(a) Appeals to the Solicitor of Labor. When a component denies in
whole or in part a request for access to records, the requester may
appeal the denial to the Solicitor of Labor within 90 days of his
receipt of the notice denying his request. An appeal to the Solicitor
of Labor shall be made in writing, addressed to the Solicitor of Labor,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
20210-0002. Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be
clearly marked: ``Privacy Act Appeal.'' An appeal not so addressed and
marked shall be forwarded to the Office of the Solicitor as soon as it
is identified as an appeal under the Privacy Act. An appeal that is
improperly addressed shall be deemed not to have been received by the
Department until the Office of the Solicitor receives the appeal.
(b) Form of action on appeal. The disposition of an appeal shall be
in writing. A written decision affirming in whole or in part the denial
of a request for access shall include a brief statement of the reason
or reasons for the affirmation, including each Privacy Act and FOIA
exemption relied upon and its relation to each record withheld, and a
statement that judicial review of the denial is available in the U.S.
District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides
or has his principal place of business, the judicial district in which
the requested records are located, or the District of Columbia. If the
denial of a request for access is reversed on appeal, the requester
shall be so notified and the request shall be processed promptly in
accordance with the decision on appeal.
(c) Delegation of Authority by the Solicitor of Labor. The
Solicitor of Labor is authorized to delegate his authority to decide
appeals from any and all denials of access to other senior attorneys
within the Office of the Solicitor.
