2017 Chief FOIA Officer Report for the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)

The RRB submits this report for Fiscal Year 2016 in response to the request in the 

United States Department of Justice Office of Information Policy FOIA Post, 

“Agency 2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report Guidelines.” The report has been 

prepared by Karl T. Blank General Counsel/Chief FOIA Officer, RRB.

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.

A.FOIA Training:

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

FOIA responsibilities attend any FOIA training or conference during the 

reporting period such as that provided by the Department of Justice? 

 Yes. 

2. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended 

and the topics covered.

The RRB is a small, independent agency in the Executive Branch of the

Federal government. As the RRB’s General Counsel/Chief FOIA Officer, I 

am responsible for the RRB’s overall FOIA program. I have made certain 

that all FOIA staff are properly trained and refreshed annually as part of 

the agency’s Privacy Awareness training. All FOIA staff are trained on 

FOIA policy memoranda and guidance and are responsible in carrying 

out those responsibilities as they responds to all FOIA requests. During this 

reporting period, one General Attorney and one Paralegal of my staff 
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attended a two and a half-day “FOIA and Privacy Act Workshop” 

provided by the American Society of Access Professionals (ASAP) in 

Chicago, Illinois. 

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. 

All RRB FOIA staff were trained and refreshed on the FOIA and relevant 

policy guidance in FY 2016.

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 training 

during the next reporting year.

We continue to monitor our FOIA training opportunities annually and 

provide for the necessary training as required. FOIA personnel are 

advised of training opportunities conducted by the Department of Justice 

and well as other outside vendors.

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?

No.

C. Other Initiatives:

6. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA 

professionals of their obligations under the FOIA?

All agency employees participate in annual mandatory Privacy 

Awareness training and are trained on their obligations pursuant to the 

FOIA. 
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If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure the 

presumption of openness is being applied, please describe them here. 

FOIA staff review all records that are responsive to a particular FOIA 

request. When there is a possibility of making a release under the 

foreseeable harm standard, they consult with the agency’s General 

Counsel/ Chief FOIA Officer.

Section II: Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency

Has an Effective System in Place for Responding to Requests 

The DOJ’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines emphasized 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 describes your 

agency’s efforts in this area.

A. Processing Procedures:

1. For Fiscal Year 2016, 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 2016 Annual FOIA Report.

The RRB did not adjudicate any requests for expedited processing in Fiscal 

Year 2016.

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.

N/A.

3. During the reporting period, did you agency conduct a self-assessment of 

its FOIA program? If so, please describe the methods used, such as 
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reviewing Annual Report data, using active workflows and track 

management, reviewing and updating processing procedures, etc.

During FY 2016, the RRB reviewed its previous FOIA Annual Report data 

and updated its FOIA website content to remain compliant with the FOIA 

Improvement Act of 2016. 

4. Please provide an estimate of how many requests your agency processed 

in Fiscal Year 2016 that were from commercial requesters. If your agency 

is decentralized, please identify any components within your agency that 

received a majority of their requests from commercial use requesters.

The RRB received one request from a commercial requester. 

B. Requester Services:

5. Does your agency provide a mechanism for requesters to provide 

feedback about their experience with the FOIA process at your agency? 

If so, please describe the methods used, such as making the FOIA Public 

Liaison available to receive feedback, using surveys posted on the 

agency’s website, etc.

The agency’s FOIA staff contact information is posted on the FOIA.gov 

website for public knowledge and to facilitate the receipt of comments, 

complaints, and/or suggestions. 

6. 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 how often requesters sought 

assistance from your agency’s FOIA Public Liaison.

No assistance was sought in Fiscal Year 2016 from the agency’s FOIA 

Public Liaison. 

7. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires agencies to make their 

reference material or guide for requesting records or information from the 

agency electronically available to the public. Please provide a link to 

your agency’s FOIA reference guide.

http://www.rrb.gov/blaw/foia/foia.asp
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C. Other Initiatives:

If there are any other steps your agency has undertaken to ensure that 

your FOIA system operates efficiently and effectively, improving search 

processes, eliminating redundancy, etc., please describe them here.

We routinely review our entire FOIA processing system to identify any 

improvements and efficiencies which can be made.

Section III: Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

Both the President’s and DOJ’s FOIA memoranda 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 both 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 

disclosure of information.

A. Posting Material:

1. Describe your agency’s process for identifying “frequently requested” 

records required to be posted online.

We routinely continue to review, analyze and improve our release of 

“frequently requested“ record’s consulting with agency administration, 

program, and operation bureaus with an emphasis on routine/recurring 

requests and website content identified through monitoring our agency 

FOIA logs and website. 

2. Does your agency have a distinct process or system in place to identify 

records for proactive disclosure. If so, please describe your agency’s 

process or system.

The RRB annually updates its website to include current actuarial, 

statistical, and financial information concerning active and retired 

railroad employees, including actual railroad employment by month, 
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historical data concerning benefits and beneficiaries, quarterly benefit 

statistics, and selected national and railroad data.

The RRB FOIA professionals regularly meet with the FOIA Officer to discuss 

documents for proactive disclosure. In addition, the FOIA staff regularly 

meets with high level management officials from the RRB’s Office of the 

Chief Information Officer (CIO), which includes the privacy section, and 

staff from the RRB’s Office of Public Affairs (OPA), to identify documents 

for proactive disclosure and posting online. 

3. Has your agency encountered challenges that make it difficult to post 

records you otherwise would like to post?

No.

4. If so, please briefly describe those challenges and how your agency is 

working to overcome them.

N/A. 

5. Provide examples of material that your agency has proactively disclosed 

during the past reporting year, including links to the posted material.

We continue to monitor FOIA webpage content to make sure it remains 

timely and consistent with current law. FOIA staff have the responsibility 

and authority to update the RRB website as necessary. The website offers 

access to copies of the agency’s procedure manuals, final decisions of 

the three-member Board which heads the agency, rulings of the Board 

and legal opinions. Other information is available to the public without 

filing a FOIA request in the Federal Register and the RRB Group 

Information Locator System (GILS) website. An example of additional 

material provided since the issuance of the new FOIA Guidelines include 

the Railroad Retirement Board’s Office of General Counsel’s online 

database of Legal Opinions and Board Coverage Decisions which was 

launched in FY 2016 located at https://legallibrary.rrb.gov/Home.aspx.

(See also “Success Stories” below). Additionally, five data sets of statistical 

information have been added to the RRB’s Open Government Initiative 

located at http://www.rrb.gov/open/default.asp.

High-Value Data Sets:
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Open Government Webpage www.rrb.gov/open

Freedom of Information Act Report Publishing www.rrb.gov/open)

Agency Plans, Management and Reports

http://www.rrb.gov/general/plan_rpt_inv.asp#fair

http://www.rrb.gov/mep/agency_mgt.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/opa/AnnualRprt/Ann_Rpt_toc.asp

Agency Procedure Manuals

http://www.rrb.gov/general/admin_manuals_index.asp

Board Coverage Decisions http://www.rrb.gov/blaw/bcd/cov_introduction.asp

Congressional Requests ola@rrb.gov

Federal Register http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

http://www.rrb.gov/irm/fedreg_notices.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/irm/fedreg_regs.asp

Financial, Actuarial and Statistical Data

http://www.rrb.gov/mep/fin_act_stat.asp

Active Employees and Railroad 

Retirement Act Beneficiaries by State, 2008

http://www.data.gov/details/1331

Longevity of Railroad Retirement 

Beneficiaries

http://www.data.gov/details/1332

Railroad Retirement Act Annuitants and 

Active Railroad Employees by 

Congressional District

http://www.data.gov/details/1330

Total Number of Railroad Employees by 

State and Last Railroad Employer, 2007 

http://www.data.gov/details/455

Total Railroad Employment by State and 

County, 2007

http://www.data.gov/details/456
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Forms and Publications

http://www.rrb.gov/general/handbook/toc.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/mep/ben_forms.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/mmo/rail_forms.asp

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

http://www.rrb.gov/blaw/foia/foia.asp

Information Dissemination

http://www.rrb.gov/bis/section515/introduction.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/bis/section515/guidelines.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/bis/section515/correct.asp

IMPAC Credit Card Holders List

http://www.rrb.gov/general/impac.asp

News Releases http://www.rrb.gov/mep/news_releases.asp

Privacy Act - Privacy Act Systems of Records

http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/introduction.asp

http://www.rrb.gov/bis/privacy_act/SORNList.asp

Records Management http://www.rrb.gov/rrbvision/video_library.asp

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

proactive disclosures for public awareness? If yes, please describe those 

efforts.

The RRB utilized Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and E-mail Subscriptions to 

allow users to easily stay up-to-date with areas of the RRB's web site that 

are of interest and provide resultant feedback. The RRB did not utilize 

social media to publicize proactive disclosures.

B. Other Initiatives:
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7. If there are any other steps your agency has taken to increase 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? 

N/A. 

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.

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 describes 

your agency’s efforts in this area. 

A. Making Material Posted Online More Usable:

1. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make posted 

information more useful to the public, especially to the community of 

individuals who regularly access your agency’s website?

Yes.

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

In FY 2016, the RRB digitized, indexed, and catalogued 258 binders of 

Legal Opinions maintained in the Board’s Office of General Counsel so 

they are electronically retrievable through www.rrb.gov by Board staff and 

the public, including attorneys, claimants, railroad employers, etc. See 

“Spotlight on Success” below.

B. Other Initiatives:

3. Did your agency successfully post all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 

2016?
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No.

4. 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 

2017.

Due to unexpected delays caused by other agency priorities, specifically 

pending litigation cases, in conjunction with significant staffing shortages 

during part of FY 2016, we were unable to comply with the quarterly 

reporting requirements. We plan to provide appropriate staffing and 

resources to achieve the quarterly reporting requirement in Fiscal Year 

2017.

Section V: Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in

Responding to Requests and Reduce Backlogs 

The President’s FOIA Memorandum and the DOJ’s 2009 FOIA Guidelines 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.

A. Simple Track:

Section VII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled “FOIA Requests –

Response Time to All Processed Requests, “includes figures that show your 

agency’s response time for processed requests. For agencies utilizing a multitrack system to process requests, there is a category for “simple requests, 

which are those requests that are placed in the agency’s fastest (nonexpedited) track, based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records 

requested. 

1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests?
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No. 

2. If so, for your agency overall, for Fiscal Year 2015, was the average 

number of days to process simple requests twenty working days or fewer?

N/A.

3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in 

Fiscal year 2016 that were placed in your simple track.

Zero (0).

4. If your 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? 

Yes. The average number of days to process non-expedited requests was 

12.85 days.

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 2015 and Fiscal Year 2016 when 

completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

5. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2015, 

did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at 

the end of Fiscal Year 2016? If not, explain why and describe the causes 

that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog.

The number of backlogged requests reported by the RRB’s Office of 

Inspector General (OIG) increased from 10 reported in FY 2015 to 11 in FY 

2016.

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
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- 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 – briefly describe or provide examples when 

possible.

The agency’s Office of Inspector General states that that an increase in 

the complexity of the requests, voluminous document requests, and 

staffing issues have contributed to its request backlog. 

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 2016. 

The percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of the total 

number of requests received by the RRB in FY 2016 is 8.9 percent.

BACKLOGGED APPEALS:

8. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2016, 

did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at 

the end of Fiscal Year 2015? If not, explain why and describe the causes 

that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce the backlog.

No backlog of appeals was reported by the RRB in FY 2015 or FY 2016. 

9. If not, explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your 

agency not being able to reduce the backlog. When doing so, please 

also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:

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 2016. If your agency did not receive any 

appeals in Fiscal Year 2016 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer 

“N/A.”

N/A.
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C. 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 2015 and Fiscal Year 2016 when completing this section of your Chief 

FOIA Officer Report. 

TEN OLDEST REQUESTS

11.In Fiscal Year 2016, did your agency close the ten oldest requests that 

were reported pending in your Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Report?

No. 

12.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 2015 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than the ten total oldest 

requests to close, please indicate that.

Five “ten total oldest requests” reported in FY 2015 were closed in FY 2016.

13.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?

No “ten total oldest requests” were withdrawn in FY 2016.

TEN OLDESTAPPEALS

14.In Fiscal Year 2016, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that 

were pending in your Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Report?

No. No “ten oldest appeals’ were pending at the end of FY 2016. 

15.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 
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Fiscal Year 2016 Annual FOIA Report. If you had less than ten total oldest 

appeals to close, please indicate that.

N/A.

TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS

16.In Fiscal Year 2016, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that 

were reported pending in your Fiscal Year 2015 Annual FOIA Report?

No “ten oldest consultations” were pending at the end of FY 2015. 

17.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 oldest 

consultations to close, please indicate that.

N/A.

D. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Request, Appeals, and Consultations 

& Plans:

18.Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest 

requests, appeals, and consultations from Fiscal Year 2015.

The RRB’s OIG reports that a lack of resources, as well as the complexity of 

the individual requests, contributed to its inability to close its ten oldest 

requests. 

19.If you 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.

N/A.

20.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.
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In FY 2016, the RRB/OIG plans to assure that proper resources and priority 

are given to the handling of the eleven pending requests reported at the 

end of FY 2017.

E. Success Stories:

RRB Legal Opinion/Board Coverage Decision Digitization Project

During 2014 through 2016, the Railroad Retirement Board’s Office of General 

Counsel’s began an online database of Legal Opinions and Board Coverage 

Decisions. The Library contains over 80 years of Legal Opinions issued by the 

Office of General Counsel and its predecessor Bureau of Law since the Railroad 

Retirement Board’s (Board) founding in 1935. In addition, the Library contains all 

Board Coverage Decisions issued by the Board. 

The General Counsel has issued legal opinions on topics covering all aspects of 

the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA - 45 U.S.C. § 231 et. seq.) and the Railroad 

Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA – 45 U.S.C. § 351 et. seq.) and the attendant 

Federal Regulations promulgated by the Board (20 CFR Parts 200 – 375). Legal 

Opinions have been released by the General Counsel in every year, starting in 

1935; however this database remains under construction. We estimate that all 

opinions and Decisions will be posted to the searchable database by the close 

of the second quarter of the 2017 Fiscal Year (March 31, 2017) 

In 2014, a major research and preservation project began. The Board’s Office of 

General Counsel partnered with a private document preservation firm (National 

Business Systems, Inc.), to scan every legal opinion issued by the General 

Counsel over the 80 years of the Board’s existence and to create a textsearchable database of all the opinions. The project was divided into six phases, 

broken down as follows: 

1. Phase 1 legal opinions : (1935 – ‘37; ’75 – ’76; ’94 – 2013)

2. Phase 2 legal opinions : (1938 – 1943)

3. Phase 3 legal opinions : (1973 – ’74; 1977 – 1993)

4. Phase 4 legal opinions : (1944 – 1954)

5. Phase 5 legal opinions : (1955 – 1972)*

6. Phase 6 Board Coverage Decisions (1993 – present)*
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Board Coverage Decisions and Legal Opinions from 2014 to the present are 

being posted to the online database on a quarterly basis starting with the first 

quarter of FY 2017. 

*Opinions in these phases are pending review and will be loaded in the near 

future.