Pennsylvania State University v. State Employees' Retirement Board

**What happened:** Pennsylvania State University tried to keep salary and service credit information for its employees private. The university participated in the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS), and someone requested this employment information under Pennsylvania's Right to Know Act, which allows public access to government records. The university argued this information should remain confidential to protect employee privacy and appealed when the State Employees' Retirement Board said it had to be disclosed. **What the court decided:** The court ruled against Pennsylvania State University. It upheld the retirement board's decision that salary and service credit information for PSU employees in the state retirement system must be made public. The court found that this information qualifies as public records under the Right to Know Act and that no privacy exceptions applied to keep it secret. **Why this matters for workers:** This ruling means that salary and retirement information for public university employees can be accessed by the public. While this reduces privacy, it promotes transparency in how public institutions compensate their workers. Employees at public universities should know their salary information may become public record, which could help with pay equity but may feel invasive to some workers.