Gov. Maura Healey’s office has apparently only entered into one settlement agreement since the Arlington Democrat took office in January 2023, according to documents provided in response to a public records request.
The response from Healey’s office was an answer to a Herald inquiry made a day after the governor issued a policy requiring her office and executive branch agencies to consider settlement agreements public records.
The policy — which was released a day before Auditor Diana DiZoglio issued a critical report on the use of employee settlements across state government — also explicitly barred nondisclosure agreements after they were “generally precluded” since 2018.
The Herald sought all settlement and nondisclosure agreements entered into by Healey’s office since Jan. 1, 2023, or just before the governor assumed office, as well as the same set of documents from the Baker administration.
A records access officer for the Governor’s Office provided only a copy of the settlement agreement the Healey administration struck with Gina Fiandaca, the former transportation secretary who unexpectedly stepped down in August 2023 only to stay on as an advisor for three and a half months at her nearly $200,000 yearly salary.
The records access officer said there were “no documents responsive to your request for nondisclosure agreements entered into or agreed to by Gov. Healey’s office” and declined to provide any material from the Baker era.
“We are unable to provide records responsive to your requests related to Gov. Baker’s office. Gov. Healey’s public records policy for the Office of the Governor became effective Jan. 5, 2023, but it does not apply retroactively to the records of previous administrations that operated under different policies,” the records officer said in a Feb. 7 letter.
Healey has the benefit of serving in one of two states where the Governor’s Office and the Legislature are not subject to the public records law. Healey’s office has consistently pointed to a 1997 Supreme Judicial Court decision that shields them from records inquiries.
Just before she took office, Healey said she would not claim the public records exemption afforded to her office. But since then, she has selectively released documents in response to requests from the public and the media.
A spokesperson for Healey said Fiandaca’s settlement agreement is the only one the Governor’s Office has entered into since Healey took office.
In her policy on settlement agreements released last month, the Governor’s Office declared that “settlement agreements are public records but may be subject to limited redactions for personnel information of a highly personal nature.”
“Absent unusual privacy concerns, settlement agreements should include language providing that the agreement will be considered a public record in its entirety,” the policy said.
Executive branch agencies may consider “limited redactions” only when required by state law or the “language is requested by a claimant to address a significant privacy or safety concern,” signed off on by state lawyers, and the claimant’s preference for the language “is memorialized in the settlement agreement.”
Agencies were also called on to track their settlement agreements, including information like the claimant’s name, the date of the settlement, the amount of the settlement, the office or agency at issue, and the type of claim, according to Healey’s policy.
“The tracker maintained by each executive office shall be treated as a public record,” the policy said.
Fiandaca’s agreement is three pages and includes non-disparagement agreements, a confidentiality clause, and language preventing Fiandaca and the state from suing each other over the former transportation secretary’s employment.
The agreement also lays out a highly orchestrated exit for Fiandaca.
The Healey administration said it would craft a prepared statement thanking Fiandaca for her service, while the former cabinet secretary would say she was “thankful for the opportunity to serve the commonwealth, and will make a prepared statement expressing that appreciation.”
“This agreement and its terms will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law,” the document said.
Healey’s policy on executive branch settlements said administration officials recognized “that the resolution of disputes by mutual agreement, and in accordance with regular procedures, ensures the efficient use of taxpayer funds, promotes confidence in government, and avoids disruption in public services.”
Executive branch agencies need advance sign-off from their top lawyer, the general counsel in Healey’s office, and the administration’s budget-writing office for settlements involving $20,000 or more except for workers’ compensation settlements, according to the policy.
“It is the policy of the Healey-Driscoll administration to encourage the amicable settlement of disputes in cases involving agencies or employees of the executive department, and to promote executive department-wide settlement processes and procedures that are consistent, transparent, and fair,” the policy said.
