Time frame for 2014 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

Unless otherwise noted, your 2014 Chief FOIA Officer Report should address agency activities that 

have occurred since the filing of last year’s Report, which was March 11, 2013, up until the filing of the 

2014 Report, which will be March 10, 2014. Thus, the general reporting period for the Chief FOIA Officer 

Reports is March 2013 to March 2014.

Content of 2014 Chief FOIA Officer Reports

Name of agency: Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Name and Title of agency Chief FOIA Officer: Nadine Mancini, General Counsel

Section I: Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness

The guiding principle underlying the President's FOIA Memorandum and the Attorney General's FOIA 

Guidelines is the presumption of openness. 

Describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied 

to all decisions involving the FOIA. To do so, you should answer the questions listed below and then 

include any additional information you would like to describe how your agency is working to apply the 

presumption of openness. 

FOIA Training:

1. Did your agency hold an agency FOIA conference, or otherwise conduct training during this 

reporting period? 

Answer: No. Instead, OSHRC’s FOIA Public Liaison always shared information 

obtained at Department of Justice training with the three other members of the 

agency’s FOIA team regarding the processing of requests, effective communication 

with requesters, statutory exemptions, and fee waivers. Extensive, in-house 

training was also provided over the course of two months to our new FOIA Public 

Liaison on agency procedures and FOIA laws and regulations.

2. If so, please provide the number of conferences or trainings held, a brief description of the topics

covered, and an estimate of the number of participants from your agency who were in attendance. 

Answer: N/A

3. Did your FOIA professionals attend any FOIA training during the reporting period such as that 

provided by the Department of Justice?

Answer: Yes

4. Provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals who attended substantive FOIA 

training during this reporting period. 

Answer: 25% of OSHRC’s FOIA professionals (none of whom work on FOIA full 

time) attended substantive FOIA training.
5. OIP has issued guidance that every agency should make core, substantive FOIA training available 

to all their FOIA professionals at least once each year. Provide your agency’s plan for ensuring

that such training is offered to all agency FOIA professionals by March 2015. Your plan should 

anticipate an upcoming reporting requirement for your 2015 Chief FOIA Officer Reports that will 

ask whether all agency FOIA professionals attended substantive FOIA training in the past year. 

Answer: OSHRC continues to encourage agency FOIA professionals to attend the 

Department of Justice’s training sessions and roundtables, and to have those who 

attend share information with the rest of the FOIA team.

Outreach: 

6. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach and dialogue with the requester community 

or open government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA? If so, please briefly 

discuss that engagement.

Answer: Yes. Our new FOIA Public Liaison attended a FOIA Requester Roundtable 

in July of 2013, sponsored by OGIS and OIP, on requesting records in electronic 

format.

Discretionary Disclosures:

In his 2009 FOIA Guidelines, the Attorney General strongly encouraged agencies to make 

discretionary releases of information even when the information might be technically exempt from 

disclosure under the FOIA. OIP encourages agencies to make such discretionary releases whenever 

there is no foreseeable harm from release.

7. Does your agency have a formal process in place to review records for discretionary release? If so, 

please briefly describe this process. If your agency is decentralized, please specify whether all 

components at your agency have a process in place for making discretionary releases. 

Answer: Yes. Because of the small number of FOIA requests processed per year at 

OSHRC, our FOIA professionals are able to promptly flag and review requested 

records for discretionary release.

8. During the reporting period did your agency make any discretionary releases of otherwise exempt 

information? 

Answer: Yes.

9. What exemptions would have covered the information that was released as a matter of discretion? 

Answer: Exemption 5.

10. Provide a narrative description, or some examples of, the types of information that your agency 

released as a matter of discretion. 

Answer: Documents containing internal deliberations about personnel matters 

were released.

11. If your agency was not able to make any discretionary releases of information, please explain why. 

Answer: N/A. 
Other Initiatives:

12. Did your agency post all of the required quarterly FOIA reports for Fiscal Year 2013? If not, 

please explain why not and what your plan is for ensuring that such reporting is successfully 

accomplished for Fiscal Year 2014.

Answer: Yes.

13. Describe any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of 

openness is being applied. If any of these initiatives are online, please provide links in your 

description. 

Answer: OSHRC actively applies the presumption of openness underlying the 

President's FOIA memorandum and Attorney General's FOIA guidelines when 

processing its FOIA requests. In determining whether to redact or withhold a 

requested record, OSHRC always considers the presumption of openness before 

making a final decision about the release.

Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency

Has an Effective System in Place for Responding to Requests 

As the Attorney General emphasized in his FOIA Guidelines, "[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.

Describe here the steps your agency has taken to ensure that your management of your FOIA program 

is effective and efficient. To do so, answer the questions below and then include any additional 

information that you would like to describe how your agency ensures that your FOIA system is efficient 

and effective. 

Personnel:

During Sunshine Week 2012 OPM announced the creation of a new job series entitled the 

Government Information Series, to address the work performed by FOIA and Privacy Act 

professionals. Creation of this distinct job series was a key element in recognizing the professional 

nature of their work. 

1. Has your agency converted all of its FOIA professionals to the new Government Information 

Specialist job series? 

Answer: No.

2. If not, what proportion of personnel has been converted to the new job series?

Answer: None. We have no full-time FOIA professionals.

3. If not, what is your plan to ensure that all FOIA professionals’ position descriptions are 

converted?

Answer: Because our FOIA professionals do not work exclusively on FOIA matters, 

we do not plan to convert their job series.
Processing Procedures:

4. For Fiscal Year 2013 did your agency maintain an average of ten or less calendar days to 

adjudicate requests for expedited processing? If not, 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. We had no requests for expedited processing in Fiscal Year 2013.

5. Has your agency taken any steps to make the handling of consultations and referrals more 

efficient and effective, such as entering into agreements with other agencies or components on 

how to handle certain categories or types of records involving shared equities so as to avoid the 

need for a consultation or referral altogether, or otherwise implementing procedures that speed 

up or eliminate the need for consultations. If so, please describe those steps. 

Answer: No. OSHRC rarely, if ever, receives FOIA requests for records that require 

consultations or referrals. None were received in Fiscal Year 2013. 

Requester Services:

6. Do you use e-mail or other electronic means to communicate with requesters when feasible?

Answer: Yes.

7. Does your agency notify requesters of the mediation services offered by the Office of Government 

Information Services (OGIS) at NARA? 

Answer: No. OSHRC processes a small amount of requests per year and disputes 

with requesters are uncommon. Should a dispute arise, however, we would notify 

requesters of OGIS’s mediation services. 

8. Describe any other steps your agency has undertaken to ensure that your FOIA system operates 

efficiently and effectively, such as conducting self-assessments to find greater efficiencies, 

improving search processes, eliminating redundancy, etc. 

Answer: The Chairman of OSHRC implemented a management initiative in 

February 2009 to enhance agency transparency and continues to support that goal. 

In keeping with that initiative, as well as the President's FOIA Memorandum and 

Attorney General's FOIA Guidelines, OSHRC's FOIA professionals work diligently to 

continue improving the effectiveness and 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 electronic case management system to 

improve record search capabilities when processing FOIA requests that seek 

records associated with OSHRC cases; and (3) implementing the requirements of 

the Plain Writing Act of 2010 as they relate to the agency's FOIA program and 

procedures. 

Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

Both the President and Attorney General focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post 

information online without waiting for individual requests to be received. 
Describe here the steps your agency has taken both to increase the amount of material that is available 

on your agency website, and the usability of such information, including providing examples of proactive 

disclosures that have been made during this past reporting period (i.e., from March 2013 to March 2014). 

In doing so, answer the questions listed below and describe any additional steps taken by your agency to 

make and improve proactive disclosures of information. 

Posting Material:

1. Do your FOIA professionals have a system in place to identify records for proactive disclosures? 

Answer: Yes.

2. If so, describe the system that is in place.

Answer: Because of the small number of FOIA requests processed per year at 

OSHRC, our FOIA professionals are able to flag documents that are requested 

multiple times, or documents for which we anticipate future demand, and 

immediately consider whether such materials should be proactively disclosed on 

our website.

3. Provide examples of material that your agency has posted this past reporting period, including 

links to where this material can be found online. 

Answer: Four OSHRC orders (two from the Commission, two from an OSHRC 

administrative law judge) were posted on our website under the Open Government 

tab because of anticipated public interest in the rulings: 

http://www.oshrc.gov/open/SignificantOrders.html.

Making Posted Material More Useful:

4. 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, such as soliciting feedback on the content and presentation of posted material, improving

search capabilities on the site, posting material in open formats, making information available 

through mobile applications, providing explanatory material, etc.?

Answer: Yes

5. If so, provide examples of such improvements. 

Answer: OSHRC indexes or otherwise organizes its records so that our website’s 

FOIA e-reading room is “user-friendly” to the general public. Additionally, OSHRC 

solicits feedback on how the agency can improve its FOIA e-reading room.

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

public awareness? If so, was social media utilized? 

Answer: We do not utilize social media, but disclosures on our website are easily 

accessible through our FOIA tab on the main page. 

7. Has your agency encountered challenges that make it difficult to post records you otherwise 

would like to post? If so, please briefly explain what those challenges are. 
Answer: No.

8. Describe any other steps taken to increase proactive disclosures at your agency. 

Answer: The Chief FOIA Officer works to maintain open lines of communication 

between the FOIA Requester Service Center and key agency personnel. 

Additionally, in keeping with the Open Government Directive issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget on December 8, 2009, OSHRC continually monitors and 

updates its open government page at www.data.gov.

Section IV: Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology 

A key component of the President's FOIA Memorandum was the direction to "use modern technology 

to inform citizens about what is known and done by their Government." In addition to using the internet 

to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also be exploring ways to utilize technology in responding 

to requests. Over the past several years agencies have reported widespread use of technology in receiving 

and tracking FOIA requests and preparing agency Annual FOIA Reports. For 2014, as we have done over 

the past years, the questions have been further refined and now also address different, more innovative 

aspects of technology use. 

Online tracking of FOIA requests:

1. Can a FOIA requester track the status of his/her request electronically? 

Answer: No. Because we receive a small number of requests per year (for example, 

50 requests in Fiscal Year 2013), our FOIA Disclosure Officers are able to 

communicate via email and telephone with each requester. Additionally, we are 

developing an electronic FOIA request form for our website that, once submitted, 

will automatically send an email confirmation of receipt to the requester.

2. If yes, how is this tracking function provided to the public? For example, is it being done through 

regularly updated FOIA logs, online portals, or other mediums? 

Answer: N/A 

3. Describe the information that is provided to the requester through the tracking system. For 

example, some tracking systems might tell the requester whether the request is "open" or 

"closed," while others will provide further details to the requester throughout the course of the 

processing, such as "search commenced" or "documents currently in review.” List the specific 

types of information that are available through your agency's tracking system. 

Answer: N/A

4. In particular, does your agency tracking system provide the requester with an estimated date of 

completion for his/her request? 

Answer: N/A

5. If your agency does not provide online tracking of requests, is your agency taking steps to 

establish this capability? If not, please explain why.

Answer: No. Because OSHRC receives such few FOIA requests, we process the vast 

majority of requests in a timely manner, and have no backlog. We thus are able to 
maintain open communication with requesters via phone and email to provide 

updates on the status of requests whenever such information is solicited.

Use of technology to facilitate processing of requests:

6. Beyond using technology to redact documents, is your agency taking steps to utilize more 

advanced 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? 

Answer: Yes. 

7. If so, describe the technological improvements being made. 

Answer: OSHRC is developing an electronic FOIA request form that we anticipate 

posting on our website in 2014. The form will allow a requester to provide all the 

information necessary to facilitate their request and automatically submit the 

request electronically to the FOIA Disclosure Officers. Requesters will also receive

an electronic confirmation that the FOIA Service Center has received their request. 

In addition, OSHRC continues to utilize our electronic case management system, 

which facilitates the processing of FOIA requests that seek records associated with 

OSHRC cases by improving record search capabilities.

8. Are there additional technological tools that would be helpful to achieving further efficiencies in 

your agency’s FOIA program? 

Answer: None that OSHRC is currently aware of, but our FOIA professionals are 

continuously searching for ways to streamline our FOIA processing and to 

coordinate with IT staff to explore other technological possibilities.

Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in

Responding to Requests and Reducing Backlogs 

The President and the Attorney General have emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in 

responding to requests. This section 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 those contained in the specified sections of your agency’s 2013 Annual FOIA Report

and, when applicable, your agency’s 2012 Annual FOIA Report.

Simple Track Requests:

1. 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. 

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

Answer: Yes.
b. If so, for your agency overall, for Fiscal Year 2013, was the average number of days to process 

simple requests twenty working days or fewer? 

Answer: Yes.

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

process non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC utilizes a separate track for simple requests.

Backlogs and “Ten Oldest” Requests, Appeals and Consultations:

2. 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. 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 2012 and 

Fiscal Year 2013 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report. 

Backlogs 

a. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2013, did that backlog 

decrease as compared with Fiscal Year 2012?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC did not have a backlog of requests at the end of Fiscal 

Year 2013, nor did it have a backlog at the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

b. If your agency had a backlog of administrative appeals in Fiscal Year 2013, did that backlog 

decrease as compared to Fiscal Year 2012?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC did not have a backlog of administrative appeals at the 

end of Fiscal Year 2013, nor did it have a backlog at the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

Ten Oldest Requests

c. In Fiscal Year 2013, did your agency close the ten oldest requests that were pending as of the 

end of Fiscal Year 2012? 

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no pending requests at the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

d. 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 2012 Annual FOIA Report. If you 

had less than ten total oldest requests to close, please indicate that. For example, if you only 

had seven requests listed as part of your "ten oldest" in Section VII.E. and you closed two of 

them, you should note that you closed two out of seven “oldest” requests. 

Answer: N/A.

Ten Oldest Appeals

e. In Fiscal Year 2013, did your agency close the ten oldest administrative appeals that were 

pending as of the end of Fiscal Year 2012? 
Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no pending administrative appeals at the end of 

Fiscal Year 2012.

f. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close, as well as the 

number of appeals your agency had in Section VI.C.(5) of your Fiscal Year 2012 Annual FOIA 

Report. 

Answer: N/A.

Ten Oldest Consultations

g. In Fiscal Year 2013, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations received by your 

agency and pending as of the end of Fiscal Year 2012?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no pending consultations at the end of Fiscal Year 

2012.

h. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency did close, as well as the 

number of pending consultations your agency listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2012 

Annual FOIA Report.

Answer: N/A.

Reasons for Any Backlogs:

3. If you answered “no” to any of the questions in item 2 above, describe why your agency was not 

able to reduce backlogs and/or close the ten oldest pending requests, appeals, and consultations. 

In doing so, answer the following questions then include any additional explanation: 

Request and/or Appeal Backlog

a. Was the lack of a reduction in the request and/or appeal backlog a result of an increase in the 

number of incoming requests or appeals?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no backlog.

b. Was the lack of a reduction in the request and/or appeal backlog caused by a loss of staff?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no backlog.

c. Was the lack of a reduction in the request and/or appeal backlog caused by an increase in the 

complexity of the requests received?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no backlog.

d. What other causes, if any, contributed to the lack of a decrease in the request and/or appeal 

backlog?

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no backlog.

“Ten oldest” Not Closed

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

consultations from Fiscal Year 2012. 
Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no pending requests, appeals, or consultations at the 

end of Fiscal Year 2012.

f. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests or appeals 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. OSHRC had no pending requests or appeals at the end of Fiscal 

Year 2012.

Plans for Closing of Ten Oldest Pending Requests, Appeals, and Consultations and Reducing Backlogs:

Given the importance of these milestones, it is critical that Chief FOIA Officers assess the causes for 

not achieving success and create plans to address them. 

4. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, and consultations, please 

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

and consultations during Fiscal Year 2014.

Answer: N/A. OSHRC had no pending requests, appeals, or consultations at the 

end of Fiscal Year 2012.

5. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1000 pending requests and did not reduce that backlog 

in Fiscal Year 2013, provide your agency’s plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead. 

Answer: N/A. OSHRC did not have a backlog of requests at the end of Fiscal Year 

2013, nor did it have a backlog at the end of Fiscal Year 2012.

Interim Responses:

OIP has issued guidance encouraging agencies to make interim releases whenever they are working on 

requests that involve a voluminous amount of material or require searches in multiple locations. By 

providing rolling releases to requesters agencies facilitate access to the requested information. 

6. Does your agency have a system in place to provide interim responses to requesters when 

appropriate? 

Answer: Yes. When it comes to the attention of the FOIA Disclosure Officers or 

FOIA Public Liaison that OSHRC can respond to a portion of a complex request 

while additional search or review time is needed for another portion, OSHRC will 

provide an interim response.

7. If your agency had a backlog in Fiscal Year 2013, please provide an estimate of the number or 

percentage of cases in the backlog where a substantive, interim response was provided during the 

fiscal year, even though the request was not finally closed. 

Answer: N/A. OSHRC did not have a backlog of requests at the end of Fiscal Year 

2013, nor does it currently have a backlog.

Use of FOIA’s Law Enforcement “Exclusions”

In order to increase transparency regarding the use of the FOIA’s statutory law enforcement 

exclusions, which authorize agencies under certain exceptional circumstances to “treat the records as not 
subject to the requirements of [the FOIA],” 5 U.S.C. § 552(c)(1), (2), (3), please answer the following 

questions:

1. Did your agency invoke a statutory exclusion during Fiscal Year 2013? 

Answer: No.

2. If so, what was the total number of times exclusions were invoked? 

Answer: N/A. OSHRC did not invoke a statutory exclusion during Fiscal Year 2013.

Spotlight on Success

Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2013 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, these agency success stories will be highlighted during Sunshine Week by OIP. 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 a key achievement. A complete 

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

Answer: 

-Since November of 2013, OSHRC’s Chief FOIA Officer, FOIA Disclosure Officers, and 

current and former FOIA Public Liaisons have been working together to develop an 

electronic FOIA Request form to post on OSHRC’s website.

-Through this collaboration, and with advice from OSHRC’s IT professionals, a draft of the 

form is in final revisions with posting anticipated to occur in 2014.

-Once posted, both the agency’s website and our FOIA Disclosure Officers will refer 

potential requesters to the electronic form, which allows requesters to provide detailed 

information to assist our FOIA professionals in expeditiously processing the request.

-Once a requester submits the electronic form, it will be forwarded to OSHRC’s FOIA 

Disclosure Officers and the requester will receive an electronic confirmation that the 

request was received by OSHRC.

-We anticipate that this electronic form will help requesters identify what information to

give when making a FOIA request, eliminate confusion about how to submit a request, and 

provide quick and clear confirmation once a request is received.

-We also anticipate that this electronic form will help OSHRC’s FOIA professionals by 

eliminating the need for follow-up communication when requests do not provide clear or 

necessary information.