The County of Riverside violated numerous provisions of the California Public Record Act when it responded to SEIU Local 721's requests for documents, a judge ruled today.

RIVERSIDE - The County of Riverside repeatedly violated the Public Records Act by failing to promptly produce public records and inform SEIU Local 721 in a timely manner about the status of records requests, a Riverside County judge ruled today.

Superior Court Judge Michael B. Donner affirmed SEIU Local 721’s position that the County violated the Public Records Act, which requires public agencies to release requested documents to the public in a timely manner, by failing to respond within 10 days to the union’s requests for a number of documents, including lists of the County’s temporary employees and their hours worked.

The ruling came a day after SEIU Local 721 submitted a report to the Bureau of State Audits showing that the County of Riverside’s own data indicates the County Human Resources Department has illegally extended the employment of hundreds of temporary workers over the past four years.

“It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to access documents that are supposed to be available to the public,” said Annelle Grajeda, president of SEIU Local 721, which represents approximately 5,000 public employees in the County and City of Riverside. “In light of what we know about how the County has skirted the rules regarding temporary employees, it’s clear the County didn’t want those documents to be scrutinized.”

A case history for the lawsuit, filed Dec. 11, 2007, is available online:  Case RIC487156 – Service Employees vs. County of Riverside.