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MSPB FOIA ANNUAL REPORT

FOR

10/01/2013

THROUGH

09/30/2014

The following Annual Freedom of Information Act report covers the

Period 10/01/2013, through 09/30/2014, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552.

BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT

Name, Title, Address, and Telephone Number

Darryl Aaron

National FOIA Officer

Office of the Clerk of the Board

Merit Systems Protection Board

1615 M Street, N.W.

Suite 500

Washington, DC 20419

202-254-4474

Electronic address for Report on the agency web site.

Electronic copies of the report are on the Merit Systems Protection Board's (MSPB) website at www.mspb.gov.

How to obtain a copy of the report in paper form.

Paper copies of the report may be obtained by writing to the above address.

MAKING A FOIA REQUEST

The MSPB has prepared a FOIA Guide, which is on its website. Paper copies are also available in the MSPB's

headquarters library, by calling 202-653-7200, or by emailing foia@mspb.gov. Requesters also will find contact

information for the MSPB's FOIA Liaisons on its FOIAonline website:

https://foiaonline.regulations.gov/foia/action/registered/home

1. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, and emails of MSPB offices where FOIA requests can be filed are

found below:

Atlanta Regional Office

401 W. Peachtree Street, NW

10th Floor

Atlanta, GA 30308-3519

(404) 730-2755

FAX (404) 730-2767

foiaat@mspb.gov

Northeastern Regional Office

1601 Market Street,

Suite 1700 

Philadelphia, PA 19103

(215) 597-9960

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4.

FAX (215) 597-3456

foiaph@mspb.gov

New York Field Office

26 Federal Plaza

Room 3137-A

New York, NY 10278-0022

(212) 264-9372

FAX (212) 264-1417

foiany@mspb.gov

Dallas Regional Office

1100 Commerce Street

Room 620

Dallas, TX 75242-9979

(214) 767-0810

FAX (214) 767-0102

foiada@mspb.gov

Washington DC Regional Office

1901 S. Bell Street

Suite 950

Arlington, VA 22202

(703) 756-6250

FAX (703) 756-7112

foiadc@mspb.gov

Western Regional Office

201 Mission Street

Suite 2310

San Francisco, CA 94105-1831

(415) 904-6772

FAX (415) 904-0580

foiasf@mspb.gov

Denver Field Office

165 South Union Boulevard

Suite 318

Lakewood, CO 80228-2211

(303) 969-5101 

FAX (303) 969-5109

foiade@mspb.gov

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ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS

Acronyms used :

Definition of terms used in this report :

Administrative Appeal - a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level

a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.

Average Number - the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of

numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.

Backlog - the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the

fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.

Component - for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also

sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that

processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data

for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.

Consultation - the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to

another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency

in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded

it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.

Exemption 3 Statute - a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency

relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

FOIA Request - a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning

another person (i.e., a "third-party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest.

FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "firstparty" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens.

Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of

the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an

agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act

exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which

require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report.

Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to

the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from

another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)

Full Grant - an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request

Full Denial - an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the

records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural

reason, such as when no records could be located.

Median Number - the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

Multi-Track Processing - a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed

in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.

Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are

processed on a first in/first out basis.

Expedited Processing - an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester

satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.

Acronym Definition

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Simple Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (nonexpedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

Complex Request - a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track

based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

Partial Grant/Partial Denial - in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the

records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the

request for a procedural reason.

Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which an

agency has not taken final action in all respects.

Perfected Request - a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in

accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal - a request or administrative appeal for which

an agency has taken final action in all respects.

Range in Number of Days - the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative

appeals.

Time Limits - the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty

working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

Concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions :

Exemption 1 - classified national defense and foreign relations information

Exemption 2 - internal agency rules and practices

Exemption 3 - information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

Exemption 4 - trade secrets and other confidential business information

Exemption 5 - inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges

Exemption 6 - information involving matters of personal privacy

Exemption 7 - records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the

production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B)

would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected

to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the

identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement

investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or

prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual

Exemption 8 - information relating to the supervision of financial institutions

Exemption 9 - geological information on wells

4
IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

-

Statute Type of Information Withheld Case

Citation

Number of Times Relied

Upon per Component

Total

Number of

Times Relied

Upon by

Agency

Pub. L. No. 107347 Data that are required for exclusively statistical purposes

under a pledge of confidentiality

N/A OCB : 1 1

-

5
V. FOIA REQUESTS

-

A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests

Number of Requests Pending

as of Start of Fiscal Year

Number of Requests Received

in Fiscal Year

Number of Requests

Processed in Fiscal Year

Number of Requests Pending

as of End of Fiscal Year

TOTAL 12 221 212 21

* Due to a clerical error the FY13 report listed 5 requests pending at the end of the fiscal, this should be 12.

-

B.(1) Disposition of FOIA Requests -- All Processed Requests

Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

Number

of Full

Grants

Number

of Partial

Grants /

Partial

Denials

Number of

Full Denials

Based on

Exemptions

No

records

All

records

referred

to

another

agency

Request

withdrawn

Feerelated

reason

Records not

reasonably

described

Improper

FOIA

request for

other

reason

Not an

agency

record

Duplicate

request

Other TOTAL

TOTAL 103 40 4 43 8 9 0 2 3 0 0 0 212

-

B.(2) Disposition of FOIA Requests -- Other Reasons for Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

Description of Other Reasons for Denials from Chart B.(1) &

Number of Times Those Reasons Were Relied Upon

TOTAL

* N/A

-

B.(3) Disposition of FOIA Requests -- Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

TOTAL 0 0 1 0 6 30 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

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6
VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS

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A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Appeals

Number of Appeals Pending as

of Start of Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Received in

Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Processed

in Fiscal Year

Number of Appeals Pending as

of End of Fiscal Year

TOTAL 1 10 9 2

-

B. Disposition of Administrative Appeals All Processed Appeals

Number of Affirmed on

Appeal

Number Partially Affirmed &

Partially

Reversed/Remanded on

Appeal

Number of Completely

Reversed/Remanded on

Appeal

Number of Appeals Closed

for Other Reasons

TOTAL

TOTAL 2 2 2 3 9

-

C.(1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal Number of Times Exemptions Applied

Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7(A) Ex. 7(B) Ex. 7(C) Ex. 7(D) Ex. 7(E) Ex. 7(F) Ex. 8 Ex. 9

-

C.(2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal Reasons Other than Exemptions

No

records

Records

referred at

initial

request

level

Request

withdrawn

Fee-related

reason

Records not

reasonably

described

Improper

request

for other

reasons

Not

agency

record

Duplicate

request or

appeal

Request

in

litigation

Appeal

based

solely on

denial for

expedited

processing

Other

TOTAL 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

-

C.(3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal Other Reasons

Description of Other Reasons for Denials from Chart C.(2) &

Number of Times Those Reasons Were Relied Upon

TOTAL

-

C.(4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals

Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days

TOTAL 4 9.44 < 1 20

-

C.(5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals

10th Oldest

Appeal and

Number of

Days

Pending

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest

Appeal and

Number of

Days

Pending

TOTAL 2014-06-10

78

-

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VII. FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

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A. Processed Requests -- Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

TOTAL 8 10.6 < 1 51 39 40.63 17 94 14 14 14 14

-

B. Processed Requests Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

Median

Number

of Days

Average

Number

of Days

Lowest

Number

of Days

Highest

Number

of Days

TOTAL 9 11.4 < 1 37 40.5 41.32 17 94 - - - -

-

C. Processed Requests Response Time in Day Increments

Simple Requests

1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-100

Days

101-120

Days

121-140

Days

141-160

Days

161-180

Days

181-200

Days

201-300

Days

301-400

Days

401+

Days

TOTAL

TOTAL 152 24 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 177

-

Complex Requests

1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-100

Days

101-120

Days

121-140

Days

141-160

Days

161-180

Days

181-200

Days

201-300

Days

301-400

Days

401+

Days

TOTAL

TOTAL 1 19 10 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34

-

Expedited Requests

1-20

Days

21-40

Days

41-60

Days

61-80

Days

81-100

Days

101-120

Days

121-140

Days

141-160

Days

161-180

Days

181-200

Days

201-300

Days

301-400

Days

401+

Days

TOTAL

TOTAL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

-

D. Pending Requests All Pending Perfected Requests

SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

Number

Pending

Median

Number of

Days

Average

Number of

Days

TOTAL 13 14 10.4 8 82.5 86 0 - -

-

E. Pending Requests Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

10th Oldest

Request and

Number of

Days

Pending

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest

Request and

Number of

Days

Pending

TOTAL 2014-09-25

3

2014-09-10

14

2014-09-09

15

2014-09-05

17

2014-07-08

59

2014-07-28

70

2014-06-10

78

2014-05-28

87

2014-05-22

90

2014-03-25

132

-

8
VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

-

A. Requests for Expedited Processing

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of

Days to Adjudicate

Average Number of

Days to Adjudicate

Number Adjudicated Within

Ten Calendar Days

TOTAL 1 21 1 4.35 20

-

B. Requests for Fee Waiver

Number Granted Number Denied Median Number of Days to

Adjudicate

Average Number of Days to

Adjudicate

* N/A

-

9
IX. FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

-

PERSONNEL COSTS

Number of FullTime FOIA

Employees

Number of

Equivalent FullTime FOIA

Employees

Total Number of

Full-Time FOIA

Staff

Processing Costs Litigation-Related

Costs

Total Costs

TOTAL 1 1 2 $238,958.00 $0.00 $238,958.00

-

10
X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

-

Total Amount of Fees Collected Percentage of Total Costs

* N/A

-

11
XI.

1.

4.

FOIA REGULATIONS

For more information, please consult the following website:

http://www.mspb.gov/netsearch/viewdocs.aspx?docnumber=278732&version=279052&application=HTML

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XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS

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A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of Fiscal Year Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of Fiscal Year

TOTAL 10 1

-

B. Consultations on FOIA Requests Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that Were Pending

as of Start of the Fiscal Year

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies During the Fiscal

Year

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that Were

Processed During the Fiscal

Year

Number of Consultations

Received from Other

Agencies that Were Pending

as of End of the Fiscal Year

TOTAL 0 1 1 0

-

C. Consultations on FOIA Requests Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending

10th Oldest

Consultation

and Number

of Days

Pending

9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest

Consultation

and Number

of Days

Pending

-

D. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Last Year's

Annual Report

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Current

Year's Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Last Year's

Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

TOTAL 207 221 202 212

-

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal

Year from Previous Annual Report

Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal

Year from Current Annual Report

TOTAL 0 10

-

E. Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report Appeals Received, Processed, and

Backlogged

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Last Year's

Annual Report

Number Received During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Last Year's

Annual Report

Number Processed During

Fiscal Year from Current

Annual Report

TOTAL 18 10 18 9

-

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End ofthe Fiscal

Year from Previous Annual Report

Number of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal

Year from Current Annual Report

TOTAL 1 1

-

13