Is a Person's Salary Considered Privacy Act Information?

Is a person's salary considered privacy act information?  SignOnSanDiego.com reported that the California Supreme Court ruled in favor a newspaper seeking government job info and salary numbers of public employees. The ruling said that the city of Oakland must release the names, records of termination and salaries of police officers (who earned more than $100,000 in 2004).

Police officer unions claimed that this information on salary and payment should remain confidential due to privacy. However, Chief Justice Ronald George stated: “Counterbalancing any cognizable interest that public employees may have in avoiding disclosure of their salaries is the strong public interest in knowing how the government spends its money." Should government job info and salary be made public?

Are you being paid fairly? Check your salary, privately, with our PayScale Salary Calculator.

Government Salary Table: Hush-Hush

Media attorney Karl Olson, who represented the Contra Costa Times' lawsuit, said, “I think this sets the rule for the state. These are landmark cases that serve the public's right to know.” Indeed, this ruling will probably settle a similar lawsuit by the San Jose Mercury News against the city of San Jose.  That newspaper wanted the salaries (and names) of all San Jose city workers who earned more than a $100,000 annual salary.

Government Job Info and Salary = Telemarketing?

On the other side, attorney Duane Reno, who represented the police officers, claimed that publicizing the salaries (and names) would expose the officers to unwanted sales calls. Apparently, Mr. Reno is unaware of the Federal "Do Not Call List". Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said, “We are discovering that police departments across the country are increasingly withholding this kind of information.”

Government Employee Salary

Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press previously joined the Los Angeles Times when it filed legal action against the California Department of Justice, when it refused to turn over a decade of police officer information and government employee salary stats. The Times was joined by other news organizations, such as the Associated Press, which also filed court papers to support the Times' case.

Government Salary Scale On PayScale

Of course, the Contra Costa Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, or anyone else, can check out salary information on police officers at the PayScale research center. For instance, a sheriff or police patrol officer median hourly rate is as follows in major cities:

Median Hourly Rate by City - Job: Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officer (United States)

Compare your salary: Get a free Salary Report

Of course, these are just median or typical hourly wages. We do not report how much, and which, officers are paid the most. Since exceptionally high pay may be an indication of poor financial management (too much overtime) or, worse, possible favoritism or fraud, it still is up to the reporters to get the detailed data from the governments directly.

How does your salary compare with Patrol Officer's? The PayScale Salary Calculator is a quick and easy way to compare positions. When you want powerful salary data and comparisons customized for your exact position, be sure to build a complete profile by taking PayScale's full salary survey.

Cheers,

Dr. Al Lee

• Curious about salaries? Email Dr. Salary
• Compare your salary: Get a free Salary Report
• "Secret" Salaries go to High Court - psufanblog.blogspot.com

Comments

[Pietro Fregapanini]

The same issue has crept up in Windsor, Ontario.

Yes, public servant's salary should be posted. They made the decision to enter the public realm so they have been made aware of the disclosure of information well in advance.

In addition, I like to add this tidbit. Ontario grade school principles are earning in excess of $123,000 per year with teacher's making in excess of $74,000 per year!!! That equates to $740 per work day (school calendar year requires teaches to show up 100 per year!!!!) in addition they have the best health and pension package that only royalty can dream of.

Yes Johnny, what would you like to buy poor Ms. Smith for Christmas/End of year/Halloween/Easter/her Birthday/Valentine's Day?

They had better raise that $100K cap very soon!!!

[DAVID BARLOW]

Yes, the public does deserve to know how much public officials earn. It is the public tax payers who actually fund these folks. The government employees enjoy many benefits not available to those working for profit in the private sector. The trade off is the sad fact that they should not be immune to public comment and scrutiny about their compensation.

[Steve Lundy]

I do not believe it is the publics business to know what each individual police officer earns in a year. I believe that pay scale information like what is listed above, plus some information about average consumption of overtime, is all that is needed to satisfy the public interest.

Honestly, I think the only reason why you have groups out demanding this information is so that they can point a finger at different people and say "You earn too much money!" I will not begrudge anyone a living wage, and more money in the hands of police patrol officers, classroom teachers, even principals is money that is going to end up being spent in their communities stimulating local economies. Only the shortsighted people see this kind of thing as an expense only.

I would rather see the assembly line worker in the factory earning $30.00 dollars an hour, then see a CEO of a company and all their top henchmen earning multi million dollar salaries.

[Just an American redneck w/ an opinion]

I see more good than harm in the public recording of public servant's salaries (e.g. salaries paid w/ tax dollars.)

Also, I don't care if a factory worker makes more than an overpaid, unethical CEO makes... pay a factory worker 5 mil a year and see how big of a scumbag that person evolves into (my guess is it's a reasonable consideration.)

I like the "pure" notion of free enterprise... If I can work hard and creatively... or, so what... just be lucky enough to have daddy leave you in charge of his billion dollar company... good for you... Now, break the law, steal, cheat, lie and ultimately cause harm or damage to those you are responsible for... you should pay. DEARLY. and, protective measures (constitutional ones) should be put in place to discourage such things from happening again.

now, back to knowing how much police officers make. I hope the good ones make a fortune... What I'd really like to know more than their salary though, is their list of legal indescretions. I don't care if johhny law makes more money than I do, I just want to know if he's held to the same level of (err... a higher level of) accountability than I am.

Truck drivers can lose their license if they are pulled over driving their car w/ a lower BAC than a regular car driver would... this is due to the heightened level of responsibility they have to be the best drivers on the road... same logic should apply to the police "the best citizens on the street."

[Just an American redneck w/ an opinion]

ugh...

well that turned into more of a rant than I intended. pardon my indescretion if you will...

-redneck

[DK]

Government salaries are already public information - one just need to know HOW to look it up. I guess, if certain members of the press are lazy and want everything to be handed to them on a plate with a nice blue trim - then sure - waste more taxpayers money by filing court claims and have them processed, then decisions made etc. ad infinitum.

I disagree that INDIVIDUAL salaries should be disclosed - this indeed IS the matter of privacy. Just because an individual chose public service career track does not mean that they signed a waiver on personal privacy.

[Geo-Jack]

Look at the stats, do what you'd like to come up with figures, but leave the names of individuals out of it. That goes too far!

My 2 cents...

[Alan.S]

I can see no reason why the pay scales for different grades should not be public knowledge, after all they are paid for by the public. I would however decline to name police officers and other public servants along with the individual salaries that they receive.

The case for elected members is different. All elected officials be they Mayors, members of Congress or the Senate and the President should have their total payments listed for scrutiny by the people who pay them. By total payments I do include salary, expenses and any payments they receive because of the position they hold (dare I say bribes ?).

I do actually live in the UK and have been amazed recently to find that our elected members of Parliament can almost triple their income just on the expenses that they are allowed to claim not to mention that they and they alone determine what they get paid in the first place.

These 'priviledges' are not enjoyed by anyone else in the UK and should not apply to our government. I am an elected member in local town government and my payments are decided an independant body and this should also apply to Central Government.