A. Jacy Thurmond, Jr.
Assistant Legal Counsel
EEOC
Office of Legal Counsel
1801 L Street, NW, 6th floor Washington, DC 20507
(202) 663-4640
http://www.eeoc.gov/foia
A paper copy of the report may be requested by submitting a written request to:
A. Jacy Thurmond, Jr.
Assistant Legal Counsel
EEOC
Office of Legal Counsel
1801 L Street, NW, 6th floor
Washington, DC 20507
(202) 663-4640
FOIA requests should be made in accordance with the Commission's regulations at 29 C.F.R. 1610.7.
See 29 C.F.R. 1610.4 and the agency's FOIA web page at http://www.eeoc.gov/foia for the EEOC FOIA contacts.
The average response time ranges were 10-20 working days. The median number of calendar days for processing a FOIA request was 15.5 days.
Many FY 1998 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests received by the Commission were for materials contained in the Commission's investigative case files that involved charges of discrimination filed pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S. C. 2000e et seq.; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 621-633; the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. 206(d); and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101-217. Sections 706 (b) and 709 (e) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(b) and 8 (e), and section 107 of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12117, prohibit Commission employees from making Title VII or ADA charges, conciliation materials, required reports and case file information public. In certain instances, parties to the charge are entitled to access to the disclosable portions of the charge file but not to the non-disclosable portions. (2)
The definitions set forth in the Department of Justice guidance were followed.
The exemption 3 statutes relied on were sections 706 (b) and 709 (e) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5 (b) and 8 (e) and section 107 of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. 12117. These sections prohibit Commission employees from making Title VII or ADA charges, conciliation materials, required reports and case file information public.
The Commission's use of the third exemption has been upheld by the courts. The landmark case supporting the Commission's position is EEOC v. Associated Dry Goods Corp., 449 U.S. 590 (1981). In FY 1998, there were no court decisions involving EEOC regarding its use of this exemption.
Several requests for bids submitted by unsuccessful bidders were denied under 41 U.S.C. 253 b(m). In FY 1998, there were no court decisions involving EEOC regarding its use of this exemption.
VI. Appeals
EEOC's FOIA regulations are located at 29 C.F.R. Part 1610.
Footnotes:
1. This report is submitted to the Attorney General of the United States pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Section 552 (e)(1). The format utilized in this report adheres to the format recommended by the Department of Justice.
2. An example of non-disclosable material in a charge file would be the internal intra-agency deliberative documents. These documents are generally withheld under the fifth exemption to the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. section 552 (b)(5).
3. This category only includes those situations where some records have been released and an exemption has been asserted to others; it does not include situations where some documents were released but others could not be found - that would be a total grant.
4. This category only includes those situations where some records have been released and an exemption asserted as to others; it does not include situations where some documents were released but others could not be found - that would be a total grant.
5. The median number is the middle, not the average, number. For example, the median number of 3, 7, 20, 21 and 24 is 20, while the average is 15. Reference to the median number in this Report pertains to calendar days.
6. See footnote 5.
7. Number of requests received from January 1, 1997 through September 30, 1997.
8. Number of requests processed from January 1, 1997 through September 30, 1997.
9. For example, if each of 4 employees devotes 50% of his or her time to FOIA, 4 people and 2 total work years would be reported.
10. Personnel costs were estimated by multiplying the percentage used for computing IX.A.3. by the average annual salary rates for those persons. This line item excludes indirect costs, such as equipment, rental payments, etc. We estimate these indirect costs to be $320,451.
This page was last modified on February 2, 1999.