CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORT - AGENCY RECEIVED MORE THAN 50 REQUESTS

High-Volume Agencies Receiving More Than 50 Requests in FY16

Content of 2018 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

Name and Title of your Agency’s Chief FOIA Officer: Nadine N. Mancini, General Counsel

Section 1: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness

The guiding principle underlying DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness.

Please answer the following questions in order to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that 

the presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the FOIA. You may also include 

any additional information that illustrates how your agency is working to apply the presumption of 

openness.

A. FOIA Training

1. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend any 

substantive FOIA training or conference during the reporting period such as that provided by the 

Department of Justice?

Answer: Yes.

2. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the topics 

covered.

Answer: During the reporting period, our FOIA professionals attended the following 

training offered by the Office of Information Policy (OIP): (1) Collaborating for Results: 

Agencies and Requesters Working Together Throughout the FOIA Process, (2) FOIA 

Litigation Seminar, (3) Self-Assessments and Improving FOIA Processes, and (4) Chief 

FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training. The Chief FOIA Officer and FOIA Public Liaison

also participated in the Chief FOIA Officer Council meeting held by OIP in July 2017.

3. Provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities 

who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period.

Answer: 100% of our FOIA professionals attended substantive FOIA training during this 

reporting period. 
4. OIP has directed agencies to “take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend 

substantive FOIA training at least once throughout the year.” If your response to the previous question is 

that less than 80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your agency’s plan to 

ensure that all FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training during the next reporting 

year.

Answer: N/A.

B. Outreach

5. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue with the requester community or open 

government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA?

Answer: OSHRC’s E-FOIA Reading Room informs the public that we welcome feedback 

and that the FOIA Service Center can be contacted with any suggestions for improvement. 

Additionally, because of the relatively small number of FOIA requests received per year at 

OSHRC, our FOIA team of professionals maintains a dialogue with most requesters and 

most certainly, with frequent requesters. OSHRC’s FOIA professionals are available to 

assist and communicate with requesters throughout the entire FOIA process. Feedback 

about our program was also solicited in December 2016 when proposed revisions to our 

FOIA regulations were published for comment. 

C. Other Initiatives

6. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their obligations 

under the FOIA.

Answer: OSHRC’s handbook for new employees includes OIP’s 2015 infographic to 

immediately apprise employees of the role they play in the FOIA process. OSHRC also 

provides search requests (which include instructions for searching records contained in 

non-official email accounts) and detailed instructions relevant to each request to its nonFOIA personnel to assist in the processing of FOIA requests. 

7. If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of openness 

is being applied, please describe them here.

Answer: N/A. 

Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency Has an Effective System in Place for 

Responding to Requests
DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines emphasize that “[a]pplication of the proper disclosure standard is only one part of 

ensuring transparency. Open government requires not just a presumption of disclosure, but also an 

effective system for responding to FOIA requests.” It is essential that agencies effectively manage their 

FOIA program.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the 

management of your FOIA program is effective and efficient. You should also include any additional 

information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.

1. For Fiscal Year 2017, what was the average number of days your agency reported for adjudicating 

requests for expedited processing? Please see Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2017 Annual 

FOIA Report.

Answer: N/A.

2. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was above ten 

calendar days, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for expedited 

processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less.

Answer: N/A.

3. During the reporting period, did your agency conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA program? If so, 

please describe the methods used, such as reviewing Annual Report data, using active workflows and 

track management, reviewing and updating processing procedures, etc.

• Note: In September 2017, OIP released a FOIA Self-Assessment Toolkit as a resource for 

agencies conducting a self-assessment of their FOIA program. The Toolkit is available on 

OIP’s website for all agencies to use.

Answer: Whenever our FOIA professionals attend training or review guidance released by 

OIP, our FOIA program is evaluated in light of the information provided. For example, 

during this reporting period, OSHRC established a method of tracking the number of 

requests from commercial use requesters, as well as the number of requesters submitting

their request using OSHRC’s online FOIA request form. OSHRC intends to use OIP’s FOIA 

Self-Assessment Toolkit in reviewing and revising our FOIA Directive and FOIA Reference 

Guide.

4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the services 

provided by the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison. Please provide an estimate of the number of times 

requesters sought assistance from your agency’s FOIA Public Liaison during FY 2017 (please provide a 

total number or an estimate of the number).
Answer: During this reporting period, there were no instances when requesters sought 

assistance from our FOIA Public Liaison, though such assistance was provided proactively 

in one instance. 

5. Optional Survey Question: If possible, please provide an estimate of the average number of pages that 

your agency processes for each request. You may provide estimates for each track.

Answer: Our tracking system does not provide information for making such estimates. 

6. If there are any other steps your agency has undertaken to ensure that your FOIA system operates 

efficiently and effectively, such as improving search processes, eliminating redundancy, etc., please 

describe them here.

Answer: Our team works diligently to continue improving the efficiency of processing 

FOIA requests. Examples of such efforts include: (1) staying in close contact with the 

agency offices that maintain requested records to process requests within the statutorily 

required response times; (2) utilizing OSHRC’s e-filing system to improve search 

capabilities when processing FOIA requests that seek records associated with OSHRC 

cases; and (3) providing a Spanish language version of OSHRC’s online FOIA request form 

on the agency’s FOIA webpage. This fiscal year, more than half of our FOIA requesters 

submitted their requests using OSHRC’s online FOIA request form, which helps to 

streamline processing. Additionally, our team provided feedback to and engaged in 

coordinated efforts with our IT department to improve the information contained on 

docket sheets generated by our agency’s e-filing system so that information about agency 

records is in the most accessible format for requesters. 

Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

The Department of Justice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post 

information online without waiting for individual requests to be received.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the amount 

of material that is available on your agency websites. In addition to the questions below, you should also 

describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve proactive disclosures of 

information.

1. Provide examples of material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, 

including links to the posted material
Answer: OSHRC maintains a comprehensive e-FOIA Reading Room where the records 

flagged by our FOIA professionals for proactive disclosure are posted. 

https://www.oshrc.gov/foia/oshrc-e-foia-reading-room/ 

Additionally, OSHRC continues to proactively disclose records, such as reports concerning 

monthly dockets, case activity, and new cases received; decisions, both final and pending, 

issued by administrative law judges, as well as significant interlocutory orders; briefing 

notices for cases that the Commission has exercised its discretionary authority to review; 

and final decisions issued by the Commission. 

https://www.oshrc.gov/decisions/index.html 

https://www.oshrc.gov/documentlisting/?CategoryId=4

2. Did your agency use any means to publicize or highlight important proactive disclosures for public 

awareness? If yes, please describe these efforts.

Answer: Yes. This past year, OSHRC instituted an email alert system that allows the public 

to sign-up for and receive emails notifying them when new information is posted on our 

website, including links to final administrative law judge decisions and final commission 

decisions, as well as open government information. The homepage of OSHRC’s website 

also notifies anyone accessing it of the “Latest News & Information,” which primarily 

includes hyperlinks to recently issued decisions. Additionally, in the event a requester is 

unaware of a pertinent proactive disclosure, OSHRC’s FOIA professionals maintain a 

policy of notifying requesters when records related to their request are already available 

for download from the agency’s website. 

3. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful 

to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency’s website?

Answer: Yes. 

4. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements.

Answer: Our website currently provides access to decisions issued by both levels of 

adjudication at OSHRC. This past year, OSHRC revised the webpage where decisions are 

made available to better reflect our two-tier system of adjudication. The streamlined 

dropdown menu now allows for decisions to be located based on level of adjudication and 

then refined by year. The website’s search function allows any individual to research a 

topic of interest using natural word searches. Also, records that OSHRC posts on its 

dedicated FOIA webpage and in its comprehensive e-FOIA Reading Room are posted in the 
most useful format (both PDF and/or HTML file types). Records are also posted in the 

same format on the website’s Open Government page. 

5. If there are any other steps your agency has taken to improve proactive disclosures, please describe 

them here. For example, has your agency engaged requesters in determining how and what to post? Has 

your agency used web analytics to inform your proactive disclosures?

Answers: Because of the small number of FOIA requests processed per year at OSHRC, our 

FOIA professionals can flag records that may be of public interest and immediately 

consider whether such materials should be proactively disclosed on our website. Any 

record requested (or anticipated to be requested) three or more times is flagged by our 

FOIA professionals and posted online in our e-FOIA Reading Room. Further, the Chief 

FOIA Officer works to maintain open lines of communication between the FOIA Requester 

Service Center and key agency personnel. OSHRC does not currently see a need to use web 

analytics to inform our proactive disclosures given our agency’s small volume of FOIA 

requests. 

Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology

A key component of FOIA administration is using technology to make information more accessible. In 

addition to using the internet to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also be exploring ways to 

utilize technology in responding to requests.

Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is utilizing technology to improve its 

FOIA administration and the public's access to information. You should also include any additional 

information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.

1. Has your agency identified any best practices to leverage technology to facilitate overall FOIA efficiency, 

such as improving record search capabilities, utilizing document sharing platforms for consultations and 

referrals, or employing software that can sort and de-duplicate documents? If yes please describe the best 

practices, the types of technology used and the impact on your agency’s processing. 

Answer: OSHRC’s online FOIA request form has facilitated overall FOIA efficiency. When 

requesters complete and submit this form, our FOIA professionals are often able to begin 

processing requests immediately without needing further clarification from requesters. 

Additionally, OSHRC’s dedicated FOIA email address has enabled our FOIA professionals 

to more efficiently clarify requests and thus, begin processing requests without additional 

delay. OSHRC’s e-filing system has further increased efficiency by improving record 

search capability for FOIA professionals. Likewise, our FOIA team’s coordinated efforts 
with OSHRC’s IT department to improve the information provided by our e-filing system 

has facilitated more efficient clarification from requesters.

2. Did your agency successfully post all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2017?

Answer: Yes. OSHRC successfully posted all quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2017, though 

modifications to our website created a delay in posting quarterly reports for the last two 

quarters. OSHRC’s website has been updated to contain the quarterly reports for all four 

quarters of Fiscal Year 2017. 

https://www.oshrc.gov/foia/quarterly/

3. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports, with information appearing on FOIA.gov, 

please explain why and provide your agency’s plan for ensuring that such reporting is successful in Fiscal 

Year 2018.

Answer: N/A. 

4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used to 

compile their Annual FOIA Reports. Please provide the link to this posting for your agency’s Fiscal Year 

2016 Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency’s Fiscal Year 2017 Annual FOIA Report. 

Answer: https://www.oshrc.gov/foia/oshrc-annual-foia-reports/

OSHRC’s Fiscal Year 2017 Annual FOIA Report has been submitted to OIP, but has not yet

been cleared for posting and as such, our agency’s raw statistical data for our 2017 Annual 

FOIA Report is not yet posted. 

5. If there are any other steps your agency has taken to improve use of technology in FOIA, please 

describe them here.

Answer: N/A. 

Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests and Reducing 

Backlogs

The Department of Justice has emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in responding to 

requests. This section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report addresses both time limits and backlog 

reduction. Backlog reduction is measured both in terms of numbers of backlogged requests or appeals 

and by looking at whether agencies closed their ten oldest requests, appeals, and consultations.
For the figures required in this Section, please use the numbers contained in the specified sections of your 

agency’s 2017 Annual FOIA Report and, when applicable, your agency’s 2016 Annual FOIA Report.

A. Simple Track

Section VII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "FOIA Requests – Response Time for All 

Processed Requests," includes figures that show your agency's average response times for processed 

requests. For agencies utilizing a multi-track system to process requests, there is a category for "simple" 

requests, which are those requests that are placed in the agency’s fastest (non-expedited) track, based on 

the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests?

Answer: Yes. 

2. If so, for your agency overall in Fiscal Year 2017, was the average number of days to process simple 

requests twenty working days or fewer?

Answer: Yes. 

3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017 that were placed 

in your simple track.

Answer: 100%

4. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to process all 

non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?

Answer: N/A.

B. Backlogs

Section XII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "Backlogs of FOIA Requests and 

Administrative Appeals" shows the numbers of any backlogged requests or appeals from the fiscal year. 

You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal 

Year 2017 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

5. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2017, did that backlog decrease as 

compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2016?
Answer: N/A.

6. If not, explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its 

backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

• An increase in the number of incoming requests.

• A loss of staff.

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide 

examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog 

increase.

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

Answer: N/A.

7. If you had a request backlog please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of 

the total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017.

Answer: N/A.

BACKLOGGED APPEALS

8. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2017, did that backlog decrease as 

compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2016?

Answer: N/A.

9. If not, explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its 

backlog. When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

• An increase in the number of incoming appeals.

• A loss of staff.

• An increase in the complexity of the requests received. If possible, please provide examples or 

briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.

• Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

Answer: N/A.
10. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of 

the total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2017. If your agency did not receive any 

appeals in Fiscal Year 2017 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A."

Answer: N/A.

C. Backlog Reduction Plans

11. In the 2017 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 1000 requests 

in Fiscal Year 2016 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead. Did 

you agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year? If so, describe your agency’s efforts in 

implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 

2017?

Answer: N/A.

12. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2017, what is your agency’s 

plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2018?

Answer: N/A.

D. Status of Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations

Section VII.E, entitled "Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Requests," Section VI.C.(5), entitled "Ten 

Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals," and Section XII.C., entitled "Consultations on FOIA Requests –

Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency," show the ten 

oldest pending requests, appeals, and consultations. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual 

FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2016 and Fiscal Year 2017 when completing this section of your Chief 

FOIA Officer Report.

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

13. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest requests that were reported pending in your 

Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report?

Answer: Yes. Of the two requests pending at the end of Fiscal Year 2016, OSHRC closed 

both requests at the beginning of the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2017. 

14. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal 

year, as listed in Section VII.E of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total 

oldest requests to close, please indicate that.
Answer: N/A.

15. Of the requests your agency was able to close from your ten oldest, please indicate how many of these

were closed because the request was withdrawn by the requester. If any were closed because the request 

was withdrawn, did you provide any interim responses prior to the withdrawal?

Answer: None. 

TEN OLDEST APPEALS

16. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in your 

Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report?

Answer: N/A.

17. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal 

year, as listed in Section VII.C.(5) of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten 

total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that.

Answer: N/A.

TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS

18. In Fiscal Year 2017, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in 

your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report?

Answer: N/A.

19. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the end of the 

fiscal year, as listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than 

ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that.

Answer: N/A.

E. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans

20. Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest requests, appeals, and 

consultations from Fiscal Year 2017.

Answer: N/A.

21. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests because you were waiting to hear back 

from other agencies on consultations you sent, please provide the date the request was initially received 
by your agency, the date when your agency sent the consultation, and the date when you last contacted the 

agency where the consultation was pending.

Answer: N/A.

22. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please provide a 

plan describing how your agency intends to close those “ten oldest” requests, appeals, and consultations 

during Fiscal Year 2017.

Answer: N/A.

F. Success Stories

Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2017 to increase transparency and 

improve FOIA administration, please briefly describe here at least one success story that you would like to 

highlight as emblematic of your agency’s efforts. The success story can come from any one of the five key 

areas. As noted above, OIP will highlight these agency success stories during Sunshine Week. To 

facilitate this process, all agencies should use bullets to describe their success story and limit their text to 

a half page. The success story is designed to be a quick summary of key achievements. A complete 

description of all your efforts will be contained in the body of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

Answer: 

• OSHRC’s new email alert system provides the public with the opportunity to easily 

obtain agency records in a timely fashion. Increased utilization of this alert system 

has the potential to narrow the scope, and/or lesson the volume, of FOIA requests to 

our agency, thus increasing processing efficiency. 

• Since its introduction in 2014, OSHRC has seen increased utilization of our online 

FOIA request form. In Fiscal Year 2017, more than half (52%) of our FOIA requests 

were submitted using the form. Increased use of the online FOIA request form has 

enhanced OSHRC’s FOIA processing efficiency. 

• Since 2014 when OSHRC established a dedicated FOIA email address, requesters 

increasingly use it to regularly communicate with our FOIA professionals when

clarifying requests and obtaining other information, such as processing status. 

Increased use of this dedicated email address has enhanced OSHRC’s FOIA 

processing efficiency.