REPORT OF THE FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS AUTHORITY,
INCLUDING THE AUTHORITY, THE GENERAL COUNSEL,
AND THE FEDERAL SERVICE
IMPASSES PANEL
PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS -- FOR THE PERIOD OCTOBER 1,
1998
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 1999
This report of the Authority, the General Counsel of the Federal Labor
Relations Authority, and the Federal Service Impasses Panel with regard to
public information requests during the period October 1, 1998 through September
30, 1999 is made in accordance with section 552(e) of Title 5, United States
Code, as amended by the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of
1996, 5 U.S.C. § 552(e) (Supp. III 1997).
I. Basic Information Regarding This Report
A. FLRA contact person for questions about the FLRA's Annual FOIA
Report for Fiscal Year 1999 (10/1/98-9/30/99): David M. Smith, Solicitor,
Federal Labor Relations Authority, Suite 330, 607 14th Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20424, Tel: 202-482-6620; FAX: 202-482-6636.
B. Electronic address for this report on the FLRA's World Wide Web
site:
http://www.flra.gov/reports/foia1999.html.
C. How to obtain a paper copy of this report: download it from the
FLRA's web site (see I.B. above) or request it from the FLRA contact person
(see I.A. above).
II. How to Make a FOIA Request
A. See the FLRA Information Guidebook and
the FLRA's FOIA regulations, codified at 5
C.F.R. part 2411, for information about how to make a FOIA request,
including names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency
components and offices that receive FOIA requests.
B. The FLRA response time for FOIA requests generally ranged
from1calendar day to 31 calendar days.
C. Like all federal agencies, the FLRA is required under FOIA to
disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for those
records that are protected from disclosure by the nine exemptions and three
exclusions of the FOIA. The FLRA, for example, will not grant requests for
documents that relate solely to internal personnel rules and practices of the
agency or documents the release of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy (see V.B.3. below).
III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report
A. Agency-specific acronyms and other terms
- FLRA -- Federal Labor Relations Authority
- FY -- Fiscal Year
- FOIA -- Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §
552)
- PA -- Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. § 552a)
B. Basic terms, expressed in common terminology
- FOIA/PA Request -- Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request. A
FOIA request is generally a request for access to records concerning a third
party, an organization, or a particular topic of interest. A Privacy Act
request is a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are also
treated as FOIA requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless of
which law is cited by the requester, are included in this report.)
- Initial Request -- a request to the FLRA for access to records under
the FOIA.
- Appeal -- a request to the FLRA asking that it review at a higher
administrative level a full denial or partial denial of a FOIA request, or any
other FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.
- Processed Request or Appeal -- a request or appeal for which the FLRA
has taken a final action on the request or the appeal in all respects.
- Multi-track Processing -- a system in which simple requests requiring
minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and
complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track
are processed on a first-in/first-out basis. Note: The FLRA does not have
multi-track processing as it generally responds to requests on a timely basis
and does not have any FOIA backlog. A requester who has an urgent need for
records may request expedited processing (see III.B.6. directly below).
- Expedited Processing -- the FLRA will process a FOIA request on an
expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for
the records that warrants prioritization of his or her request over other
requests that were made earlier.
- Simple Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track
processing places in its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the volume
and/or simplicity of records requested. As noted above, the FLRA does not have
multi-track processing.
- Complex Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track
processing places in a slower track based on the volume and/or complexity of
records requested. As noted above, the FLRA does not have multi-track
processing.
- Grant -- a FLRA decision to disclose all records in full in response
to a FOIA request.
- Partial Grant -- a FLRA decision to disclose a record in part in
response to a FOIA request, deleting information determined to be exempt under
one or more of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in
their entireties, but to withhold others in whole or in part.
- Denial -- a FLRA decision not to release any part of a record or
records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the
requested records is determined by the FLRA to be exempt under one or more of
the FOIA's exemptions, or for some procedural reason (such as because no record
is located in response to a FOIA request).
- Time Limits -- the time period in the FOIA for an agency to respond
to a FOIA request, ordinarily 20 "working days" from proper receipt of a
"perfected" FOIA request (see III.B.13. & 17. below). Note: The FLRA
response times in Part VII below are, in accordance with the Justice Department
Guidelines, given in calendar days; the overall working day equivalent can be
approximately calculated by multiplying the calendar day total by .7 (e.g., 10
calendar days equates to about 7 working days).
- "Perfected" Request -- a FOIA request for records that adequately
describes the records sought, that has been received by the FLRA component in
possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about
the payment of applicable fees.
- Exemption 3 Statute -- a separate federal statute prohibiting the
disclosure of a certain type of information and authorizing its withholding
under FOIA subsection (b)(3).
- Median Number -- the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3,
7, and 14, the median number is 7.
- Average Number -- the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group
of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and
14, the average number is 8.
- Working Days -- days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public
holidays. As noted, the FLRA's response times in Part VII below are given in
median calendar days (the number of "working days" being about a third less).
IV. Exemption 3 Statutes
A. The FLRA relied on the following Exemption 3 statute during the
fiscal year covered by this report (FY 99): National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-201, § 821, 110 Stat. 2422.
- Type of information withheld: The FLRA relied on the Defense
Authorization Act to withhold information concerning the prices bid by court
reporting firms that were not selected by the FLRA to provide court reporting
services for the agency.
- Court review: There has been no court review of the FLRA's reliance
on the Defense Authorization Act.
V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests
A. Numbers of initial requests
- Number of requests pending as of the end of the preceding fiscal year
(FY 98): 4
- Number of requests received during the fiscal year covered by this
report (FY 99): 128
- Number of requests processed during FY 99: 131
- Number of requests pending as of the end of FY 99: 1
B. Disposition of initial requests
- Number of total grants: 72
- Number of partial grants: 21
- Number of denials: 38
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption
once per request)
(1) Exemption 1:
0
(2) Exemption 2:
1
(3) Exemption 3:
1
(4)
Exemption 4: 1
(5)
Exemption 5: 12
(6)
Exemption 6: 4
(7)
Exemption 7(A): 7
(8)
Exemption 7(B): 0
(9)
Exemption 7(C): 10
(10) Exemption 7(D): 10
(11) Exemption 7(E): 0
(12) Exemption 7(F): 0
(13) Exemption 8:
0
(14) Exemption 9:
0
- Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 30
a. No records:
16
b. Referrals: 9
c. Request withdrawn:
2
d. Fee-related reason:
0
e. Records not reasonably
described: 0
f. Not a proper
FOIA request for some other reason:
2
g. Not an agency
record: 0
h. Duplicate
request: 1
i. Other
(specify): 0
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
A. Numbers of appeals
- Number of appeals received during FY 99: 8
- Number of appeals processed during FY 99: 8
B. Disposition of appeals
- Number of responses to initial requests completely upheld:
4
- Number of responses to initial requests partially reversed: 4
- Number of responses to initial requests completely reversed: 0
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption
once per appeal)
(1) Exemption 1: 0
(2) Exemption 2:
1
3) Exemption 3:
0
(4) Exemption 4:
0
(5) Exemption 5:
5
(6) Exemption 6:
1
(7) Exemption 7(A):
2
(8) Exemption 7(B):
0
(9) Exemption 7(C):
2
(10) Exemption 7(D):
2
(11) Exemption 7(E):
0
(12) Exemption 7(F):
0
(13) Exemption 8:
0
(14) Exemption
9.0
- Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 1
a. No records:
0
b. Referrals:
0
c. Request withdrawn:
0
d. Fee-related reason:
0
e. Records not reasonably
described: 0
f. Not a
proper FOIA request for some other reason: 0
g. Not an agency
record: 0
h. Duplicate
request: 0
i. Other
(specify): 1 (untimely)
VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
A. Median processing time for requests processed during FY 99
- Total for all requests (note: the FLRA does not have multi-track
processing)
a. Number of requests
processed: 131
b. Median
number of calendar days to process: 10
- Requests accorded expedited processing
a. Number of requests
processed: 0
b. Median
number of calendar days to process: 0
B. Status of pending requests
- Number of requests pending as of the end of FY 99:
1
- Median number of calendar days that such requests were pending as of
that date: 14
VIII. Costs/FOIA Staffing
A. Staffing levels
- Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 0
- Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties (in
estimated total work-years): .15
- Total number of personnel (in estimated work-years): .15
B. Total costs (including staff and all resources)
- FOIA processing (estimated -- including appeals): $ 10,784.00
- Litigation-related activities (estimated): $1031.00
- Total costs (estimated): $ 11,815.00
IX. Fees
A. Total amount of fees collected by the FLRA for processing requests:
$ 828.13
B. Percentage of total estimated costs: 7%
X. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)
The FLRA's FOIA regulations, including the fee schedule, are codified at
5 C.F.R. part 2411.