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2005 FOIA Annual Report U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR The Department received a total of 23,505 initial requests for records during fiscal year 2005. I. Basic Information Regarding Report A. For questions concerning this report, please contact Joseph J. Plick, Counsel for FOIA/FACA/Privacy Act, Office of the Solicitor, Room N-2428, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone number (202) 693-5527. B. The electronic address for this report is on the World Wide Web at http://www.dol.gov/dol/foia/main.htm. C. You may obtain a paper copy of this report by writing to Mr. Plick at the above address. II. How to Make a FOIA Request The Department of Labor is organized into divisions and agencies often referred to as "components." Within the Labor Department, each component processes its own FOIA requests. Therefore, a request will receive the fastest possible response if it is addressed directly to the disclosure officer for the component that a requester believes has the records. Requesters who cannot determine the proper disclosure officer to which the request should be addressed may direct the request to the Office of Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room S-5526, Washington, D.C. 20210. Due to an update in the Department's FOIA regulations, after June 30, 2006, these requests should be directed to the Counsel for FOIA, Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-2428, Washington, D.C. 20210 or by e-mail to foiarequest@dol.gov. A. The following list contains the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the individual agency components and offices in the national and regional offices of the Department of Labor. The heads of each component shall make available for inspection and copying, in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA, records in their custody or in the custody of component units within their organizations, either directly or through their authorized representative in particular offices and locations. Unless otherwise specified, the mailing address for the following national office components is as follows: U.S. Department of Labor 1. Office of the Secretary of Labor, (202) 693-7277. The addresses and telephone numbers for the various regional offices are presented below. The telephone number which is listed is for the Department's Office of Administration and Management (OASAM) for that region. That office can provide the requester with a more specific telephone number for the respective component. Unless otherwise specified, the mailing address for these regional offices by region, shall be: Region I: U.S. Department of Labor Region II: U.S. Department of Labor Region III: U.S. Department of Labor Region IV: U.S. Department of Labor (OWCP Only) Region V: U.S. Department of Labor (FECA only) Region VI: U.S. Department of Labor Region VII: U.S. Department of Labor (OFCCP only) Region VIII: U.S. Department of Labor (OWCP only) The mailing address for the Director of the Regional Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training in Region VIII is: Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training Region IX: U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Labor B. Agency response-time. The agency's response-time ranges generally from five to fifty days. Complex requests usually take more time. C. Why some requests are not granted. A FOIA request can be made for any agency record. This does not mean, however, that the Labor Department will disclose every record sought. There are statutory exemptions that authorize the withholding of certain information. In addition, the agency cannot comply with a FOIA request if there are no responsive records. Another reason for not granting a FOIA request is that the FOIA does not require agencies to do research for the requester, to analyze data, to answer questions, or to create records in order to respond to a FOIA request. III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report (To be included in each report) A. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.
B. Basic terms, expressed in common terminology. 1. 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.) 2. Initial Request--a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act. 3. Appeal--a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a full denial or partial denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act, or any other FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to fees. 4. Processed Request or Appeal--a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action on the request or the appeal in all respects. 5. Multi-track processing--a system in which simple requests requiring relatively 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. A requester who has an urgent need for records may request expedited processing (see below). 6. Expedited processing--an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants giving priority to his or her request over other requests that were made earlier. 7. Simple request--a FOIA request that an agency using multi-tracking processing places in its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity of records requested. 8. 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. 9. Grant--an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request. 10. Partial grant--an agency 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. 11. Denial--an agency decision not to release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested record is determined by the agency 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). 12. Time limits--the time period in the Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a perfected FOIA request). 13. A perfected request--a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees. 14. 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). 15. Median number--the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7. 16. 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 is 8. IV. Exemption 3 Statutes A. List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by this agency during fiscal year 2005. 1. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration withheld the map of a U.S. Army Depot pursuant to the requirements of the Homeland Security Act. That component also withheld information pursuant to Title 49 CFR part 1520, which is enforced by the Transportation Security Administration. 2. The Office of Labor-Management Standards invoked section 304(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA) (29 U.S.C. 464(a)) to protect the identity of a complainant in a trusteeship investigation. This office also withheld grand jury material pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 3. The Mine Safety and Health Administration withheld the name of a person who requested a safety inspection pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, section 103(g)(1) (30 U.S.C.813(g)(1)). It also withheld information to protect the confidentiality of coal mine maps pursuant to section 312(b) of the statute (30 U.S.C. 872(b)). 4. The Office of the Inspector General withheld grand jury information pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. 5. The Bureau of Labor Statistics withheld confidential business data pursuant to the authority of the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA)(44 U.S.C. 3541note). This statute prohibits federal agencies from releasing in identifiable form information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes. B. The use of Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure was upheld by a court in the case of Senate of Puerto Rico v. United States Department of Justice, 823 F.2d 574 (D.C. Cir. 1987). The use of the other statutes, cited above, has not been litigated. V. INITIAL FOIA/PA ACCESS REQUESTS A. NUMBERS OF INITIAL REQUESTS.
B. DISPOSITION OF INITIAL REQUESTS.
B. 3. a. EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT;
B. 4. OTHER REASONS FOR NONDISCLOSURE (cont.)
** EXPLANATION OF DISPOSITION OF FOIA/PA INITIAL REQUESTS:
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests A. Numbers of appeals. 1. Number of appeals received during fiscal year 2005: 364 2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year 2005: 188 B. Disposition of appeals. 1. Number completely upheld: 36 2. Number partially reversed: 48 3. Number completely reversed: 10 a. number of times each FOIA exemption was used (counting each exemption once per appeal) (1) Exemption 1: 0 (2) Exemption 2: 7 (3) Exemption 3: 0 (4) Exemption 4: 17 (5) Exemption 5: 31 (6) Exemption 6: 7 (7) Exemption 7(A): 21 (8) Exemption 7(B): 0 (9) Exemption 7(C): 48 (10) Exemption 7(D): 28 (11) Exemption 7(E): 4 (12) Exemption 7(F): 1 (13) Exemption 8: 0 (14) Exemption 9: 0 4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 94 a. no records: 6 b. referrals: 5 c. appeal withdrawn: 36 d. fee-related reason: 2 e. records not reasonably described: 0 f. not a proper FOIA appeal for some other reason: 10 g. not an agency record: 0 h. duplicate request: 8 i. other (specify): closed administratively, 27 VII. COMPLIANCE WITH TIME LIMITS/STATUS OF PENDING REQUESTS A. MEDIAN PROCESSING TIME FOR REQUESTS PROCESSED DURING THE YEAR.
B. STATUS OF PENDING REQUESTS.
IX. COSTS/FOIA STAFFING
X. FEES A. TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES COLLECTED BY AGENCY FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS. The Department collected $180,690.20 in fees. B. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COSTS: 1.12% XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule) The electronic address for accessing the Department's FOIA regulations, 29 CFR Part 70, is on the Department's web site at http://www.dol.gov/dol/foia/main.htm. In addition, they can be accessed on the World Wide Web at GPO Access, a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office, at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
Footnotes: [1] The numbering and lettering of sections corresponds to the Department of Justice, Office of Information and Privacy's "Annual Report Guidance Outline," FOIA Update Vol. XVIII, No. 3, 1997. [2] This column is repeated in Column 2 of the table on page 12. [3] These numbers when added together equal 23,284, which corresponds to the total of Column 3 of Table V.A. above. [4] This column is a repeat of the information contained in column 4 of the table on page 10 |
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