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Does FOIA apply to private companies? I thought it only applies to governmental institutions.

LyndsySimon 7y ago
I'm not an expert here, and I'd have to go read the law in detail to know for sure, but my limited experience leads me to believe that it likely does apply to private companies in the course of business in some cases. If the company is a federal contractor, for instance, there are a slew of federal regulations with which they must comply to remain eligible for contracts. Likewise, government grants come with strings attached as well. Finally, if the behavior that you're investigating is illegal - such as discrimination against a "protected class" - there's always the possibility of suing them and acquiring the documents through discovery. All it takes is money.
btrettel 7y ago
There was a recent discussion on the FOI-L listserv about when a private entity is subject to public records requests: https://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=FOI-L;326b96b.1907 https://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=FOI-L;326b96b.190... While the example applies only for Washington state, I imagine other states have similar laws. Edit: Appears you need to be logged in to view the message. Here's the message: > In Washington, we have well-established case law that allows private entities to be considered the functional equivalent of an agency, based on a four-part test established by the court in the Telford case. There’s a lot of info online about it, but here’s a concise article: http://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/January-2017/When-Must-a-Private-Entity-Comply-with-the-PRA.aspx http://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/January-2017.... The factors of the test are: > 1. Whether the entity performs a governmental function; > 2. The extent to which government funds the entity’s activities; > 3. The extent of government involvement in the entity’s activities; and > 4. Whether the entity was created by the government. > It’s been applied to entire agencies, and to individual contracts being performed on behalf of public agencies. We’ve also seen individuals be deemed the functional equivalent of a government employee for purposes of PRA compliance.

I'm not an expert here, and I'd have to go read the law in detail to know for sure, but my limited experience leads me to believe that it likely does apply to private companies in the course of business in some cases. If the company is a federal contractor, for instance, there are a slew of federal regulations with which they must comply to remain eligible for contracts. Likewise, government grants come with strings attached as well. Finally, if the behavior that you're investigating is illegal - such as discrimination against a "protected class" - there's always the possibility of suing them and acquiring the documents through discovery. All it takes is money.

btrettel 7y ago

There was a recent discussion on the FOI-L listserv about when a private entity is subject to public records requests: https://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=FOI-L;326b96b.1907 https://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=FOI-L;326b96b.190... While the example applies only for Washington state, I imagine other states have similar laws. Edit: Appears you need to be logged in to view the message. Here's the message: > In Washington, we have well-established case law that allows private entities to be considered the functional equivalent of an agency, based on a four-part test established by the court in the Telford case. There’s a lot of info online about it, but here’s a concise article: http://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/January-2017/When-Must-a-Private-Entity-Comply-with-the-PRA.aspx http://mrsc.org/Home/Stay-Informed/MRSC-Insight/January-2017.... The factors of the test are: > 1. Whether the entity performs a governmental function; > 2. The extent to which government funds the entity’s activities; > 3. The extent of government involvement in the entity’s activities; and > 4. Whether the entity was created by the government. > It’s been applied to entire agencies, and to individual contracts being performed on behalf of public agencies. We’ve also seen individuals be deemed the functional equivalent of a government employee for purposes of PRA compliance.