In 2021, The City of Cedar Rapid hired a new city clerk and city attorney. Plaintiff submitted an open records request for job applications and several other documents. The City argued that the records were protected under attorney-client privilege. The district court granted the City’s motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Plaintiff raised five arguments: (1) job applications submitted to governmental bodies are not confidential under chapter 22, (2) municipalities cannot claim attorney–client privilege in the context of an open records request, (3) search and retrieval fees are not authorized by chapter 22, (4) defendants unreasonably delayed fulfilling certain requests, and (5) the district court should have granted him leave to submit additional interrogatories in the ensuing litigation.
The Iowa Supreme Court considered the extent of certain limitations the general assembly has placed on open records requests in the context of hiring government employees. Iowa’s Open Records Act prioritizes “free and open examination of public records.” Iowa Code § 22.8(3) (2021). It creates a presumption that the public has a right to access public records, guaranteeing some level of transparency and accountability in the work of state and local governments. However, the Court recognized that transparency is not absolute. The Court held that the documents subject to attorney-client privilege are protected from disclosure under chapter 22, while job applications are generally extended to protections of persons “outside of government. Id. § 22.7(18). Therefore, the City was obligated to disclose those applications submitted by current employees of the City, although it properly withheld external applications. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings.