(a) In general. Except as stated in paragraph (b) of this section,
the disclosure officer who receives a request for a record and has
possession of that record is the disclosure officer responsible for
responding to the request. When it is determined that records
responsive to a request may be located in multiple components of the
Department, the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and
Administrative Legal Services, will provide any necessary coordination
of the Department's response. If the Office of the Solicitor deems a
consolidated response appropriate, it will issue such a response on
behalf of the Department.
(b) Consultations and referrals. When a disclosure officer receives
a request for a record, the disclosure officer will determine whether
another disclosure officer of the component, the Department, or of the
Federal Government, is better able to determine whether the record can
be disclosed or is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. If the
receiving disclosure officer determines that he or she is not best able
to process the record, then the receiving disclosure officer will
either:
(1) Respond to the request after consulting with the component or
agency best able to determine whether to disclose it and with any other
component or agency that has a substantial interest in it; or
(2) Refer the responsibility for responding to the request
regarding that record to the component best able to determine whether
to disclose it, or to another agency that originated the record (but
only if that entity is subject to the FOIA). Ordinarily, the component
or agency that originated the record will be presumed to be best able
to determine whether to disclose it.
(c) Notice of referral. Whenever a disclosure officer refers all or
any part of the responsibility for responding to a request to another
component or agency, the disclosure officer will notify the requester
of the referral and inform the requester of the name of each component
or agency to which the request has been referred.
(d) Classified records. Any request for classified records which
are in the custody of the Department of Labor will be referred to the
classifying agency under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section.
