February 8th, 2010 Will Schendel

Confidentiality of Alaska Workers Comp Files

One of the Todd Palin emails recently obtained by MSNBC included a state official’s plan to check workers comp records about a former CEO of Matanuska Maid, Terry Clark.

It’s only recently that such records have been comprehensively protected against public disclosure.  The relevant statute, AS 23.30.107, currently reads: 

(b) Medical or rehabilitation records, and the employee’s name, address, social security number, electronic mail address, and telephone number contained on any record, in an employee’s file maintained by the division or held by the board or the commission are not public records subject to public inspection and copying under AS 40.25.

The underlined section was effective only from September 2, 2008, forward.  SLA 2008, ch. 61, §§ 1, 2.  Before then, all that was protected were medical and rehab records, not the identities of Workers Comp claimants.

The state official offered to check the Workers Comp records for Palin (without specifying what information he intended to collect) in June of 2007, a year before the amendment to the confidentiality statute.  The official, Frank Bailey, was Gov. Sarah Palin’s first Director of Boards and Commissions; he left in August of 2008, during the Troopergate controversy.  

The emails are searchable through a site maintained by Crivella West.



February 6th, 2010 Dean Hanley

The Weekend: Kerouac and Serial Monogamy



February 5th, 2010 Will Schendel

Todd Palin’s Interest in Wage Claims and the Kenai Judgeship



February 4th, 2010 Will Schendel

Workers Comp Immunity and Mental Injuries in Alaska



February 3rd, 2010 Will Schendel

DAlaska: Beistline Again Upholds Red Dog Shareholder Preference



February 2nd, 2010 Will Schendel

Mental Injuries: AkBA ELS CLE



February 1st, 2010 Will Schendel

Alaska Legal Miscellanea: Section 1983 Fees, and Alaska’s Public Records Act



January 30th, 2010 Dean Hanley

The Weekend: Buddy Holly Lives



January 28th, 2010 Will Schendel

9th Cir: Affirms Beistline on Section 1983 Employment Interference Claim



January 26th, 2010 Will Schendel

Alaska Legal Miscellanea: Rights of First Refusal



January 23rd, 2010 Dean Hanley

The Weekend: Arthur Miller’s All My Sons



January 21st, 2010 Will Schendel

9th Cir: Successive Rule 56 Motions are OK



January 20th, 2010 Will Schendel

USDOL Files OSHA Retaliation Suit



January 18th, 2010 Will Schendel

Negotiations over Statutory Fees



January 16th, 2010 Dean Hanley

The Weekend: Crumb and Gibbons



January 15th, 2010 Will Schendel

DAlaska: Kott, and Motions in Limine



January 13th, 2010 Will Schendel

DAlaska: Right to Counsel, and Vehicle Searches



January 11th, 2010 Will Schendel

Alaska Legal Miscellanea: Pro Se 1983 Complaints, Occupational Licensing



January 9th, 2010 Dean Hanley

The Weekend: Up In The Air



January 8th, 2010 Will Schendel

Follow-up on GINA Presentation



January 7th, 2010 Will Schendel

Westlaw Research Alerts



January 6th, 2010 Gregory Fisher

9th Cir: Beware of Use of Arrest and Conviction Records



January 5th, 2010 Will Schendel

Alaska Legal Miscellanea: The Franken Amendment, and Charter Schools



January 5th, 2010 Will Schendel

Genetic Discrimination: ELS Meeting



January 5th, 2010 Gregory Fisher

9th Cir: No Qualified Immunity for Officer Who Tased during Traffic Stop for Seatbelt Infraction