The Clinic represents New York Focus and its reporter Julia Rock in a lawsuit seeking records from the New York State Department of Labor under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). New York Focus filed a FOIL request for call logs that would show how often the department is answering New Yorkers’ calls to its unemployment help line. The department denied the request, citing a confidentiality law that should not apply here, as the law includes carve-outs that allow disclosure of the kinds of records that New York Focus requested.

In addition to seeking the requested records, the Clinic’s lawsuit asks the Court to issue an injunction against an unlawful department policy. The policy requires FOIL requesters who are unhappy with a decision from the department to file an administrative appeal by physical mail. Even though the department accepts requests electronically and is capable of accepting appeals the same way, it refuses to do so, making it harder for requesters to pursue their FOIL rights — all in violation of the law.

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