U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006
[1]
October 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006
The Department received a total of 23,157 initial requests for records
during fiscal year 2006.
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 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. (Prior to amendments to the Department's FOIA
regulation effective June 30, 2006 requesters were directed 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.)
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
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Room SL-33
Washington, DC 20210
1. Office of the Secretary of Labor, (202) 693-7277.
2. Office of the Solicitor of Labor, (202) 693-5527.
3. Office of the Administrative Law Judges, 800 K Street, N.W., Suite
N-400, Washington, D.C. 20001-8002, (202) 693-7440.
4. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management,
(202) 693-7277.
5. Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, (202) 693-4630.
6. Office of the Inspector General, (202) 693-5113.
7. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, (202) 693-5925.
8. Office of Public Affairs, (202) 693-4654.
9. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, (202) 693-4770.
10. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Postal Square Building, Room 4040, 2
Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212-0001, (202) 691-7628.
11. Employment Standards Administration, (202) 693-0256.
12. Employment and Training Administration, (202) 693-3140.
13. Mine Safety and Health Administration, 1100 Wilson Boulevard, 21st
Floor, Arlington, Virginia 22209, (202) 693-9424.
14. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (202) 693-1897.
15. Office of Disability Employment Policy, (202) 693-4930.
16. Employee Benefits Security Administration, formerly known as the
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, (202) 693-8655.
17. Office of the Chief Financial Officer, (202) 693-6806.
18. Veterans' Employment and Training, (202) 693-4745.
19. Employees' Compensation Appeals Board, (202) 693-5028.
20. Office of Adjudicatory Services, (202) 693-5028.
21. Benefits Review Board, (202) 693-5028.
22. Office of Small Business Programs, (202) 693-6475.
23. Women's Bureau, (202) 693-6735.
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 shall be:
Region I:
U.S. Department of Labor
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
One Congress Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02203
(617) 565-1991
(For Employment Standards Administration (ESA), Wage and Hour Division
only: Contact Region III)
Region II:
U.S. Department of Labor
201 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
(212) 337-2215
(For Wage and Hour Division only: Contact Region III)
Region III:
U.S. Department of Labor
The Curtis Center, Suite 600 East
170 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-3305
(215) 861-5030
Region IV:
U.S. Department of Labor
Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 562-2018
(For ESA, Office of Workers’ Compensation (OWCP) Only)
U.S. Department of Labor
214 N. Hogan Street, Suite 1006
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
(904) 357-4725
Region V:
U.S. Department of Labor
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-8373
(For OWCP, Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) only)
U.S. Department of Labor
1240 East Ninth Street, Room 851
Cleveland, Ohio 44199
(216) 357-5372
Region VI:
U.S. Department of Labor
525 Griffin Square Building
Griffin & Young Streets
Dallas, Texas 75202
(214) 767-6800
Region VII:
U.S. Department of Labor
City Center Square Building
1100 Main Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105-2112
(816) 426-3891
(For Wage and Hour Division only: Contact Region V)
(For ESA, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) only)
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Main Street, Suite 860
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
(816) 502-0370
Region VIII:
U.S. Department of Labor
1999 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 844-1700
(For Wage and Hour Division and OFCCP: Contact Region VI)
(For OWCP only)
U.S. Department of Labor
1999 Broadway, Suite 600
Denver, Colorado 80201
(720) 264-3038
The mailing address for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA),
Director of the Regional Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training in Region
VIII is:
Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
U.S. Custom House
721 ‑ 19th Street, Room 465
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 844-4791
Region IX:
U.S. Department of Labor
71 Stevenson Street
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 975-4057
U.S. Department of Labor
1111 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101-3212
(415) 975-4057
(For Wage and Hour Division: Contact San Francisco)
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.
|
1. |
ADJ BDS |
Adjudicatory Boards (ARB, BRB, ECAB) |
|
2. |
ALJ |
Administrative Law Judges |
|
3. |
ASP |
Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Policy |
|
4. |
OPA |
Office of Public Affairs |
|
5. |
CFO |
Office of the Chief Financial Officer |
|
6. |
EBSA |
Employee Benefits Security
Administration |
|
7. |
ESA |
Employment Standards Administration |
|
8. |
ETA |
Employment and Training Administration |
|
9. |
ILAB |
Bureau of International Labor Affairs |
|
10. |
BLS |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
|
11. |
MSHA |
Mine Safety and Health Administration |
|
12. |
OSHA |
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration |
|
13. |
OASAM |
Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Administration and Management |
|
14. |
OCIA |
Office of Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs |
|
15. |
ODEP |
Office of Disability Employment Policy |
|
16. |
OIG |
Office of the Inspector General |
|
17. |
OSBP |
Office of Small Business Programs |
|
18. |
SOL |
Office of the Solicitor |
|
19. |
VETS |
Veterans' Employment and Training
Service |
|
20. |
WB |
Women's Bureau |
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 initial request or the appeal in all
respects.
5. Multi-track processing--a system in which simple requests requiring
relatively minimal search and 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 the search and review of the 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
the search and review of the 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 5 U.S.C. § 552(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 2006.
1. The Office of Labor-Management Standards, Employment Standards
Administration, 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 union trusteeship investigation.
2. 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)). This
statute was cited on six occasions.
3. The Office of the Inspector General withheld grand jury information
pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
4. The Bureau of Labor Statistics withheld confidential data pursuant to
the authority of the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA)(44 U.S.C. § 3541). This statute prohibits
federal agencies from releasing in identifiable form information acquired
under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes.
5. The Employment and Training Administration withheld confidential
business data pursuant to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as
amended, sec. 90.33 (18 U.S.C. § 1905). This statute prohibits federal
agencies from disclosing any confidential business information such as trade
secrets and commercial or financial information, which is obtained from a
person as part of an investigation.
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. Number of Initial Requests.
|
1. Number of Requests Pending as of End of
Proceeding Year |
2. Number of Requests Received in Current Year |
3. Number of Requests Processed in Current Year |
4. Number of Requests Pending as of End of Current
Year |
OSHA |
253 |
11,010 |
10,886 |
377 |
ESA |
133 |
7755 |
7704 |
184 |
MSHA |
47 |
1193 |
1151 |
89 |
EBSA |
76 |
1946 |
1961 |
61 |
ETA |
239 |
472 |
597 |
114 |
OASAM |
10 |
237 |
205 |
42 |
ALJ |
0 |
145 |
136 |
9 |
VETS |
5 |
94 |
97 |
2 |
OIG |
11 |
91 |
94 |
8 |
BLS |
5 |
70 |
72 |
3 |
Adj Bds |
0 |
42 |
37 |
5 |
WB |
0 |
20 |
16 |
4 |
ODEP |
0 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
ASP |
1 |
21 |
22 |
0 |
OCIA |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
ILAB |
0 |
19 |
17 |
2 |
CFO |
0 |
19 |
19 |
0 |
OPA |
0 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
OSBP |
0 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
SOL |
0 |
23 |
17 |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
Totals |
780 |
23,194 |
23,068 |
906 |
B. Disposition of Initial Requests.
|
1. Number of Total Grants |
2. Number of Partial Grants |
3. Number of Denials |
4. Other Reasons for Nondisclosure (Subtotal)
[2] |
OSHA |
695 |
5913 |
794 |
3484 |
ESA |
5851 |
329 |
743 |
781 |
MSHA |
508 |
427 |
51 |
165 |
EBSA |
1547 |
78 |
62 |
274 |
ETA |
200 |
85 |
97 |
215 |
OASAM |
68 |
39 |
42 |
56 |
ALJ |
94 |
16 |
2 |
24 |
OIG |
14 |
8 |
43 |
29 |
BLS |
14 |
5 |
32 |
21 |
VETS |
20 |
51 |
13 |
13 |
Adj Bds |
20 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
ASP |
1 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
WB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
ODEP |
5 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
OCIA |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
ILAB |
4 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
CFO |
2 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
OPA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
OSBP |
2 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
SOL |
1 |
1 |
1 |
14 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS
[3] |
9046 |
6954 |
1880 |
5188 |
B.1. Exemptions Claims Under the Freedom of Information Act; Each
Exemption is Counted Only Once Per Request.
|
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
(7) (A) |
(7) (B) |
(7) (C) |
(7) (D) |
(7) (E) |
(7) (F) |
(8) |
(9) |
TOTAL |
OSHA |
0 |
727 |
0 |
3,684 |
4,238 |
1,638 |
1,401 |
101 |
4,183 |
2,726 |
530 |
0 |
1 |
24 |
19,253 |
ESA |
0 |
179 |
3 |
407 |
778 |
129 |
166 |
1 |
848 |
410 |
235 |
0 |
0 |
9 |
3,165 |
MSHA |
0 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
138 |
248 |
99 |
0 |
79 |
82 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
666 |
EBSA |
0 |
14 |
0 |
19 |
22 |
45 |
30 |
1 |
35 |
4 |
35 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
206 |
ETA |
0 |
1 |
4 |
66 |
6 |
37 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
116 |
OASAM |
0 |
3 |
0 |
20 |
6 |
37 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
67 |
ALJ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
OIG |
0 |
13 |
6 |
5 |
10 |
31 |
2 |
0 |
28 |
4 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
104 |
BLS |
0 |
1 |
9 |
9 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
VETS |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
39 |
33 |
1 |
0 |
33 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
127 |
Adj Bds |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ASP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
WB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ODEP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OCIA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
ILAB |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
CFO |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OPA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OSBP |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SOL |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS |
0 |
946 |
28 |
4,220 |
5,240 |
2,228 |
1,701 |
103 |
5,206 |
3,244 |
805 |
1 |
1 |
34 |
23,757 |
B.2. Other Reasons for Nondisclosure
|
This column totals up all of the numbers set forth
to the right
[4] |
No Records |
Referrals |
Request With-drawn |
Fee Related Reason |
Records Not Reason-ably Described |
Not a Proper FOIA Request |
Not an Agency Record |
Dupli-cate Request |
Other (specify) **
|
OSHA |
3,484 |
2,377 |
614 |
110 |
74 |
91 |
9 |
33 |
176 |
0 |
ESA |
781 |
470 |
48 |
35 |
16 |
6 |
20 |
52 |
82 |
52 |
MSHA |
165 |
97 |
3 |
16 |
4 |
1 |
8 |
4 |
18 |
14 |
EBSA |
274 |
73 |
5 |
55 |
0 |
69 |
4 |
2 |
16 |
50 |
ETA |
215 |
84 |
12 |
3 |
31 |
4 |
2 |
13 |
22 |
44 |
OASAM |
56 |
15 |
12 |
14 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
9 |
5 |
0 |
ALJ |
24 |
11 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
OIG |
29 |
19 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
BLS |
21 |
11 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
VETS |
13 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
Adj Bds |
17 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
ASP |
21 |
16 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
WB |
16 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
ODEP |
7 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OCIA |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ILAB |
13 |
9 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
CFO |
17 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
OPA |
8 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OSBP |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SOL |
14 |
11 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS |
5188 |
3260 |
715 |
243 |
128 |
175 |
50 |
120 |
326 |
171 |
** Explanation of Disposition of FOIA/PA Initial
Requests:
Other Reasons for Nondisclosure
(Column Marked "Other")
Component |
Number of Times |
Reason(s) |
ESA |
52 |
Closed administratively |
EBSA |
50 |
Closed administratively |
ETA |
44 |
Closed administratively |
MSHA |
14 |
Closed administratively |
Adj Bds |
3 |
Closed administratively |
ILAB |
2 |
Closed administratively |
VETS |
2 |
Closed administratively |
ALJ |
2 |
Closed administratively |
OIG |
2 |
Closed administratively |
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests.
A. Numbers of appeals.
1. Number of appeals received during fiscal year 2006: 336
2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year 2006: 303
B. Disposition of appeals.
1. Number completely upheld: 42
2. Number partially reversed: 95
3. Number completely reversed: 18
a. number of times each FOIA exemption was used (counting each exemption
once per appeal, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b))
(1) Exemption 1: 0
(2) Exemption 2: 8
(3) Exemption 3: 1
(4) Exemption 4: 30
(5) Exemption 5: 61
(6) Exemption 6: 16
(7) Exemption 7(A): 16
(8) Exemption 7(B): 0
(9) Exemption 7(C): 99
(10) Exemption 7(D): 49
(11) Exemption 7(E): 4
(12) Exemption 7(F): 0
(13) Exemption 8: 0
(14) Exemption 9: 0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 148
a. no records: 8
b. referrals: 15
c. appeal withdrawn: 25
d. fee-related reason: 1
e. records not reasonably described: 1
f. not a proper FOIA appeal for some other reason: 3
g. not an agency record: 0
h. duplicate request: 2
i. other (specify): closed administratively: 93
VII. Compliance With Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests.
A. Median Processing Time For Requests Processed During The Year.
|
Simple Requests |
Complex Requests |
Requests For Expedited Processing |
|
Number of Requests Processed |
Median Number of Days to Process |
Number of Requests Processed |
Median Number of Days to Process |
Number of Expedited Requests Granted |
Median Number of Days to Process |
OSHA |
7757 |
10 |
3049 |
21 |
80 |
15 |
ESA |
6670 |
15 |
1023 |
44 |
11 |
8 |
MSHA |
0 |
0 |
1148 |
15 |
3 |
14 |
EBSA |
607 |
5 |
1352 |
12.5 |
2 |
2 |
ETA |
308 |
15 |
280 |
28 |
9 |
19 |
OASAM |
205 |
22 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ALJ |
131 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
6 |
VETS |
81 |
10 |
14 |
25 |
2 |
10 |
OIG |
66 |
28 |
28 |
57 |
0 |
0 |
BLS |
72 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Adj Bds |
37 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
WB |
7 |
17 |
9 |
27 |
0 |
0 |
ODEP |
8 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
ASP |
21 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
OCIA |
2 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
ILAB |
1 |
9 |
16 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
CFO |
0 |
0 |
19 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
OPA |
8 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
OSBP |
15 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
SOL |
13 |
16 |
4 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS |
16,009 |
|
6,946 |
|
113 |
|
B. Status of Pending Requests.
|
Number of Requests Pending as of the end of the
Fiscal Year |
Median Number of Days Pending |
OSHA |
377 |
29 |
ESA |
184 |
39 |
MSHA |
89 |
29 |
EBSA |
61 |
13 |
ETA |
114 |
48 |
OASAM |
42 |
68 |
ALJ |
9 |
51 |
VETS |
2 |
8 |
OIG |
8 |
53 |
BLS |
3 |
5 |
Adj Bds |
5 |
88 |
WB |
4 |
15 |
ODEP |
0 |
19 |
ASP |
0 |
0 |
OCIA |
0 |
0 |
ILAB |
2 |
9 |
CFO |
0 |
0 |
OPA |
0 |
0 |
OSBP |
0 |
0 |
SOL |
6 |
27 |
|
|
|
TOTALS |
906
|
|
VIII. Comparisons with Previous Year(s).
A. Comparison of number of requests received: 2006 (23,194); 2005
(23,505); 2004 (21,833)
B. Comparison of number of requests processed: 2006 (23,068); 2005
(23,284); 2004 (21,860)
C. Comparison of number of requests pending: 2006 (906); 2005 (780);
2004 (559)
IX. FOIA Staffing and Costs.
Staffing Levels |
Total Costs
(Including Staff and all Resources) |
|
Number of Full Time Personnel |
Number of Personnel With Part Time FOIA Duties
(In Total Work-Years) |
Total Number of Personnel (In Work-Years) |
FOIA Processing (Including Appeals) (Estimated) |
Litigation Related Activities (Estimated) |
Total |
OSHA |
10 |
61 |
71 |
$6,248,000 |
$0 |
$6,248,000 |
ESA |
14 |
37.7 |
51.7 |
4,549,600 |
0 |
4,549,600 |
MSHA |
1 |
19 |
20 |
1,760,000 |
0 |
1,760,000 |
EBSA |
4 |
4.5 |
8.5 |
748,000 |
0 |
748,000 |
ETA |
0 |
6.4 |
6.4 |
563,200 |
0 |
563,200 |
OASAM |
1 |
1.7 |
2.7 |
237,600 |
0 |
237,600 |
ALJ |
0 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
184,800 |
0 |
184,800 |
VETS |
0 |
1 |
1 |
88,000 |
0 |
88,000 |
OIG |
1 |
0 |
1 |
88,000 |
0 |
88,000 |
BLS |
0 |
.8 |
.8 |
70,400 |
0 |
70,400 |
Adj Bds |
0 |
.7 |
.7 |
61,600 |
0 |
61,600 |
WB |
0 |
.3 |
.3 |
26,400 |
0 |
26,400 |
ODEP |
0 |
.3 |
.3 |
26,400 |
0 |
26,400 |
ASP |
0 |
.5 |
.5 |
44,000 |
0 |
44,000 |
OCIA |
0 |
.1 |
.1 |
8,800 |
0 |
8,800 |
ILAB |
0 |
.3 |
.3 |
26,400 |
0 |
26,400 |
CFO |
0 |
.2 |
.2 |
17,600 |
0 |
17,600 |
OPA |
0 |
.1 |
.1 |
8,800 |
0 |
8,800 |
OSBP |
0 |
.2 |
.2 |
17,600 |
0 |
17,600 |
SOL |
4 |
7.5 |
11.5 |
1,012,000 |
168,000 |
1,180,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTALS |
35 |
144.4 |
179.4 |
15,787,200 |
168,000 |
15,955,200 |
X. Fees.
A. Total Amount of Fees Collected By Agency For Processing Requests.
The Department collected $ 316,404.27 in fees.
B. PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COSTS: 1.98 %
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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
XII. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation.
A. Description of supplementation/modification of agency
improvement plan.
The Department of Labor issued a plan modification on December 8, 2006.
The modification was made as a result of the Department's continued
assessment of the plan, as well as in response to useful input provided by
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Governmental
Accountability Office (GAO). The objective of the modification is to set
specific outcome oriented goals to reduce any backlogs in responding to
initial requests, and to provide timetables for the achievement of these
goals. This will be accomplished by having agencies identify their oldest
pending requests, and setting percentage targets for the reduction of these
requests. In addition, agencies are being asked to develop ongoing
monitoring systems with an "early alert" system for any growing backlogs.
B. Report on agency implementation of the plan, including its
performance in meeting milestones, with respect to each improvement plan.
The Department reached all milestones for all seven major areas contained
in its plan.
1. Improve communication with requesters.
This objective consisted of two specific milestones. First, the
Department committed to focus on its outreach to the requester community and
to solicit suggestions from the public on its FOIA processes. On December
18, 2006, the Department held a FOIA Requester Public Forum. The Department
provided extensive advance publicity for this event, through a Federal
Register notice, a press release, and prominent placement on its Web site.
The Department's Chief FOIA Officer and its Public Liaison served as
moderators for the meeting. The program consisted of presentations by a
panel of the Department's legal and program experts on FOIA. This was
followed by an open microphone session wherein members of the public raised
questions and made suggestions to the Department panelists about the
Department's FOIA process. The Department is still accepting written input
for the meeting, and is studying ways for continued dialogue with its
requester community. During 2007, the Department will assess the
feasibility and benefits of an electronic suggestion box.
Second, the Chief FOIA Officer has prepared and distributed a template
acknowledgement letter to agency FOIA coordinators for use by departmental
Disclosure Officers.
2. Increase Web Presence and Proactive Disclosure
To increase its web presence and proactive disclosure, the Department
evaluated the Department and agency FOIA Web sites, developed a plan for
improving the agencies' required affirmative disclosure of information and
developed a plan for disclosing classes of documents proactively.
The Department's Chief FOIA Officer held several meetings with the Office
of Public Affairs web content team to evaluate the Department's FOIA web
presence and the web presence of individual agencies. Other areas needing
improvement were also identified, including format changes for enhanced
readability and navigation. These meetings will continue on a regular
basis.
To help assess the progress of the Department's Plan implementation, the
Chief FOIA Officer surveyed the agencies on their disclosure measures,
electronic FOIA processing, including the use of multi-track or expedited
systems, backlog reduction efforts and FOIA staff training.
Department agencies established processes to systematically review the
documents which are required by the FOIA and other laws, policies and
regulations to be made publicly available to ensure their accuracy and
relevance. Several types of information are available for public review on
the Department's Web site, including:
-
Records posted after an agency receives three or more
requests for the same material ("hot FOIA requests")
-
Contract awards
-
Job vacancy announcements
-
Adjudicatory Board decisions
-
OIG final audit reports and semi-annual reports to Congress
-
MSHA accident investigation reports
-
Enforcement data from agencies with oversight
responsibility.
However, the Department has several categories of publicly available
records that, due to the volume of documents involved, it is unable to put
on the Web site. The EBSA, for example, is seeking to provide online access
to ERISA required Form 5500 filings through the next development phase of
the ERISA Filing Acceptance System (E-FAST). In these instances, the
Department will post additional material to the Web site as improved
technology becomes available.
The Department also developed procedures to provide for proactive
disclosure by closely monitoring and reviewing classes of material provided
on its website likely to be of interest to the public, even though the
posting of such material is not legally required. For example, the
Department routinely provides the following information on its Web site:
-
Recent publications and reports
-
News releases
-
Statements and speeches from senior departmental officials
-
Program initiatives
-
Laws, regulations, and compliance assistance materials
-
Employment statistics
The Department is committed to providing more information in its online
"electronic reading rooms." For example, greater access to Adjudicatory
Boards documents will be completed upon full implementation of eJudication,
an interactive website offering a broad range of information on the status
of a case or appeal. In addition, several agencies are developing new web
pages with the capacity to respond to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
The Department's Chief FOIA Officer will be working with the agencies
throughout 2007 to identify other potential areas for proactive disclosure.
3. Improve FOIA Tracking and Control
During the third quarter of FY 06, an informal group of FOIA
coordinators and IT staff transitioned into a FOIA Tracking System Working
Group, which also includes the Chief FOIA Officer and the Counsel for FOIA
and Privacy Act. At the November 30, 2006 meeting, the
group discussed the new enhancements to the Secretary's Information
Management Systems/FOIA (SIMS/FOIA), which will be released in 2007. The
new enhancements will enable users to track FOIA requests by short subject
and allow them to produce overdue reports for requests that are past
assigned due dates. In addition, users will be permitted to conduct
searches of FOIA requests by assignments, responding office/agency, and hot/
sensitive status. Agencies may access requests from within their
subordinate components or divisions as well.
The FOIA Working Group will meet quarterly throughout 2007 to continue
discussing ways to improve the current system. Department agencies will
also evaluate more cost effective software that is dedicated to the FOIA and
redaction, which can either operate in conjunction with the SIMS/FOIA system
or as a stand-alone system for utilization by all Department agencies.
4. Increase use of Technology in FOIA Processing
The majority of Department agencies currently use the SIMS/FOIA system
for inputting and tracking FOIA requests. The agencies use other products
such as scanners, CD's, email, and internal databases for retrieval and
processing of FOIA requests. Redaction is noted as a problem for large
volumes of records; however, one agency uses Redax™, a software product of
Appligent, Inc, which purportedly removes text and scanned images within a
PDF file based on search criteria entered by the user. Redax™ also claims
to remove sensitive or private information in accordance with FOIA and the
Privacy Act
Based on current resources and the low volume of requests produced by
some agencies, the use of electronic tools is limited to scanners and email
deliveries for FOIA requests. Further discussions with Department agencies
will be conducted to find lower cost effective means, and to encourage
agencies to use as much technology as possible to handle FOIA processing.
5. Encourage and Improve Multi-track processing and Expedited
Processing
Currently, due to limited or no FOIA activity requiring large volumes of
records or expedited material, Department agencies rely on systematic
reviews of their processes for handling multi-track and expedited FOIA
requests. In instances where FOIA requests are received requesting
expeditious responses, agencies review the requests, determine the need, and
notify the requester of its determination. Requesters are also notified of
the option of paying half the estimated fee in advance or narrowing the
scope of the request for large volumes of records. All requests that are
determined to be expedited are processed in a timely manner. Agencies
maintain constant contact with the requester on all matters that may delay
processing of any FOIA requests.
Due to continuous changes in technology and increases in the release of
information, future discussions with the agencies will be conducted to
establish and implement multi-tracking and expedited processes that will
ensure proper processing time of FOIA requests.
6. Increase Appeals Capacity, Backlog Reduction and Improve
Timeliness.
As noted in section A, the Department recently modified its plan to set
specific targets for the reduction of its oldest initial requests. Since
the time of that modification, each agency was asked to identify and
quantify the number of initial requests in the various target periods. This
information has been provided to the Chief FOIA Officer, and will be used as
the basis of monitoring the achievement of these goals throughout 2007.
The Chief FOIA Officer will be working with the individual agencies to
provide guidance and, if necessary, to suggest that agency leadership
provide the necessary resources to attain the goals.
At the administrative appeals level, the plan provided that the number of
appeals completed and closed would increase 61 percent over the 2005
baseline. In fact, that goal was exceeded. In calendar year 2005, the
Department closed 204 appeals; in calendar year 2006, the number of closed
appeals was 339, thereby accounting for a 66 percent increase.
7. Enhance Staff Expertise and Training.
As the first step in establishing a continued dialogue and forum to share
best practices, a meeting of all Department agency FOIA Coordinators and
FOIA Service Center Contacts was held on November 3, 2006. (In most cases,
the FOIA coordinators for Department agencies also serve as the Service
Center Contact.) The Department's Chief FOIA Officer convened the meeting
and was joined by the FOIA Public Liaison. The major purpose of the forum
was to describe and discuss the components of the FOIA improvement plan, and
to outline the specific steps that each agency needed to take to meet the
goals. Strong emphasis was placed on the importance of customer service
and courtesy in dealings with the public on FOIA maters. The participants
also discussed general experiences since the issuance of Executive Order
13392 in December 2005 and the FOIA improvement plan in June 2006. It is
expected that these meetings will continue throughout 2007.
Second, the Department increased its efforts to provide resource material
to FOIA staff. These efforts included an electronic version of the DOJ FOIA
guide and written instructions for providing requested documents and other
materials online. The Department also continues to explore new training
opportunities consistent with existing resources, such as electronically
based courses on the Department Intranet and periodic DOJ or other FOIA
training, as well as programs offered by the American Society of Access
Professionals.
C. Identification and discussion of any deficiency in meeting
plan milestones (if applicable).
The Department met or exceeded all of its milestones for 2006.
D. Additional narrative statement regarding other
executive-order related activities.
The Department's leadership is strongly committed to the objectives of
Executive Order 13392, and to fully and successfully implementing its FOIA
improvement plan. The senior leadership of the Department has been briefed
about the components of the plan and has been provided regular updates as to
its progress. An important part of these briefings and updates has been to
encourage officials to provide the necessary support to its FOIA staff to
achieve the various milestones.
E. Concise descriptions of FOIA exemptions in 5 U.S.C § 552(b)
The nine exemptions to the FOIA authorize federal agencies to withhold
information covering: (1) classified national defense and foreign relations
information; (2) internal agency rules and practices; (3) information that
is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law; (4) trade secrets and
other confidential business information; (5) inter-agency or intra-agency
communications that are protected by legal privileges; (6) information
involving matters of personal privacy; (7) records or information compiled
for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those
records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement
proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an
impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected
to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose
techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or
prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement
investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to
endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; (8) information
relating to the supervision of financial institutions; and (9) geological
information on wells.
F. Additional Statistics.
1. Time range of requests pending, by date of request (or, where
applicable, by date of referral from another agency).
April 5, 2005 to January 24, 2007
2. Time range of consultations pending with other agencies at this time.
N/A
G. Attachment: Agency improvement plan:
The FOIA
Improvement Plan for the Department of Labor and an
Agency Plan and Report
Modification are attached.
Signed at Washington, D.C. this 26th day of
February, 2007.
______[signed]_____________________
Jonathan L. Snare
Acting Solicitor of Labor
________________________________
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 23,068,
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
|