A King County Superior Court Judge declined Thursday to allow the city of Seattle to release its investigation into the Aging and Disability Services Division's handling of fraud allegations, despite what he said was a "strongly-worded mandate" in state law to disclose public records.

Judge Bruce Heller said the investigation report contained allegations of employee misconduct and was of legitimate public interest, but he agreed to delay the report's release pending an appeal by the two employees named in it.

The city of Seattle argues the report should be released. The employees don't want it released, and Heller was ruling on their effort to keep the document out of the public eye.

The Seattle Times has requested the investigation report under the state Public Records Act.

In May, the city Human Services Department placed on administrative leave the division director, Pam Piering, and suspended payments to the Kinship Care program run by Senior Services, a nonprofit social-services agency with $4.2 million in city contracts.

The city hired an independent investigator to look into why the division didn't respond more aggressively to a whistle-blower complaint in November that a Senior Services employee had misappropriated contract funds.

Senior Services identified $89,000 in questionable payments and fired the employee in March. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

As a result of the city investigation, several employees were recommended for discipline.

Piering retired in July. A contracts manager in the division was recommended for termination. The manager challenged the report's release, saying the investigation was flawed and the allegations in it would jeopardize her future employment.

A second division employee facing discipline joined her lawsuit to prevent the report's release.

According to legal briefs filed in the case, the contracts manager said she had no complicity in the alleged fraud. She said she had not been advised of the city investigation or allowed to adequately prepare for it, according to the documents.

In court, her attorney, Judith Lonnquist, argued further that the city was using the threat of publicity to coerce employees into accepting the recommended discipline.

Mary Perry, an assistant city attorney, said the Public Records Act doesn't have a privacy exemption, except for personal identifying information such as Social Security numbers or addresses.

She said the records act compels the release of substantiated findings of misconduct by public employees. Further, she said, the act doesn't contain an exemption that would allow a court to withhold a document in its entirety.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or lthompson@seattletimes.com