OPRA and Home Address Privacy

A few weeks ago, I made a presentation to an audience of about 100 government attorneys and OPRA custodians on OPRA’s privacy requirements. The attendees had questions on a variety of topics, but many were particularly concerned about how to handle OPRA requests for home addresses. As I’ve pointed out previously, New Jersey courts have never resolved the question of whether OPRA requires disclosure of individuals’ home addresses.

The situation is different in Pennsylvania, which has a public records statute that is similar to OPRA. On October 18, 2016, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that under this statute, home addresses are protected by individuals’ privacy interests. PSEA v. Commonwealth of Pa. In upholding the denial of a request for the addresses of public employees, the Court conducted a balancing test and determined that the strong privacy right of employees in their home addresses outweighs the nonexistent public interest in disclosure of this personal information.

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