seem to access the files linked to in your email -- I'm trying to sign in with my MuckRock email address for this request, but then it says I should enter a code sent to that address, and I haven't received any code. Is there an easier way to get me the documents? You can also feel free to send them to my personal email address liamknox13@gmail.com if that's easier.

--Liam

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Hi Liam,

Sorry for the late reply (I was out last week). Are you still not able to access those files I sent through the OneDrive link?

Best,

Bridget Frick
Records/ Form Management Specialist – Office of Legal Counsel
Phone: (608) 224-5023
bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov<mailto:bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov>

From: Liam Knox

Not a problem! Yes, I was still unable to access them--would you mind sending the files as an email attachment instead?

Thank you!

--Liam

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Hi Liam,

The amount of responsive records for this request exceeds the email maximum (there’s A LOT) so sending them through email would require many emails to be sent. I have noticed, though, that many people have the same issue you are having with needing a code. Some of them say that the code is sent to their junk email box so you may want to check there. Also, this issue stems from security that Microsoft has in its email, I believe, so if you have any IT personnel at your workplace who could try to enable you to access the link without needing a code that could be a solution.

If those options do not work for you, I could always have IT send the records to you through a secure FTP. Let me know what might work for you and I’ll see what I could do on my end.

Thanks,

Bridget Frick
Records/ Form Management Specialist – Office of Legal Counsel
Phone: (608) 224-5023
bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov<mailto:bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov>

From: Liam Knox

Hi Bridget,

Thank you for the advice! Unfortunately, our system for submitting requests isn't really an email inbox but a site which generates random email addresses for each request. Would it be possible to share either the code or the OneDrive link with my personal email for convenience sake? It's liamknox13@gmail.com if that works.

Best,

Liam

From: Wisconsin Department Of Agriculture, Trade, And Consumer Protection

Hi Liam,

I sent the records to your personal email address so let me know if that works for you now.

Best,

Bridget Frick
Records/ Form Management Specialist – Office of Legal Counsel
Phone: (608) 224-5023
bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov<mailto:bridget.frick@wisconsin.gov>

From: Liam Knox

I've received them! Thank you so much.

--Liam

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