Open Records Decision No. 278
August 26, 1981

Re:  Whether employees letter of resignation is public under the Open Records Act

Honorable Joel V. Roberts
City Attorney
P.O. Box 4398
Odessa, Texas 79760

Dear Mr. Roberts:

	You have requested our decision as to whether an employee's letter of resignation 
must be disclosed under the Open Records Act, article 6252-17a, V.T.C.S.  You have 
received a request for the letters of resignation of two former employees.

	In Open Records Decision No. 68 (1975), this office held that a particular letter 
of resignation was excepted from disclosure under section 3(a)(2) of the act, as 
“information in personnel files, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly 
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”  The decision was based in part upon the 
dearth of case law in Texas to assist in determining the ambit of the right of privacy.  
Subsequent to that decision, the Supreme Court rendered its opinion in Industrial 
Foundation of the South v. Texas Industrial Accident Board, 240 S.W.2d 668 (Tex. 
1976) [hereinafter cited as IAB], which cast substantial doubt upon this office's 
expansive construction of the right of privacy.  We have recently recognized the 
limitations imposed by IAB and have applied its rationale to section 3(a)(2) privacy.  
Open Records Decision Nos. 260, 257 (1980).

	Open Records Decision No. 68 was also premised upon an analogy between 
section 3(a)(2) and section 2(g) of the Open Meetings Act, article 6252-17, V.T.C.S., 
which permits a governmental body to exclude the public from discussions “involving 
the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal” 
of an employee.  The opinion failed to note, however, that whereas section 3(a)(2) 
affords a right to the employee, which relates to that employee's privacy, section 2(g) of 
the Open Meetings Act, in the words of the statute, is a prerogative of the governmental 
body, unrelated to any individual's claim of privacy.  In view of the restrictive scope of 
the right of privacy which we believe is compelled by the IAB decision, and in light of 
the incorrect analogy to the Open Meetings Act drawn in Open Records Decision No. 68, 
it is our opinion that the decision should no longer be cited for the proposition that an 
employee's letter of resignation is excepted per se from public disclosure.  Disclosure of 
certain information contained in a particular letter of resignation might constitute a 
“clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” but in the usual instance, we do not 
believe it will do so.  V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17a, §3(a)(2).  Because of the innocuous nature 
of the material contained in the two letters at issue here, we do not believe that section 
3(a)(2) acts to except these letters from disclosure.

Very truly yours,

Mark White
Attorney General of Texas

John W. Fainter, Jr.
First Assistant Attorney General

Richard E. Gray III
Executive Assistant Attorney General

Prepared by Rick Gilpin
Assistant Attorney General

APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman
Jon Bible
Rick Gilpin
Bruce Youngblood