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May 9, 2009   
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Content Last Revised: 06/29/2006
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CFR  

Code of Federal Regulations Pertaining to U.S. Department of Labor

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Title 29  

Labor

 

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Chapter I  

Office of the Secretary of Labor

 

 

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Part 70  

Production or Disclosure of Information or Materials

 

 

 

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Subpart C  

Costs for Production of Documents


29 CFR 70.41 - Reduction or waiver of fees.

  • Section Number: 70.41
  • Section Name: Reduction or waiver of fees.

    (a) Requirements for waiver or reduction of fees. (1) Records 
responsive to a request will be furnished without charge or at a charge 
reduced below that established under paragraph (d) of Sec.  70.40 where 
a Disclosure Officer determines, based on all available information, that 
the requester has demonstrated that:
    (i) Disclosure of the requested information is in the public 
interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public 
understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and
    (ii) Disclosure of the information is not primarily in the 
commercial interest of the requester.
    (2) To determine whether the requirement of paragraph (a)(1)(i) of 
this section is met, components will consider the following factors:
    (i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the 
requested records concerns ``the operations or activities of the 
government.'' The subject of the requested records must concern 
identifiable operations or activities of the federal government, with a 
connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.
    (ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: 
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding 
of government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the 
requested records must be meaningfully informative about government 
operations or activities in order to be ``likely to contribute'' to an 
increased public understanding of those operations or activities. The 
disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in 
either a duplicative or a substantially identical form, would not be as 
likely to contribute to such understanding where nothing new would be 
added to the public's understanding.
    (iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the 
public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the 
requested information will contribute to ``public understanding.'' The 
disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad 
audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the 
individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in 
the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey 
information to the public will be considered. It will be presumed that 
a representative of the news media will satisfy this consideration.
    (iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: 
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to 
public understanding of government operations or activities. The 
public's understanding of the subject in question must be enhanced by 
the disclosure to a significant extent.
    (3) To determine whether the requirement of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of 
this section is met, components will consider the following factors:
    (i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether 
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the 
requested disclosure. The Disclosure Officer will consider any 
commercial interest of the requester (with reference to the definition 
of ``commercial use request'' in Sec.  70.38(f)), or of any person on 
whose behalf the requester may be acting, that would be furthered by 
the requested disclosure. Requesters will be given an opportunity in 
the administrative process to provide explanatory information regarding 
this consideration.
    (ii) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether any identified 
commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in 
comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is 
``primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.'' A fee waiver 
or reduction is justified where the public interest standard is 
satisfied and that public interest is greater in magnitude than that of 
any identified commercial interest in disclosure. The Disclosure 
Officer ordinarily will presume that where a news media requester has 
satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest will be the 
interest primarily served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure 
to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government 
information for direct economic return will not be presumed to 
primarily serve the public interest.
    (4) Where only some of the records to be released satisfy the 
requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver will be granted only for 
those records.
    (5) Requests for the waiver or reduction of fees should address the 
factors listed in paragraph (a) of this section, insofar as they apply 
to each request.
    (b) Submission. Requests for waiver or reduction of fees must be 
submitted along with the request or before processing of the request 
has been commenced.
    (c) Appeal rights. The procedures for appeal under 70.22 and 70.23 
will control.
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