General Information for All Employees:
What To Do If You Receive a Subpoena, a Summons and Complaint, Or Are Called By An Attorney About University-Related Business
The Office of University Counsel provides legal representation for the University and all employees when they are conducting University business. If you receive legal documents, such as a subpoena or a summons, you should contact your Campus Legal Counsel as soon as possible because there are usually deadlines associated with these documents that have legal consequences. (Whom to Call When you are Notified of a Lawsuit). You should not try to deal with it yourself; any legal document should be reviewed by a University lawyer before any response is made. Similarly, if you get called or visited by an outside attorney regarding matters of University business, you should refer him/her to the University’s attorneys, and you should not talk to him/her directly. The University lawyer will know what laws and regulations apply and can advise you on how to respond to the outside attorney, or may handle all the contacts with the outside attorney from the University Counsel’s office.
Legal Defense for Activities Within the Scope of Your Employment
The Office of University Counsel is responsible for all legal matters affecting the University and the activities of its employees while they are acting within the scope of their university duties. The University has a self-insurance plan that covers legal representation for claims that result from such University duties. This plan, known as the “University of Illinois Liability Self-Insurance Plan,” has been formally adopted by the Board of Trustees. The self-insurance plan operates much like external insurance policies. The University also carries additional liability insurance as needed.
The self-insurance plan describes the rights and obligations of employees and the University in the event that an employee is sued for actions arising out of his duties for the University. Questions about coverage should be resolved by referring to the terms of the plan rather than this summary.
Generally, if a University employee is sued for activities that fall within the scope of that person’s University duties, the University provides the employee with a lawyer. Even though the lawyer's fees are paid by the University’s self-insurance plan, the ethical rules governing lawyers dictate that the lawyer’s obligation is to the individual rather than to the University. The University does not provide representation for liability that results from personal activities, consulting, moonlighting or other non-University employment or activities. For answers to specific questions, see “When Are You Covered under the Self-Insurance Plan”
Using E-mail
Please be aware that e-mail is neither confidential nor temporary.
You should always assume that all e-mail you send through the University’s computer systems or in the scope of your University duties may be subject to disclosure under the Illinois and federal Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) because the University is a public institution. (FOIA applies to all written communications pertaining to your University duties, regardless of the media in which they are created or stored.) E-mail is also subject to disclosure when legally mandated through a subpoena or discovery in the context of a lawsuit. The University owns all the systems on which e-mail operates and retains the right to inspect files under certain limited circumstances.
Policies regulating use and access to e-mail differ at each campus and may be found through the campus’ websites.
E-mail messages should be composed with the knowledge that they might be disclosed or disseminated to third parties. For example, hackers may gain access to e-mail, people may forward e-mail without your knowledge, or you may mistakenly address the e-mail to someone. If privacy or confidentiality is important, consider using some other method of communication. Don’t put information in e-mail that you expect or hope to keep confidential.
Internet Use and Potential Liabilities
Use of the Internet has raised numerous interesting legal issues that have yet to be resolved. You should assume that whatever you say on the Internet is a matter of public record and could be read by people around the world. Thus, you should give careful thought to the content of what you place on the Internet.
If the criticism was disseminated solely within the United States, there would be little legal exposure. The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 specifically states that no “provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by another information content provider.”
On the other hand, the greater the control exercised by the manager of the bulletin board, the greater the risk of legal liability for posted messages. Thus, if the faculty member who managed the bulletin board actively edited all messages posted, a court could hold that there was sufficient exercise of control to make the faculty member a “publisher.”
But what about foreign jurisdictions? Obviously, the law of libel in foreign countries may differ significantly from that of the United States. Consequently, a statement that American courts would view as candid criticism could constitute libel under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction. Thus, depending on the laws of the foreign jurisdiction, suit could be brought in that country against the author of the alleged defamatory statement, the manager of the bulletin board, and/or the institution at which the bulletin board was located. If the suit was successful, judgment could be rendered against these defendants. Assuming that none of the defendants has assets located within the foreign jurisdiction, there is little chance that the judgment would be enforced in the United States. On the other hand, it could raise some concerns if one of the defendants was to travel to the foreign jurisdiction sometime in the future and an effort was made to enforce the judgment.
Freedom of Information Acts: What Are They and What Should You Do If you Receive a FOIA Request
As a state university, the University of Illinois is a public body subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is designed to provide “full and complete information” about the actions of government to the public without violating individual privacy, disrupting the work of a public body, or furthering a commercial enterprise. When a request for a document is received, the review and release process is coordinated by the Director of Public Affairs on each campus.
The FOIA works to balance the public interest in being informed regarding the activities of government with the work that can be required to locate, replicate and provide copies of the records. Thus, for example, the FOIA covers only the disclosure of
Generally, the FOIA is inclusive and requires disclosure of all materials “having been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed or under the control of any public body.” Some examples of the records specifically listed in the act are administrative manuals; rules; statements of policy; factual reports; employee names, titles, and salaries; and contracts. While all records of the university are subject to the FOIA, some records are exempt from the definition of “public records” and thus are not eligible for release. Please note that the only time a public record is not released is if it fits under one of the specific exceptions listed in the FOIA. Some of the exceptions are:
- Information that would constitute a clear and unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, including files and personal information about patients, students, or others receiving medical, educational, or other activities or services;
- Information revealing the identity of persons who file complaints with administrative, investigative, law enforcement or penal agencies;
- Records compiled for administrative enforcement proceedings to the extent that disclosure would interfere with those proceedings;
- Proposals and bids for any contracts, grants or agreements when the release of such information would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to any person until an award or final selection is made;
- Formulae, designs, and research data if disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss;
- Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer an academic examination or determine the qualifications of an applicant for a license or employment;
- Architects’ and engineers’ plans for projects to the extent that disclosure would compromise security;
- Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials;
- Information received by universities under procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by their academic peers;
- Records, documents, and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations and sales until the transaction is completed or terminated;
- Proprietary information related to the operation of a self-insurance pool;
- Information concerning a university’s adjudication of student or employee grievances or disciplinary cases to the extent that the disclosure would reveal the identity of the person, except for the final outcome of the cases;
- Course materials or research materials used by faculty members; and
- Trade secrets and commercial or financial information where the trade secrets or information are proprietary, privileged , or confidential or where disclosure may cause competitive harm.
You should contact your campus Office of Public Affairs. The Office of Public Affairs is the appropriate department to handle these information requests and will respond to a written request in accordance with the time frames and other procedural aspects of the FOIA. If the records requested are those pertaining to a particular unit, the Public Affairs Office will contact that unit to obtain the information.
The phone numbers of the respective Public Affairs Offices are as follows:
Chicago – 996-5546
Springfield – 206-6719
Urbana – 333-5010
Access to Your Personnel Records Under Illinois Law
The Illinois Personnel Record Review Act provides employees the right to review their personnel records and, if appropriate, the opportunity to remove, correct, or make comment upon information contained in those records. The University of Illinois has a procedure for permitting access to personnel records by current employees, employees on leave of absence or layoff, or former employees who terminated their service to the University within the preceding year.
If you want access to your personnel records, you should contact the appropriate personnel office (academic or staff) on your campus. They may ask you to make your request in writing. Any University employee may inspect any personnel documents which are, have been, or are intended to be used in determining that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation, discharge or other disciplinary action.
After a request is made, the University has a maximum of fourteen days to provide access if the request fits the requirements of the law. You may designate a representative to inspect your personnel records in certain circumstances. Requests by an employee or the designated representative for copies of personnel records will be honored by the University at a cost to the employee that does not exceed the actual cost of copying.
The law provides that employees do
- Letters of reference for that employee or external peer review documents for academic employees;
- Any portion of a test document, except the cumulative total test score for either a section of or the entire test document;
- Materials relating to staff planning, such as matters relating to a University unit’s development, expansion, closing, or operational goals, where the materials relate to or affect more than one employee. This exception does not apply, however, if such materials are, have been, or are intended to be used by the University in determining an individual employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, or additional compensation, or in determining an individual employee’s discharge or discipline;
- Information of a personal nature about another person that, if disclosed, would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the other person’s privacy;
- Records relevant to a pending claim between the University and the employee that may be discovered in a judicial proceeding; and
- Investigatory records pertaining to criminal conduct by an employee or other activity by the employee that could cause harm to or result in financial liability to the University, unless and until the University takes adverse personnel action based on information contained in such records.
If an employee disagrees with any information contained in his or her personnel record, the removal or correction of that information requires mutual agreement between the University and the employee. If mutual agreement cannot be reached, the employee may submit a written statement explaining his or her position, which is then attached to the disputed portion of the personnel records. This statement will then be provided to any third party who obtains a copy of the disputed records.
Questions about the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act, or about personnel records in general, should be directed to the appropriate personnel office (academic or non-academic/support staff) on your campus or to the Office of University Counsel.