Los Angeles County appears to be standing in opposition to legal trends that have affected several county retirement systems in the last few months. Most notably, two appeals court decisions required San Diego and Sacramento’s pension systems to disclose data to the public and counties have continually lost in court when it comes to trying to keep pension information confidential. Judges have ruled repeatedly that the public’s right to access such data cannot be denied. That being said, the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Assn has announced that it will withhold information about how much its retirees are receiving. The LA Times reports:
“Christine Roseland, the association's attorney, argued that disclosing the records ‘poses a significant threat to retirees' privacy rights and safety but reveals little if anything about the workings of government.’ But similar arguments failed when argued in front of state judges. On May 11, the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that the Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System ‘must disclose names and corresponding pension benefit amounts of its members.’”
Orange, Ventura, Tulare, Kern San Bernardino and Contra Costa Counties have all made their pension data public, but it appears that LA County is sticking to its guns and affirming its long-standing policy of keeping retirees’ names confidential.