Search

The R.I. Department of Human Services illegally used an employee’s non-conviction criminal history to terminate her employment, an ACLU of Rhode Island cooperating attorney has claimed in a charge of discrimination filed with the R.I. Commission for Human Rights on behalf of Coventry resident Cheryl Robbio.

The RI ACLU today commended the issuance this week of a state Department of Education advisory to all school district superintendents, reminding them of their obligation to protect the privacy rights of students in interactions with military recruiters. The advisory, issued by DOE Commissioner Peter McWalters, follows a survey the ACLU released in August, showing that many local school districts did not have proper procedures in place to inform parents and students about their legal right to control the release of student information to the military.

We expressed support for legislation that would have allowed the Secretary of State to seek judicial relief if a state or municipal agency is unlawfully destroying or otherwise failing to properly maintain public records, a power that she presently lacks.

Legislation under consideration this year would have required the use by certain state contractors of computer software to verify the hours worked on computers for that contract, but the ACLU was concerned about the inherent privacy issues in the bill.

In June, the House and Senate approved legislation barring the state from entering into a contract with any business engaged in a boycott against various "foreign states."