Employee Notebooks

Also known as G.L. c. 4, § 7, cl. 26(e) Exemption E Employee notebooks exemption.

Thank you to Caitlin Russell for contributing to this entry. This guide is for informational purposes only, is general in nature, and is not legal opinion nor legal advice regarding any specific issue or factual circumstance.

This exemption applies to records that are maintained by a government employee that are of a personal nature, and not related to the employee’s work as a government employee.

Proper Use

This exemption may properly be applied to a government employee’s work-related notes that are not shared with other government employees, and are not officially on file with the government entity for which they work. Basically, it covers personal notes and observations created by an employee to allow them to hash out their thoughts and prepare files or reports that will be part of the agency’s official files.

Improper Use

This exemption may not be applied to notes that are “made or received” by a government employee. For example, if an employee gives a presentation on the Massachusetts Public Records law in order to educate the agency, the personal notes he or she took while preparing the presentation are not subject to disclosure, assuming they haven’t been shared with other government employees. The presentation itself, as well as any minutes that might have been recorded, may not be withheld under this exemption.

Key Citations

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 4, § 7, cl.26(e)

Cape Cod Times v. Sheriff of Barnstable Cnty., 443 Mass. 587 (2005)