District court rules in employee payroll records case
A district court judge recently ordered the state of Montana to turn over payroll records requested by the Montana Policy Institute after a lengthy battle that began in August 2010.
The institute had requested total annual compensation figures for each state government employee, but the department of administration's employee payroll services sector would only provide the workers' hourly wage rates, according to The Missoulian.
"The state should not have been quibbling over releasing this public information," said Republican Senator Art Wittich, who represented the institute in court, as quoted by the news source. "We now look forward to begin analyzing the salary information and making it available to Montanans."
The Montana Watchdog reports that the department of administration's chief legal counsel, Mike Manion, had argued that right-to-know laws did not require the state to program the data to meet the institute's request.
According to Manion, the request pertained to 14,000 state employees' records and involved the reprogramming of 30 time-reporting codes, which the department did not have the manpower or time to carry out.
The institute had requested total annual compensation figures for each state government employee, but the department of administration's employee payroll services sector would only provide the workers' hourly wage rates, according to The Missoulian.
"The state should not have been quibbling over releasing this public information," said Republican Senator Art Wittich, who represented the institute in court, as quoted by the news source. "We now look forward to begin analyzing the salary information and making it available to Montanans."
The Montana Watchdog reports that the department of administration's chief legal counsel, Mike Manion, had argued that right-to-know laws did not require the state to program the data to meet the institute's request.
According to Manion, the request pertained to 14,000 state employees' records and involved the reprogramming of 30 time-reporting codes, which the department did not have the manpower or time to carry out.
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