§ 303.13 Appeals. ( a ) *Requirements for making an appeal.* A requester may appeal any adverse determinations to the Associate Director of the Office of Management or, in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General. Examples of adverse determinations are provided in § 303.11(e). Requesters can submit appeals by mail or online in accordance with the following requirements or with those on the Peace Corps' website. The requester must make the appeal in writing and to be considered timely it must be postmarked, or in the case of electronic submissions, transmitted, within 90 calendar days after the date of the response. The appeal should clearly identify the Peace Corps' determination that is being appealed and the assigned request number. To facilitate handling, the requester should mark both the appeal letter and envelope, or subject line of the electronic transmission, “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”
( b ) *Adjudication of appeals.* ( 1 ) The Associate Director of the Office of Management or designee, or in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General or designee, will consider all appeals under this section.
( 2 ) An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes a matter of FOIA litigation.
( 3 ) On receipt of any appeal involving classified information, the Associate Director of the Office of Management, or in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General, will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with applicable classification rules.
( c ) *Decisions on appeals.* The Associate Director of the Office of Management or designee, or in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General or designee, will provide the decision on an appeal in writing. A decision that upholds a determination in whole or in part will contain a statement that identifies the reasons for the affirmance, including any FOIA exemptions applied. The decision will provide the requester with notification of the statutory right to file a lawsuit and will inform the requester of the dispute resolution services offered by the OGIS of the National Archives and Records Administration as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. If a decision is remanded or modified on appeal, the Associate Director of the Office of Management or designee, or in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General or designee, will notify the requester of that determination in writing. The Associate Director of the Office of Management or designee, or in the case of a denial of a request for OIG records, the Inspector General or designee, will then further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination and will respond directly to the requester.
( d ) *Engaging in dispute resolution services provided by OGIS.* Dispute resolution is a voluntary process. If the Peace Corps agrees to participate in the dispute resolution services provided by OGIS, it will actively engage as a partner to the process in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
( e ) *When an appeal is required.* Before seeking review by a court of a Peace Corps' adverse determination, a requester generally will first submit a timely administrative appeal.
[89 FR 25525, Apr. 11, 2024]