Auditor Diana DiZoglio, still embroiled in a standoff with other Beacon Hill officials over her push to audit the state Legislature, said Wednesday she wants to sue Massport.
DiZoglio said that Massport, the quasi-public agency that operates the state’s airports, obstructed her office’s access to some records during an audit of settlement agreements with state employees. A Massport spokesperson says the agency was “fully cooperative.”
“Up on Beacon Hill, those in power seem to be feeling a bit emboldened to keep pushing to see how much they can get away with withholding under the law,” DiZoglio said at a press conference.
The audit examined 21 state agencies and their use of settlement agreements, including non-disclosure and non-disparagement clauses, from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2024. It comes a year after DiZoglio’s first audit looking at settlement agreements in state government.
On Wednesday the auditor flagged a $1.375 million settlement executed by Massport in 2022 as “perhaps the most concerning.” She said that agreement used confidentiality and non-disparagement language to “conceal” allegations of “gender-based discrimination, disability-based discrimination, unequal pay, disparate treatment, and publishing false and damaging statements.”
DiZoglio charged that Massport and Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office interfered with the audit by sending letters to employees and retirees informing them that their personnel records were under review and giving them a chance to object.
Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan said the agency was “fully cooperative with the Auditor’s team throughout this unusually lengthy process” and that DiZoglio’s report had a “few inaccuracies,” including a description of a Massport settlement as taxpayer-funded. The agency generates its own revenue, she said.
“Massport, as a public employer, notified more than 100 current and former employees that the Auditor had requested to review their files as required by the Massachusetts Fair Information Practices Act,” she said. “A small number of individuals objected, which is their right, and we notified the Auditor’s office of this.
DiZoglio said she wants to bring on an outside attorney to sue Massport for access to the records, because she believes Campbell would have a conflict of interest and could not represent her.
Massport said the agency has not been served or seen a complaint from the auditor’s office, and first learned of the potential lawsuit from DiZoglio’s press conference.
DiZoglio notified Campbell, who represents state agencies in court, of her interest in suing Massport. Campbell’s office declined to comment on the potential litigation, but a spokesperson weighed in on the records dispute in a statement.
”State law requires agencies holding personal data to notify the data subjects when their personal information is requested,“ the statement said. ”After providing notice to the affected individuals, the [attorney general’s office] gave the Auditor’s staff access to every personnel file they requested.”
DiZoglio and Campbell have sparred publicly for months over DiZoglio’s attempt to audit the state Legislature. Voters authorized DiZoglio to conduct the audit in a 2024 ballot question, but top lawmakers have continue to resist, citing constitutional concerns. DiZoglio has attempted to enlist the AG’s help in enforcing the ballot question, but Campbell has declined to represent her against the Legislature.
This election year, DiZoglio is backing another ballot question that would extend the state’s public records law to cover the governor’s office and the Legislature.
