U.S. Department of Labor Freedom of Information Act Annual Report for Fiscal Year 1996
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT
Calendar Year 1996
The Department received a total of 18,559 initial requests for records. The majority of these requests were received by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which received 12,633 requests. The Employment Standards Administration (ESA) received 2,466 requests.
Number of determinations not to comply in whole or in part with an initial request for records: 10,311
Authority relied upon in initial disclosure determination:
Under 5 U.S.C. 552(b): [1]
Exemption 1. 4 times
Exemption 2. 697 times
Exemption 3. 413 times
Exemption 4. 1,179 times
Exemption 5. 8,548 times
Exemption 6. 4,233 times
Exemption 7(A). 5,772 times
Exemption 7(B). 8 times
Exemption 7(C). 8,567 times
Exemption 7(D). 5,299 times
Exemption 7(E). 1,054 times
Exemption 7(F). 11 times
Exemption 8. 2 times
Exemption 9. 1 time
Statute involved pursuant to exemption 3 on initial disclosure determination:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration withheld the names of complainants who reported safety and health violations under the authority of section 8(f)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 29 U.S.C. 657(f)(1). It also withheld the disclosure of advance notice of a safety inspection under the authority of section 17(f) of this statute, 29 U.S.C. 666(f). This agency also withheld documents pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976(17 U.S.C. 705).
The Office of Labor-Management Standards withheld grand jury material pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) withheld grand jury material pursuant to Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) withheld the names of miners, pursuant to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, section 103(g)(1)(30 U.S.C. 813(g)(1)), who requested safety inspections. It also withheld information pertaining to maps pursuant to section 312(b)of this statute (30 U.S.C, 872(b)).
The Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration withheld court documents that had been designated as confidential during the course of discovery.
Other Authority:
Non possession of record or nonexistence of record: 3,441
Failure to identify or reasonably describe records: 453
Number of requests withdrawn: 295
Non-payment of fees: 176
Names and positions of each person who is responsible for initial denial of records:
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Region I - Boston, Massachusetts
John Phillips Regional Administrator 5
C. William Freeman Area Director 40
Brenda Gordon Area Director 173
Kipp Hartmann Area Director 27
K. Frank Gravitt Area Director 86
David May Area Director 42
John Stanton Area Director 47
Ronald Morin Area Director 75
Clifford Weston Area Director 93
Region II - New York, New York
John Tomich Area Director 107
Dennis Gaughan Area Director 338
Edward Scott Area Director 152
David Boyce Area Director 228
Ephraim Zoldan Area Director 138
Anthony De Siervi Area Director 299
Gary Roskoski Area Director 50
Linda Forsyth Area Director 149
Robert Kulick Area Director 219
Jose Carpena Area Director 7
Diane Brayden Area Director 156
Cathie Mannion Area Director 130
Patricia Clark Regional Administrator 121
Region III - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Linda Anku Regional Administrator 20
Phyllis Kyner Area Director 109
George Tomchick Area Director 87
Andrew Hedesh Area Director 82
Robert Fink Area Director 74
Robert Szymanski Area Director 86
John Stranahan Area Director 38
Leonard Moore Area Director 47
Stanley Elliott Area Director 146
Charles Pope Area Director 19
Lacy Sutton Area Director 28
Regional IV - Atlanta, Georgia
Raymond Finney Area Director 60
Thomas Brown Area Director 122
John Hall Area Director 226
Leslies Grove Area Director 13
Jose Sanchez Area Director 289
David Barnhill Area Director 9
Clyde Payne Area Director 113
James Borders Area Director 220
Lana Graves Area Director 96
David Barnhill Acting Area Director 11
Suzanne Nash Area Director 33
Luis Santiago Area Director 72
Lawrence Falck Area Director 290
R. Davis Layne Regional Administrator 82
Region V - Chicago, Illinois
Michael Connors Regional Administrator 9
Melvin Lischefski Area Director 80
Thomas Canard Asst. Area Director 10
Robert Hager Asst. Area Director 8
Charles Shields Area Director 72
Gary J. Anderson Area Director 59
Gary Weil Safety Specialist 19
Ron Payne Safety Specialist 14
Ron Byrd Safety Specialist 18
Sharon Anderson Industrial Hygienist 10
Anthony Sutton Industrial Hygienist 2
William Murphy Area Director 88
Ray Polk Safety and Health Specialist 37
Bonita Nordquist Safety and Health Specialist 20
Danielle Jindra Safety and Health Specialist 13
Deborah Zubaty Area Director 110
Timothy Kobernat District Supervisor 10
Peggy Zweber Area Director 121
Patrick M. Ostrenga Asst. Area Director 31
James R. Dollins Asst. Area Director 53
Donald Brozowski Area Director 31
Arnis Andersons Area Director 118
Kenneth Gilbert Area Director 3
Region VI -Dallas, Texas
Ed Cosgrove Area Director 212
Paul Brantley Area Director 233
Robert Homles Area Director 96
Robert Hunter Area Director 84
Dean Wingo Area Director 38
Patricia Bradley Area Director 140
Ray Skinner Area Director 170
Paul Hansen Area Director 96
William White Area Director 119
Region VII - Kansas City, Missouri
Charles Adkins Regional Administrator 31
Cynthia Dearing Area Director 126
Ben Bare Area Director 45
Janice Barrier Area Director 51
Thomas Marple Area Director 4
Mark Banden Area Director 24
Lodama Delinger Area Director 16
Region VIII - Denver, Colorado
Bobby Glover Area Director 93
John Healy Area Director 18
David Ditommaso Area Director 31
Bruce Beelman Area Director 7
Cindy Cross FOIA Coordinator, Regional Office 7
Regional IX - San Francisco, California
Lois Henry Safety & Health Assistant 40
Sedric Lagajit Contact Representative 2
Lynne Hunter Officer Manager 8
Sue Benson Officer Manager 16
Colleen Furutani Officer Manager 6
Regional X - Seattle, Washington
John Spear Regional Administrator 16
Carl Halgren Area Director 2
Ryan Kuehmichel Area Director 71
Jerry Hockett Supervisor 9
Barry Noll Area Director 8
Dean Ikeda Area Director 6
National Office - Washington, D.C.
Freda Malone Labor Relations Specialist 1
Gregory Baxter Acting Director 1
Stephen Mallinger Acting Director 2
Adam Finkel Director 5
Anne Cyr Acting Director 4
Bonnie Friedman Director 2
Paul White Director 3
Marilyn Landry Administrative Officer 11
Stephen Newell Director 3
Cathy Goedert Acting Director 1
MaryAnn Piretti Safety Officer 2
Employment Standards Administration
Office of Management, Administration and Planning (OMAP)
Donna G. Copson Director, OMAP 7
Cecily Rayburn Dir., Div. of Financial Mgmt. 1
Dorothy C. Chester FOIA/PA Coordinator 1
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) Field Offices
Charity Benz Regional Director (RD), Boston 3
Kenneth Hamlett RD, New York 1
William Franson District Director (DD), Jacksonville 1
Marilyn C. Felkner DD, New Orleans 1
Donna Onodera RD, San Francisco 1
Ed Bounds DD, San Francisco 1
Joyce Terry DD, Long Beach 1
National Office
James L. De Marce Director for Black Lung 1
Edward Duncan Assistant District Director 3
Dennis Mankin Assistant to the Director OWCP 30
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Field Offices
James Turner, Jr. Act. Reg. Dir. (ARD), Boston 32
James Turner, Jr. RD, New York 24
Joseph Du Bray, Jr. RD, Philadelphia 44
Carol A. Gaudin RD, Atlanta 77
Malcolm Holliman RD, Chicago 38
Carol A. Gaudin ARD, Dallas 52
Helene H. Haase RD, San Francisco 70
John R. Checkett RD, Seattle 38
National Office
Harold M. Busch Director, Division of Program Operations 58
Wage and Hour Division Field Offices
James Kight Acting Reg. Administrator (ARA), Boston 9
James Kight ARA, New York 49
John Bates Branch Chief, Atlanta 3
John Blaine Assistant District Dir. (ADD), Atlanta 1
Tom Cambron ADD, Atlanta 1
Carol Merchant District Director (DD), Atlanta 10
George Holt DD, Atlanta 1
Lyndel Erwin DD, Atlanta 3
Ana Moreno DD, Atlanta 4
Don Outland DD, Atlanta 1
Kim Jackson Wage Hour Investigator Atlanta 1
Jorge Rivero DD, Atlanta 1
Carrie Riddle Regional Office Manager, Atlanta 154
Richard McMahon, Jr. Acting RA, Chicago 161
James Kight RA, Philadelphia 136
M. J. Villarreal Jr. RA, Dallas 286
Karen Chaikin Reg. Operations Officer, Kansas City 58
Leigh A. Power Disclosure Officer, San Francisco 57
National Office
Maria Echaveste Administrator 42
John R. Fraser Deputy Administrator 3
Corliss Sellers Program Administrator 41
Rae E. Glass Director of External Affairs 1
William Gross Dir., Office of Wage Determinations 3
Daniel Sweeney, Team Leader Fair Labor Standards Act 4
Nina Stovall, Determination Team Leader Service Contracts Wage 5
Thomas Shierling Immigration Team Leader 5
The Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of the American Workplace
Charles L. Smith Deputy Assistant Secretary 4
John Kotch Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary 157
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management
Patricia W. Lattimore Deputy Assistant Secretary Administration and Management, National Office (N.O.) 12
Annabelle T. Lockhart Director, Civil Rights Center 3
Jerry Lelchook Director, Office of Employee and Labor Management Relations, N.O. 1
Daniel P. Murphy Director, Office of Procurement Services, N.O. 36
Al Stewart Director, Office of Acquisition Advocate 2
Frederick A. Drayton Director, Safety and Health Center, N.O. 1
Stephen Garfinkel Director, Office of Cost Determination, N.O. 1
L. R. Cabe Regional Personnel Officer Atlanta 1
Janis Carreiro Regional Administrator Boston/New York 2
Lyn B. Dubeck Labor Relations Officer Philadelphia 3
Robert L. Giuliano Regional Personnel Officer Boston 1
Phil House Regional Administrator Dallas/Denver 2
Bob Jur Regional Personnel Officer Chicago 4
Darlene Lorman Regional Administrator Chicago/Kansas City 1
Teresa Rasfeld Regional Personnel Officer San Francisco/Seattle 6
George Tistle Regional Finance Officer Chicago 2
Employment and Training Administration
Robert J. Semler Regional Administrator 6
Boston
Albert Garizio Acting Regional Administrator 2
New York
Edwin Strong, Jr. Regional Administrator 4
Philadelphia
William A. Dealy, Jr. Regional Management Analyst 20
Atlanta
Joseph C. Juarez Regional Administrator 9
Chicago
Don A. Balcer Regional Administrator 12
Dallas
William Hood Regional Administrator 2
Kansas
Peter E. Rell Regional Administrator 3
Denver
Armando Quiroz Regional Administrator 17
San Francisco
Bill Janes Regional Administrator 4
Seattle
Mary H. Silva Director 1
Office of Job Corps.
Albert Glastetter Regional Job Corps Director 3
Boston
Stanley Belza Regional Job Corps Director 1
New York
James Bodnar Regional Job Corps Director 3
Philadelphia
Melvin R. Collins Regional Job Corps Director 20
Atlanta
Richard Trigg Regional Job Corps Director 1
Chicago
Jose de. Olivares Regional Job Corps Director 5
Dallas
John Douglas Regional Job Corps Director 1
Kansas & Denver
Jackie Roberts Regional Job Corps Director 10
San Francisco
Timothy Barnicle Assistant Secretary of Labor 1
Washington, DC
Bryan Keilty Administrator 1
Office of Financial and Administrative Management
Joseph Paslawski Director 7
Office of Management Information Resources
Robert D. Parker Chief 33
Division of Acquisition and Assistance
Lynn Maddox Masiello Director 1
Office of Human Resources
Mary Ann Wyrsch Administrator 5
Unemployment Insurance Service
Flora Richardson Chief 5
Division of Foreign Labor Certification
Anthony Swoope Director 10
Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
Sally Uber BAT Regional Director 1
Dallas
Isadora H. Gross BAT Regional Director 3
Kansas City
William Wadsworth BAT Regional Director 2
Mine Safety and Health Administration
John Langton Acting Management Officer, Coal 2
Katherine Knittel Management Officer, Coal 1
Allen Davis Chief, Division of Safety, Coal 1
Marvin Nichols Jr. Administrator, Coal 2
Lawrence Beeman Chief, TCID, Coal 29
Sandra Yamamoto Acting Chief, TCID, Coal 4
Ronald J. Schell Chief, Division of Health, Coal 1
John J. Podgorski Assistant District Manager District 1, Coal 4
Joseph J. Garcia District Manager District 2, Coal 7
Timothy Thompson District Manager District 3, Coal 4
Lincoln L. Selfe Acting District Manager District 3, Coal 2
Edwin P. Brady Acting District Manager District 3, Coal 2
C. Teaster, Jr. Earnest District Manager District 4, Coal 15
Ronald O. Dunbar Assistant District Manager District 4, Coal 4
Richard J. Kline Assistant District Manager District 4, Coal 1
Billy G. Foutch Assistant District Manager District 4, Coal 1
Charles E. McGraw Assistant District Manager District 4, Coal 1
Ray McKinney District Manager District 5, Coal 4
Carl E. Boone, II District Manager District 6, Coal 3
Michael Keene Acting District Manager District 6, Coal 4
Joseph Pavlovich District Manager District 7, Coal 20
David L. Whitcomb Assistant District Manager District 8, Coal 1
John Kuzar District Manager District 9, Coal 7
William Reitze Acting District Manager District 9, Coal 1
William Denning Acting District Manager District 9, Coal 2
Rexford Music District Manager District 10, Coal 1
Richard Reynolds Acting District Manager District 10, Coal 1
Michael Lawless District Manager District 11, Coal 2
Vernon R. Gomez Administrator Metal and Nonmetal 17
James Petrie District Manager NE District, Metal and Nonmetal 5
John K. Radomsky Assistant District Manager NC District, Metal and Nonmetal 5
Robert M. Friend District Manager RM District, Metal and Nonmetal 1
Jake H. De Herrera Acting District Manager RM District, Metal and Nonmetal 2
Garry J. Day Assistant District Manager Western District Metal and Nonmetal 7
George M. Fesak Director Program Evaluation and Information Resources 3
Jay Mattos Acting Director Program Evaluation and Information Resources 1
Rhys G. Llewellyn Chief, Information and Employment Information PEIR 1
Richard G. High Director, Assessments 7
Richard A. Gates Acting Director, Assessments 1
Kenneth T. Howard Director, Technical Support 3
Peter M. Turcic Chief, Approval and Certification Center Technical Support 1
Richard Brechbiel Director, Administration and Management 1
Joseph Kirker, Jr. Chief, Human Resources Division Administration and Management 2
Wayne Veneman Director, Information and Public Affairs 2
Office of the Solicitor
Marvin B. Krislov Deputy Solicitor of Labor for National Operations 19
Ronald G. Whiting Deputy Solicitor of Labor for Regional Operations 12
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
Sharon S. Watson Dir. of Prog. Svcs. 40
National Office
Gregory P. Egan Regional Director 14
Kansas City
David Ganz Regional Director 4
Los Angeles
Leonard Garofolo Regional Director 16
San Francisco
John Scanlon District Supervisor 2
Seattle
Bruce D. Ruud Regional Director 7
Dallas
Joseph R. Menez Regional Director 19
Cincinnati
Henry DeSantis Deputy Regional Director 5
Boston
Howard L. Marsh Regional Director 7
Atlanta
J. Shannon Davis Associate Regional Director 1
Atlanta
Gerard Gumpertz Regional Director 7
Philadelphia
Virginia C. Smith Regional Director 9
Philadelphia
Stephen Schwab Acting Regional Director 1
Philadelphia
John Wehrum, Jr. Regional Director 6
New York
Office of the Inspector General
Pamela Davis FOIA Disclosure Officer 70
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Katharine Abraham Commissioner 32
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board
Michael J. Walsh Chairman of the Board 9
Office of the Administrative Law Judges
Todd Smyth Legal Counsel 3
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Irasema Garza Secretary 6
U.S. National Administrative Office
The Veterans' Employment and Training Service
Harry Puente-Duany Director, Office of 16
Information, Management And Budget, National Office
Washington, D.C.
Howard Sisson, Jr. Regional Administrator, 1
Boston
Irvin Pope Regional Administrator, 2
Philadelphia
Williams J. Bolls, Jr. Regional Administrator, 2
Atlanta
Ronald G. Bachman Regional Administrator, 8
Chicago
Lester L. Williams, Jr. Regional Administrator 3
Dallas
Charles Martinez Regional Administrator 1
Seattle
Total number of administrative appeals from denials: 274
Total number of dispositions on administrative appeals: 179
Number of appeals granted in full: 11
Number of appeals denied in full: 48
Number of appeals granted in part/denied in part: 48
Other dispositions: see 72 paragraph 5(b) below
Exemption invoked:
On appeal:
Exemption 1. 0 times
Exemption 2. 2 times
Exemption 3 3 times
Exemption 4. 33 times
Exemption 5. 74 times
Exemption 6. 6 times
Exemption 7(A). 21 times
Exemption 7(B). 0 times
Exemption 7(C). 68 times
Exemption 7(D). 53 times
Exemption 7(E). 9 times
Exemption 7(F). 0 times
Exemption 8. 0 times
Exemption 9. 0 times
Other authority:
Non-possession of record: 14
Appeals withdrawn: 58
Names and titles of persons responding to administrative appeals:
Bruce A. Cohen, Deputy Associate Solicitor, acting for the then Solicitor of Labor Thomas S. Williamson, Jr., and thereafter, acting for the Acting Solicitor of Labor, J. Davitt McAteer.
New rules or instructions issued during calendar year 1996.
Miriam Mc D. Miller, Counsel for Administrative Law in the Department's Office of the Solicitor, issued a memorandum, dated July 8, 1996, informing the Department's FOIA Coordinating Committee members of the need to purchase the annual FOIA Guide and Overview, to be published by the Department of Justice. By memorandum dated November 8, 1996, J. Davitt McAteer, Acting Solicitor of Labor, informed all agency heads, within the Department, of the new electronic FOIA statutory amendments of 1996. By memorandum dated November 18, 1996, Ms. Miller informed the FOIA Coordinating Committee members and all ADP Coordinators of the new electronic FOIA statutory amendments of 1996. By memorandum dated November 19, 1996, Donna G. Copson, Director of the Office of Management, Administration and Planning within the Department's Employment Standards Administration, informed management officials of the new electronic FOIA statutory amendments. Copies of all of these memoranda and instructions are attached. (The attachments to the Copson memorandum are not included herein since they are duplicative of other materials.)
A copy of the Department's fee schedule, and the total amount of fees collected by the agency for making records available.
The Department's fee schedule for 1996 was $2.50 per quarter hour for search time by clerical employees and $5.00 per quarter hour for professional employees. Review charges were $5.00 per quarter hour. Reproduction charges were $.15 per page. In accordance with the 1986 amendments to FOIA, preferential treatment was given to certain classes of requesters. Consequently, representatives of the news media, and educational and non-commercial scientific institution requesters were afforded free search and review time and 100 pages of documents without charge. All other requesters, with the exception of commercial use requesters, were afforded 2 hours of free search time and the first 100 pages of documents at no charge. Review costs, on behalf of commercial users, were charged at the rate of $5.00 per quarter hour.
The Department of Labor collected a total of $233,268.73 in fees.
The Department of Labor estimates that incidental costs of implementing the Freedom of Information Act, including the defense of suits, amounted to $3,750,000.
In 1996, nine new suits were filed against the Department of Labor under the FOIA/PA.
In three of these cases, the administrative appeal process had not been completed. Two of the cases were settled. At the year's end, a total of eleven matters were still pending. No decisions were handed down in cases pending from the prior years. No disciplinary action was taken against any Departmental employee pursuant to 5 U.S.C. ยง 552(a)(4)(F).
___signed_______
Alexis M. Herman
Secretary of Labor
Footnotes
[1] The number of exemptions asserted exceeds the number of determinations not to comply with an initial request. This occurs because, in responding to a request, the Department may claim several different exemptions.