The
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued government-wide
information quality guidelines in accordance with Section 515 of the
Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001. The
purpose of these guidelines is to ensure and maximize the quality, utility,
objectivity, and integrity of information disseminated by Federal agencies. The
guidelines direct each Federal agency to issue its own Section 515 guidelines.
As part of the Department of Labor (DOL), the Administrative Review Board (ARB),
Benefits Review Board (BRB), and Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB),
hereafter referred to collectively as The Boards', and The Boards'
administrative proponent, The Office of Adjudicatory Services (OAS), follow DOL's information quality
guidelines, as well as the OMB guidelines.
Information Quality Assurance
Process
The Boards have adopted well-established quality
assurance techniques to ensure the quality of information disseminated. Information is subject to internal board
quality control and audit, and any appropriate DOL level reviews, before being
disseminated to the public. When The
Boards post information on their websites, they adhere to internal review to
assure information posted is cleared for official release and free of erroneous
data or of marginal quality.
How to submit an information quality
correction request to OAS/The Boards:
Persons who believe that The Boards have
disseminated information that does not meet its internal guidelines or those of
the DOL or OMB, and who wish to file a formal complaint, may do so by sending
their complaint to the Executive Director of the Office of Adjudicatory
Services. Notification may be by mail
(address is: OAS, ATTN: Executive Director, U.S. Department of Labor, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1519, Washington, DC 20210) or by e-mail (OAS Information Quality).
Persons
filing a complaint related to the quality of information disseminated by The
Boards should include the following information:
- Identify themselves and indicate where and how they
may be reached;
- Identify as specifically as possible the information
in question;
- Indicate how they are affected by the information
about which they are complaining;
- Carefully describe the nature of the complaint,
including an explanation of why they believe the information does not comply
with Office of Management and Budget (OMB), DOL, or Board internal guidelines;
and
- Describe the change requested and the reason why the
Board(s) should make the change.
Exclusion of the above information may result in a
complainant not receiving an adequate response to the complaint or greatly
reduce the usefulness or timeliness of any response. Complainants should be
aware that they bear the burden of establishing that they are affected persons
and showing the need and justification for the correction they are seeking,
including why the information being complained about does not comply with
applicable guidelines.
How to make an administrative
appeal:
If a complainant is dissatisfied with the initial
response to a complaint, he or she may submit an appeal. A complainant may appeal within 45 calendar
days of the date the agency notified them how it would handle the complaint or
105 calendar days from the date on which the agency first received the
complaint, whichever is later. The
appeal request should contain the same contact and descriptive information that
was provided in the original complaint and the specific reasons why the initial
agency response was not satisfactory.
OAS will notify the affected person once an appeal decision has been
rendered.
These guidelines do not apply to the
following:
- Information intended to be limited to distribution to
government employees, or DOL contractors, or grantees;
- Government information intended to be limited to
intra- or inter-agency use or sharing of information, such as strategic plans,
performance plans, program reports, operating plans, or
budgets;
- Responses to requests for Departmental records under
the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, the Federal Advisory Committee
Act, or other similar laws;
- Correspondence or other communications with
individuals or organizations;
- Press releases (except where the press release itself
is the primary source of the information);
- Congressional testimony;
- Archival records;
- Public filings;
- Subpoenas or adjudicative
processes;
- Information clearly represented as opinion and not an
official agency or Departmental representation;
- Policy guidance recommendations or statements or
summaries of agency policies, procedures, or programs;
- Statements of legal policy or interpretation;
and
- Final agency decisions, settlements in litigation and
descriptions of these settlements, or determinations of legal force and effect,
such as wage determinations.