In a recent Massachusetts Appeals Court ruling, the privacy rights of job applicants prevailed over a public records request—but not completely.
Christopher P. Loreti sued the Town of Arlington under the public records law, seeking the names and resumes of three candidates who withdrew after being named finalists for town manager, plus one candidate’s withdrawal email. The Superior Court dismissed the case. On appeal, the panel largely sided with the town.
The court held that the names and resumes fall under the privacy exemption in G.L. c. 4, § 7, Twenty-sixth (c). Two of the withdrawn candidates were chief executives elsewhere and specifically wanted anonymity. Revealing their identities would signal to current employers that they were job-hunting, causing personal embarrassment. The public interest in disclosure—limited here to unsupported claims of process manipulation—did not outweigh that privacy interest. Precedent protects early-stage candidates who never advanced to public consideration.
However, the contested email fared differently. After in-camera review, the court ordered release of the message with the candidate’s name and email address redacted. The remaining content—a generic reference to “family considerations” and expressions of gratitude—contained no intimate personal details.
The decision underscores a careful balance: government hiring processes can shield applicant identities early on, yet non-identifying portions of records remain public.