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, 2003
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2004
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, 2003 through September
30, 2004 is made in accordance with § 552(e) of Title 5, United States Code, 5
U.S.C. § 552(e) (2000), as amended by the Electronic Freedom of Information Act
Amendments of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-231, 110
Stat. 3048-3054 (codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552 (2000)).
I. Basic Information Regarding This Report
A. FLRA contact person for questions about the FLRA's Annual FOIA Report for
Fiscal Year 2003(10/1/03-9/30/04): David M. Smith, Solicitor, Federal Labor
Relations Authority, Suite 300, 1400 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20424,
Tel: 202-218-7999; FAX: 202-343-1007.
B. Electronic address for this report on the FLRA's World Wide Web
site:
http://www.flra.gov/reports/foia2004.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
B. During FY 04, the FLRA response time for FOIA requests generally ranged
from less than a day to 36 working days.
C. Like all federal agencies, the FLRA is required under the 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 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
-- an FLRA decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA
request.
- Partial
Grant -- an 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
-- an 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. below).
- "Perfected"
Request -- an 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. The FLRA's
response times in Part VII below are given in median working days.
IV. Exemption 3 Statutes
The FLRA did not rely on an Exemption 3 statutes during the fiscal year
covered by this report (FY 03).
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 03): 3
- Number
of requests received during FY 04: 93
- Number
of requests processed during FY 04: 92
- Number
of requests pending as of the end of FY 04: 4
B. Disposition of initial requests
- Number
of total grants: 47
- Number
of partial grants: 13
- Number
of denials: 4
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used
(counting each exemption once per request)
(1)
Exemption 1: 0
(2)
Exemption 2: 0
(3)
Exemption 3: 0
(4) Exemption 4:
0
(5) Exemption 5: 11
(6)
Exemption 6: 2
(7) Exemption
7(A): 6
(8) Exemption 7(B):
0
(9) Exemption 7(C):
7
(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): 28
a. No
records: 18
b. Referrals: 6
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:
0
g. Not an agency record:
0
h. Duplicate request:
0
i. Other (specify): 2
(updating information)
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
A. Numbers of appeals
- Number
of appeals received during FY 04: 6
- Number
of appeals processed during FY 04: 6
B. Disposition of appeals
- Number
of responses to initial requests completely upheld: 2
- Number
of responses to initial requests partially reversed: 2
- Number
of responses to initial requests completely reversed: 1
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used
(counting each exemption once per appeal)
(1)
Exemption 1: 0
(2) Exemption
2: 0
3) Exemption 3:
0
(4) Exemption 4:
0
(5) Exemption 5: 4
(6) Exemption 6:
0
(7) Exemption 7(A):
0
(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
VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
A. Median processing time for requests processed during FY 04
- Total
for all requests (note: the FLRA does not have multi-track processing)
a.
Number of requests processed: 92
b. Median number of
working days to process: 6
- Requests
accorded expedited processing
a.
Number of requests processed:
0
b. Median number of working
days to process: 0
B. Status of pending requests
- Number
of requests pending as of the end of FY 04: 4
- Median
number of working days that such requests were pending as of that date: 43
VIII. Expedited Processing Requests
There were no requests for expedited processing pending at the beginning of
FY 04, and none were received during the year. Accordingly, no such
requests were granted.
IX. 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): .0864
- Total
number of personnel (in estimated work-years): .0864
B. Total costs (including staff and all resources)
- FOIA
processing (estimated -- including appeals): $ 4,317.64
- Litigation-related
activities (estimated): $0
- Total
costs (estimated): $ 4,317.64
X. Fees
A. Total amount of fees collected by the FLRA for processing requests:
$211.21
B. Percentage of total estimated costs: 5%
XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)
The FLRA's FOIA regulations, including the fee schedule, are codified at 5 C.F.R.
pt. 2411.