(a) To the extent required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), each component
within the Department will make the materials listed in this section
available for public inspection and copying (unless they are published
and copies are offered for sale):
(1) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions,
as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases;
(2) Those statements of policy and interpretation which have been
adopted by the agency and are not published in the Federal Register;
(3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that
affect a member of the public except to the extent that such records or
portions thereof are exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of the
FOIA; and
(4) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have
been released to any person under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) and which, because
of the nature of their subject matter, the agency determines have
become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for
substantially the same records.
(5) A general index of the records referred to in paragraph (a) (4)
of this section.
(b) Each component of the Department will maintain and make
available, including through the Department's Internet/World Wide Web
site [http://www.dol.gov], current indexes providing identifying
information regarding any matter issued, adopted or promulgated after
July 4, 1967, and required by paragraph (a) of this section to be made
available or published. Each component will publish and make available
for distribution copies of such indexes and their supplements at least
quarterly, unless it determines by Notice published in the Federal
Register that publication would be unnecessary and impracticable. After
issuance of such Notice, the component will provide copies of any index
upon request at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication.
(c) A component may exclude information from records made available
to the public pursuant to paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this
section where release of such information would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of privacy and may also exclude identifying
details from records made available to the public pursuant to paragraph
(a)(4) of this section when disclosure would be harmful to an interest
protected by an exemption. When making a deletion for such purposes,
the component will explain the reason for the deletion. Also, a
component will describe the extent of the deletion and must, if
technically feasible, identify the exact location where the deletion
was made.
(d) Records described in this section are available for examination
or copying without the submission of a formal FOIA request. All records
covered by this section are available through public reading rooms,
and, to the extent indicated in this paragraph, through the
Department's Internet/World Wide Web site [http://www.dol.gov].
(1) Some components have public reading rooms only in Washington,
DC, while other components provide reading rooms in area, district or
regional offices throughout the United States. A disclosure officer in
the appropriate component listed in Appendix A to this part should be
contacted to find out where the public reading room is located. If the
appropriate component is unknown, inquiries can be directed to the
Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative
Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-2428, Washington,
DC 20210. Fees for reproduction of records in public reading rooms are
charged consistent with Sec. 70.40.
(2) To the extent feasible, components are required to place copies
of any records covered by this section and which were created on or
after November 1, 1996 on the Internet/World Wide Web. In particular,
when records are required to be made available to the public pursuant
to the requirements of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, the component
will also place on the Internet/World Wide Web, if technically
feasible, any records that are released in the response to a FOIA
decision. The Department's Internet home page may be searched to obtain
these documents. The Department will make available to the public by
electronic or other appropriate media any documents covered by this
section that cannot be feasibly placed on the Internet/World Wide Web.