Alaska Employment Law

The Alaska Attorney General (via AAG Julia Bockmon) has addressed the application of the Alaska Ethics Act and the Public Records Act to state employee use of cell phones and PDAs. 

The AAG summarizes the advice to Commissioner of Administration Annette Kreitzer as follows:

You requested an attorney general opinion addressing the applicability of the Executive Branch Ethics Act, AS 39.52., to the personal use of a state-owned cell phone, personal digital assistant, such as a BlackBerry (PDA), laptop computer, and other state-owned equipment. We conclude that the questions posed involve matters of general applicability and therefore, the standards should be addressed by promulgation of regulations by the Department of Law. Our advice regarding the considerations leading to adoption of particular standards is addressed in Part I of this opinion.

You also asked that we address whether a public officer who elects to receive an allowance to purchase a personal cell phone or PDA to be used in part for state business, waives confidentiality for personal emails and call records. We conclude that personal emails and call records are not public records and public disclosure of such personal information would likely run afoul of the individual’s right to privacy under the Alaska Constitution. However, because business related calls and business related email messages would also be generated through these personal devices, it is possible that a state official or a court could be required to review all call records and messages in order to locate the calls and email messages that concern state business and thus are public records. This issue is addressed in Part II of this opinion.

AGO File No. 661-08-0388, 2008 WL 3909811 (Alaska Attorney General Aug. 21, 2008)(footnote omitted)