DOL/SOL-15

SYSTEM NAME:

Solicitor's Office Litigation Files.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Offices of the Associate Solicitors, Office of the Solicitor, Washington, DC; Offices of the Regional Solicitor and Associate Regional Solicitors at various locations.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Plaintiffs, defendants, respondents, witnesses and other individuals who may have provided information relating to, or who may have been involved in matters that are part of Labor Department litigation, where the Department is either the plaintiff or the defendant.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

The system contains records gathered by the various Offices of the Associate Solicitors, Regional Solicitors and Associate Regional Solicitors. The records may be derived from materials filed with the Department of Labor, court records, pleadings, statements of witnesses, information received from federal, state, local and foreign regulatory organizations and from other sources. The system also contains records that incorporate the work product of the various offices and other privileged documents.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

5 U.S.C. 301.

PURPOSE(S):

These records are maintained for the purpose of prosecuting violations of labor laws, as well as for defending law suits and claims brought against the Department of Labor.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USE:

None, except for those universal routine uses listed in the General Prefatory Statement to this document.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Litigation files are maintained in manual files.

RETRIEVABILITY:

By name.

SAFEGUARDS:

Files are kept in office suites which are locked after working hours.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Litigation files are maintained for two (2) years after final court determination, then transferred to the FRC where they are kept for an additional three (3) years and then destroyed.

However:

Significant litigation files in the Civil Rights Division:

Cases which (1) resulted in a major legal precedent, or (2) involved a complex and/or novel issue, or (3) involved intense public interest or controversy that usually is reflected in a high degree of media attention are retained permanently.

Litigation files involving OSHA:

OSHA litigation files are destroyed one year after all rights of appeals have expired.

Matters in which the Department obtained an injunction are maintained in SOL for two years after the matter is closed and then transferred to the FRC for twenty (20) years and then destroyed. Briefs and significant motions are retained in the office for twenty (20) years and then destroyed.

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act litigation files:

Files are maintained for six years after final agency action or three (3) years after final court determination, whichever is later.

Black Lung files:

Files for cases before the Administrative Law Judges are maintained for one (1) year after the case is closed and then destroyed. Cases adjudicated before the Benefit Review Board are maintained for two (2) years after the final decision is issued and then destroyed. Court of Appeal and Supreme Court cases are maintained for five years after the final decision is issued and then destroyed.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

The appropriate Associate Solicitor or the Regional Solicitor or Associate Regional Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-2002, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

Inquiries should be mailed or presented to the system manager noted at the address listed above.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

A request for access shall be addressed to the system manager at the address listed above. Individuals must furnish the following information for their records to be located and identified:

a. Name.

b. Approximate date for the investigation.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

A petition for amendments shall be addressed to the System Manager and must meet the requirements of 29 CFR 71.9.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Component agency investigative files; investigators; other law enforcement personnel; attorneys; witnesses, informants; other individuals; federal, states and local agencies; opinion files; miscellaneous files.

SYSTEM EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISION OF THE ACT:

Under the specific exemption authority provided by 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), this system is exempt from the following provisions of the Privacy ACT: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H),(I), and (f) of the Act. Disclosure of information could enable the subject of the record to take action to escape prosecution and could avail the subject greater access to information than that already provided under rules of discovery. In addition, disclosure of information might lead to intimidation of witnesses, informants, or their families, and impair future investigations by making it more difficult to collect similar information.