The Public Records Act requires us to make identifiable public records available for inspection and provide records upon request. The Washington Public Employment Relations Commission has adopted rules Chapter 391-15 WAC, to implement the requirements of the statute. Public records requests are processed in accordance with (Chapter 44-14 WAC).

Some records are exempt from disclosure, in whole or in part. If the agency believes that a record is exempt from disclosure and should be withheld, the public records officer will state the specific exemption and provide a brief explanation of why the record, or a portion of the record is being withheld. If only a portion of a record is exempt from disclosure, but the remainder is not exempt, the public records officer will redact the exempt portions, provide the nonexempt portions, and indicate to the requestor why portions of the record were redacted.

Within 5 business of your submission, the agency will reply acknowledging your request. The amount of time to provide responsive records depends upon the nature of the request. Please note that requests are generally answered in the order in which they are received. However, response times may vary depending on agency capacity.

The agency generally provides records electronically, via email or through a link. Some records may be provided in installments. With each installment we will provide an estimate of the time it will take to produce the next one.

(1) Providing "fullest assistance." The public records officer or designee will process requests in the order allowing the most requests to be processed in the most efficient manner.

(a) Upon receipt of a request, the agency will assign it a tracking number and enter it into a log.

(b) The public records officer or designee will evaluate the request according to the nature of the request, the volume of requested records, and the availability of the requested records.

(2) Acknowledging receipt of request. Within five business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will do one or more of the following:

(b) Provide a reasonable estimate of when records will be available (the public records officer or designee may revise the estimate of when records will be available);

(c) If the request is unclear or does not sufficiently identify the requested records, request clarification from the requestor.

(i) Clarification may be requested and provided by telephone and memorialized in writing;

(ii) If the requestor fails to respond to a request for clarification and the entire request is unclear, the agency need not respond to it. The agency will respond to those portions of a request that are clear.

Please describe your request in as much detail as you can. Be as specific as possible about the record(s) you are requesting. Include a clear description of the records (i.e. request for documents, reports, emails, etc.) and provide the date range (e.g. January 1, 2025 - June 30, 2025).

Please Note: If you do not include a valid email address and the department has questions about your request, we will be unable to notify you and your request will be closed.

The Public Employment Relations Commission is not currently charging a fee for paper or electronic records but reserves the right to do so in accordance with the sample fee schedule provided in WAC 44-14-07001