Safety Fears Delay LA County Highest-Salaries List

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amid the fallout over the ongoing corruption scandal in the city of Bell, it's getting dangerous to be a well-paid public servant.

Officials say a list of the highest-paid employees in Los Angeles County is being withheld over worker concerns about their safety if salaries are made public.

Despite a 2007 state Supreme Court ruling saying public employees have no guarantee of privacy, county officials are keeping the names and salaries secret. Deputy county counsel Nancy Takade says they need more time to comply with public records law
to protect workers.

The Los Angeles Times asked for the identities and pay of county workers who earn $250,000 or more a year. The request comes in the wake of the salary scandal in Bell where eight current and former city officials face corruption charges.

Takade says the requested data, with some employee names redacted, would probably be released next month. County officials are surveying all 100,000 county employees.