35 Conn. App. 384 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1994
The plaintiff Bloomfield education association (BE A) appeals from the judgment affirming the order of the freedom of information commission (FOIC) requiring the Bloomfield superintendent of schools to provide the defendants
The trial court found the following facts. On December 12,1991, Frahm and the Hartford Courant requested
On January 22,1992,
The BEA appealed to the trial court, which upheld the FOIC’s determination that the requested grievances contained neither strategy nor negotiations with respect to collective bargaining. This appeal ensued. Judicial review of an appeal from the decision of an administrative agency is governed by the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act; General Statutes § 4-166 et seq.; “and the scope of that review is very restricted.” New Haven v. Freedom of Information Commission, 205 Conn. 767, 773, 535 A.2d 1297 (1988).
In this appeal, we are asked to review the FOIC’s interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act. In accordance with judicial precedent, we will “give great deference to the construction given a statute by the agency charged with its enforcement.” Lieberman v. State Board of Labor Relations, 216 Conn. 253, 263, 579 A.2d 505 (1990); Crochiere v. Board of Education, 227 Conn. 333, 354, 630 A.2d 1027 (1993); Police Dept. v. State Board of Labor Relations, 225 Conn. 297, 300, 622 A.2d 1005 (1993); Anderson v. Ludgin, 175 Conn. 545, 555, 400 A.2d 712 (1978); Barent v. State, 33 Conn. App. 495, 499, 636 A.2d 392 (1994).
We have not previously decided whether a grievance is a record, report, or statement of strategy or negotiations under § 1-19 (b) (9). In Lieberman v. State Board of Labor Relations, supra, 216 Conn. 253, our Supreme Court rejected essentially the same argument that the BEA advocates in this case. The court decided in Lieberman that an employee’s personnel file did not constitute a record of strategy or negotiations. The court reasoned that “while the information contained within an employee’s personnel file may be the subject of bargaining, the subject standing alone reveals nothing
That reasoning also applies to grievance complaints. Although grievances may be the subject of collective bargaining, the mere filing of a grievance, standing alone, and containing limited information
The BE A cites the FOIC case of Radford v. Trumbull, Docket No. FIC 70-189 (May 20, 1980), for the proposition that documents that are part of the collective bargaining process are exempt from disclosure under § 1-19 (b) (9). In Radford, the FOIC held that preliminary considerations exchanged by the board of education and the teachers union at the onset of negotiations contained strategy and were therefore exempt. The exchange of preliminary considerations is distinguishable from the filing of a grievance. Preliminary considerations embody the negotiating posture of each side at the onset of negotiations, whereas the filing of a grievance is meant to convey only the preliminary information necessary to initiate the resolution process and involves no discussion regarding the proposed settlement of the complaint.
The FOIC decision to exclude the requested grievances from § 1-19 (b) (9) comports with the underlying policy of the Freedom of Information Act.
We conclude that the legislature, by inserting the terms “strategy” and “negotiations,” intended to qualify the § 1-19 (b) (9) exemption. Had the legislature meant to exempt all records, reports, and statements with respect to collective bargaining, then it would not have included the words “strategy” and “negotiations.” “There is a presumption of purpose behind every sentence, clause or phrase in a legislative enactment so that in construing it no part is treated as insignificant and unnecessary.” Zichichi v. Middlesex Memorial Hospital, 204 Conn. 399, 407, 528 A.2d 805 (1987); Peck v. Jacquemin, 196 Conn. 53, 66, 491 A.2d 1043 (1985); Connecticut Light & Power Co. v. Costle, 179 Conn. 415, 422, 426 A.2d 1324 (1980). If we were to adopt the BEA’s position that all records with
Likewise, the trial court concluded that the filed grievances did not fall within the plain meaning of negotiations. The definition of negotiations as expounded in International Plastics Development, Inc. v. Monsanto Co., 433 S.W.2d 291, 296 (Mo. 1968), supports the contention that a filed grievance is not a negotiation. In International Plastics Development, Inc. v. Monsanto Co., supra, 296, the Missouri Supreme Court stated: “Negotiations is a broad term, not in all connotations a term of art, but in general it means the deliberation which takes place between the parties touching a proposed agreement . . . the deliberation, discussion, or conference on the terms of a proposed agreement; a treating with another with a view to coming to terms .... Negotiations look to the future, and are preliminary discussions; the preliminaries of a business transaction.” (Citations omitted; emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted.)
A key element of negotiations is the existence of an offer of possible settlement. In decisions concerning labor disputes, courts have described negotiations as the “process of submission and consideration of offers until an acceptable offer is made, and accepted . . . .” (Emphasis added.) Gainey v. Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employees, 275 F. Sup. 292, 300 (D.C. Pa. 1967); United States v. John McShain, Inc., 258 F.2d 422, 424
The plaintiffs construction of § 1-19 (b) (9) is not supported by either the statutory language or the underlying policy of the Freedom of Information Act. We conclude, therefore, that the trial court correctly found that the FOIC properly excluded the requested grievances from exemption and ordered their disclosure.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The defendants in this action are Robert A. Frahm, the Hartford Courant and the FOIC.
General Statutes § 1-19 (b) provides in pertinent part: “Nothing in sections 1-15, l-18a, 1-19 to l-19b, inclusive, and 1-21 to l-21k, inclusive, shall be construed to require disclosure of . . . (9) records, reports and statements of strategy or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining
Grievances dealing with teacher performance or personnel evaluations were not requested as they are protected from disclosure pursuant to General Statutes § 10-151c.
The trial court stated that the complaint was filed on January 17,1992, however, the FOIC hearing officer found that the complaint was dated January 17, 1992, and filed on January 22, 1992.
See footnote 2.
The FOIC found that the grievances sought by the defendant contained the following information: the grievants’ names, the names of the persons against whom the grievances were filed, the nature of the complaints, a reference to the contract sections at issue, and the working conditions, if any, complained of.
General Statutes § 1-19 (a) provides in pertinent part: “Except as otherwise provided by any federal law or statute, all records maintained or kept