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State Employees' Retirement System v. Campbell

Pa. Commw. Ct.March 3, 2017No. SERS v. S. Campbell - 871 C.D. 2016Cited 7 times
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Case Details

Judge(s)
Simpson, Hearthway, Cosgrove
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Published
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
appeal

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Outcome

The court vacated the Office of Open Records' decision ordering disclosure of home addresses of SERS members and remanded the case for the OOR to apply the proper constitutional privacy balancing test established in PSEA III.

What This Ruling Means

**What the Case Was About:** This case involved a dispute over whether the State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) had to release the home addresses of its retired members to someone who requested this information under Pennsylvania's public records law. SERS refused to provide the addresses, arguing that doing so would violate the retirees' privacy rights. **What the Court Decided:** The court sided with SERS and the retirees. It overturned a previous decision that would have forced SERS to release the home addresses. The court sent the case back to the Office of Open Records, instructing them to use the proper legal test that balances public access to information against individuals' constitutional right to privacy. **Why This Matters for Workers:** This ruling protects current and retired government employees' personal information from being made public without good reason. It reinforces that workers have privacy rights even after retirement, and that their home addresses cannot simply be handed out to anyone who asks. This decision helps ensure that public employees can maintain their personal safety and privacy, which is especially important for workers who may have dealt with difficult or potentially dangerous situations during their careers.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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