Catasauqua Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart and borough Treasurer Deanna Decker reported an information breach by the borough. Both Eckhart and Decker apologized for the mistake, chalked up to “human error,” which led to the release of sensitive information of a number of borough employees.

The incident reportedly occurred June 11 when Decker and Eckhart responded to a Right to Know request from the Office of Open Records asking for how much borough employees got paid. They compiled the 2024 W-2s for the approximately 70 borough employees at the time and sent them. However, they had forgotten to redact sensitive personal information on the forms.

Eckhart reported they realized their mistake and tried to recall the records within 16 minutes of sending. They also spoke with both borough attorneys within 24 hours. Eckhart reported they were assured the person who requested the information would destroy it.

A communication was drafted and sent to the affected employees within seven days. The borough is also offering identity theft protection for a year for those involved. It was reported a number of employees have taken them up on the offer.

Additionally, Eckhart noted the borough’s labor attorney reported the breach to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

Candace Maxwell, borough administrative operations and community coordinator, said the borough followed the Breach of Personal Information Notification Act steps to ensure it was handled properly. The borough employees noted this incident didn’t necessarily qualify for BPINA coverage but followed through with its requirements anyway.

“We did extra steps than we had to,” Maxwell said, noting they wanted to try and rectify the situation as completely as they could.

It was noted the borough employee who usually handles the RTK requests was out on medical leave and the borough office was short staffed. Eckhart noted neither he nor Decker had ever personally handled an RTK request and this contributed to the slip-up. Decker noted this is not an excuse, but an explanation of how it could have happened.

“There was no intent to injure anyone,” Decker said. “We’ve been transparent and did everything we could do.”