Schwanke v. Minn. Dep’t of Admin.
Annotate this CaseThe Chief Deputy of the Steele County Sheriff’s Office evaluated the performance of Respondent, a sergeant, and gave him a negative review. Respondent appealed the Sheriff’s decision with the Minnesota Department of Administration by submitting a statement explaining why he disagreed with portions of the performance evaluation. The Department summarily dismissed the administrative appeal. The court of appeals reversed and remanded the case for informal resolution or a contested-case proceeding under the Data Practices Act (Act). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Department wrongly concluded that Respondent’s appeal categorically fell outside the scope of the Act; (2) there was no support for the Department’s argument that dismissal was proper because the appeal raised new challenges and relied on new evidence; and (3) the Department does not have unqualified and unreviewable authority to dismiss any appeal brought under the Act.
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