Shredding of letter raises issue of proper handling of public document

By Harold Gwin

YOUNGSTOWN — Is a letter of agreement between the university and one of its unions a public document, and, if so, should it be protected from destruction?

A November 2007 letter of agreement signed by Craig Bickley, former Youngstown State University chief human resources officer, and Ivan Maldonado, president of the Association of Classified Employees union, contained a clause saying the document should be shredded and no copies kept by either party once the terms of the letter were implemented.

The terms never were put into place and, apparently, no one worried about the shredding clause because copies of the letter have been in wide circulation across campus in recent weeks.

Still, including the clause would appear to be an attempt to destroy a public record.

The Ohio Attorney General’s office declined to offer an opinion on the issue, but said there is such a thing as a “retention schedule” that government entities employ in the destruction of public records.

The Ohio Public Records Law stipulates that every record kept by a public office should be covered by such a schedule dictating how long the record must be kept and when it can be destroyed.

Whether or not a shredding clause in a letter of agreement constitutes such a “retention schedule” is a matter for legal interpretation, the attorney general’s office said.

The law describes a public record as any document, device or item created or received by any public office which serves to document the functions, policies, decisions or other activities of that office.

“YSU does not and never will condone the destruction of any public documents,” said YSU spokesman Ron Cole, adding that he isn’t aware of it ever happening.

It’s important to note that the person who signed the agreement, Craig Bickley, resigned from his position in December after being placed on administrative leave earlier in the month, Cole said.

“Bickley acted on his own, without the knowledge or approval of his immediate supervisor or any other member of the YSU administration,” Cole said.

The date on the letter shows it was signed in November 2007, but no one now in the administration was aware of its existence until February of this year, Cole said.

The university has a policy regarding records retention, he said, spelling out how long records must be maintained and how they should be archived or destroyed.

That policy spells out that collective bargaining agreements, under which the letter most likely would apply, must be retained during the life of the contract plus five years.

Records can be destroyed only after completion of a “Records Destruction Form” that must first be approved by University Archives, according to the policy.

Maldonado, in a letter to the trustees earlier this month, said the shredding was a direct request from management so that ACE would be barred from using the document in any possible future grievances and/or litigation.

That wasn’t the first time that management made such a request, said Christine Domhoff, former ACE president and current interim grievance officer. She said she is aware of other cases that occurred before Bickley joined the university.

Representatives of the YSU faculty union said they’ve never come across a document shredding issue in any of that group’s dealings with the university.

The shredding issue came as a surprise, said Scott Schulick, chairman of the YSU Board of Trustees, noting that he’s never come across that during his time as a trustee.

“I hope it’s an isolated incident,” he said, pointing out that the letter is a public document.