Chicago Park District properly withheld performance evaluations under Personnel Record Review Act
The requester sought access to their own seasonal performance evaluations and interview scoring records.
Plain-language summary
A former employee asked the Chicago Park District for copies of their past performance evaluations. The PAC explained that while employees have a right to see their own personnel files under a different law, FOIA specifically forbids public bodies from releasing performance evaluations. Because the law prohibits these records from being released through a FOIA request, the PAC closed the case.
Legal question
Whether performance evaluations are exempt from disclosure under FOIA pursuant to section 11 of the Personnel Record Review Act.
Holding
The Chicago Park District properly withheld the requested performance evaluations because they are exempt from disclosure under FOIA pursuant to the Personnel Record Review Act.
Summary
A requester sought their own seasonal performance evaluations from the Chicago Park District, which the District denied citing FOIA exemptions. The PAC determined that the Personnel Record Review Act explicitly prohibits the disclosure of performance evaluations via FOIA, and therefore closed the file.
Issues decided in this letter
Each question the Public Access Bureau decided, with the rule it applied. Extracted automatically from the letter; the source PDF is authoritative.
- No violationFOIA section 7.5(q)
Withholding seasonal performance evaluations under FOIA
Rule applied: Section 11 of the Personnel Record Review Act prohibits disclosure of performance evaluations in response to a FOIA request, so the District properly withheld them.