7(1)(kk)

How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7(1)(kk)

Section 7(1)(kk) of FOIA exempts certain personal account information from disclosure. In the decisions reviewed, public bodies cited this section when responding to requests for financial records and for information about which employees were allowed to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. One request sought credit card statements and a list of bills from a school district, with credit card account numbers redacted.

The PAC concluded that redaction of credit card account numbers was proper under section 7(1)(kk). It found that a village followed the law for most of the work-from-home request but improperly withheld records responsive to one part. A separate matter concerning internal emails and notes about a property development project was analyzed under the deliberative process exemption in section 7(1)(f), rather than this section.

At a glance: 3 documents(0 binding opinions, 3 determination letters). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(b) (Private information) (1); 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (1); 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (1).

Recurring issues

• Whether records about which employees were allowed to work from home could be withheld under section 7(1)(kk). (Employee work-from-home policies and remote-work approval lists)
• Whether credit card account numbers in statements and bill lists could be redacted under section 7(1)(kk). (A school district's credit card statements and bill list)
• Whether the method of redaction, including ink color, affects whether a section 7(1)(kk) redaction was proper. (A school district's credit card statements and bill list)
• Whether internal emails and notes about a property development project were evaluated under the deliberative process exemption rather than section 7(1)(kk). (Internal communications on a property development project)

Practical points

• Limit section 7(1)(kk) redactions to covered account numbers and release remaining information when a supplemental response can correct over-redactions.
• Apply section 7(1)(kk) part by part in a multi-part request, because withholding was found improper for one part even when the rest of the response complied.
• When disputing redactions, identify the specific entries at issue, such as employee names or ticket details, apart from properly redacted account numbers.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.