Feb. 17--A federal lawsuit filed Tuesday challenges Pittsburgh's interpretation of federal disability law and state open records law.

A city employee, identified only as "John Doe" in his lawsuit, claims the city's Civil Service Commission is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by publishing hearing minutes that refer to the employee undergoing a psychiatric examination.

Sam Cordes, the employee's lawyer, said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled more than a year ago that the minutes violate the federal law, but the city commission refuses to take them off its Web site.

"A situation this crazy and this egregious has not happened before, in my experience," Cordes said.

A city spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment.

Cordes said the city claims state law requires it to post the minutes of civil service hearings.

"There's no way they're required to post someone's psychiatric information on the Internet," he said.

Craig Staudenmaier, a Harrisburg attorney with extensive open records law experience, said the state Right to Know law exempts information from release if other state or federal laws make it confidential. But just a reference to an employee undergoing an examination isn't typically interpreted as revealing that employee's medical or psychiatric history, he said. On the other hand, decisions by a public entity, such as ordering an evaluation, are generally considered public information, he said.

"It creates an interesting question," he said about the lawsuit.

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