20

Db: Pending Requests — All Pending Perfected Requests

OVERALL

SIMPLE
Median | Average Median | Average Median | Average
vie Number | Number Pine Number | Number ee Number | Number
8 | of Days | of Days S| of Days | of Days 8 | of Days | of Days
1 215 215 0 0 0 0 0 0
RRB
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OIG
1 215 215 0 0 0 0 0 0
AGENCY



14

C. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals

RRB -

Median Number of Average Number Lowest Number Highest Number
Days of Days of Days of Days
12 13 7 20
C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals
RRB -
10" Oldest Oldest
Appeal ot ae bis (onl oa 4° ae Osa Appeal
Date of N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Receipt of
Ten Oldest
Appeals N/A
Number of 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Days
Pending 0



24

X. FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

Total Amount of Fees
Collected Percentage of Total Costs
$218. 041
RRB
$0. 0
OIG

XI. FOIA REGULATIONS

The Board’s FOIA regulations may be found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-

bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=cfr&docid=20CFR200.4.



i. 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.

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

iii. 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.

1. 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.

m. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal — a request or
administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all
respects.

n. 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.

oO. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal — a request or
administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all
respects.

p. Range in Number of Days — the lowest and highest number of days to
process requests or administrative appeals.

q. 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).

The following are concise descriptions of the nine FOIA exemptions:

a. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information.

b. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices.

c. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another
federal law.


21

E. Pending Requests — Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

10" Oldest One
Request and gth git 7th 6h 5th 4 3rd gna pretueoars
Number of Dies
Days Pending Peat tig
2010-11-
23
N/A N/A N/A | N/A N/A | N/A N/A |N/A N/A
215
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RRB
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A | N/A N/A |N/A N/A N/A
OIG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10" Oldest Oldest
Request and ott gt th ot sth 4h 3rd on Sane bee
Number of pes _"
Days Pending pein
Agency 2010-11-
Overall 23
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
215
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



27

c. Consultations on FOIA Requests — Ten Oldest Consultations Received from
Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency

10" Oldest Oldest
Consultation Consultation
and Number gt e - on sit a an 2TM4 | and Number
of Days of Days
Pending Pending
N/A N/A N/A | N/A N/A | N/A N/A |N/A N/A N/A
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RRB
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A | N/A N/A |N/A N/A N/A
OIG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10" Oldest Oldest
Consultation Consultation
and Number ott ee ha o® 5m 4" r 2TM4 | and Number
of Days of Days
Agency Pending Pending
Overall
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



IX. FOIA PERSONNEL & COSTS

23

Number of Number of Total Processing | Litigation- Total
“Full-Time “Equivalent | Number of Costs Related Costs

FOIA Full-Time “Full-Time Costs
Employees” FOIA FOIA Staff”

Employees”
(The sum (At initial
of Columns request and
1&2) appeal levels)
0 0.50 50 $52,978. $10,000. | $62,978.
RRB
0 0.50 50 $4,483. 0 $4,483.



18

Complex Requests
1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 81-100 | 101-120 | 121-140 | 141-160 | 161-180 | 181-200 | 201-300 | 301-400 | 401+
Days | Days | Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



10
B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests — “Other” Reasons for “Full Denials Based
on Reasons Other than Exemptions” from Section V, B (1) Chart

Description of “Other” Reasons
Component for Denials from Chart B (1)
& Number of Times Those
Reasons Were Relied upon

0

OIG

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

Ex. | Ex. | Ex. | Ex. | Ex. | Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. | Ex. | Ex.
1 | 2 3 4 5 6 (A) 7(B) 1C) 7D) 1(E) 18) 8 | 8
0) 0-| #2 | 0 il 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



30

Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current
Annual Report — Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged

Number Received Number Received Number Processed | Number Processe
During Fiscal Year During Fiscal Year During Fiscal Year | During Fiscal Ye:
from Last Year’s from Current from Last Year’s from Current
Annual Report Annual Report Annual Report Annual Report
3 4 5) 4
0 0 0 0



IV. EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES.

A. List of Exemption 3 statutes relied on by the agency during the current fiscal year.

Statute Type of Case Citation | Number of Total Number
Information Times Relied | of Times
Withheld upon per Relied Upon
Component by Agency
45 U.S.C. § 362 | Information Ass’n_of RRB - 12 1
(d) (Railroad obtained by the | Retired
Unemployment | Railroad Railroad OIG - 0
Insurance Act) | Retirement Workers v. U.S.
Board that RR.
reveals, in any | Retirement
manner, an Board, 830 F.
employee’s 2d 331, 334
identity (D.C. Cir.
1987); Nat'l
Ass’n of
Retired &
Veteran Ry.
Employees v.
RR. Ret. Bd.
87-117, slip.
op. at 5 (N.D.
Ohio Feb 20.
1991).



. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential information.

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

Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy.

Exemption7: 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 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


2)

Requests Granted Expedited Processing

1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 81-100 | 101-120 | 121-140 | 141-160 | 161-180 | 181-200 | 201-300 | 301-400 | 401+
Days | Days | Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



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

Number | Numbe1
of :
Full
Grants
ll Impro)
Records jes P
No —" Request Fee- Records | FOIA ae Duplica omer
Recor Withdra | Relate not Request 8 te .
Another ¥ *Explai
ds wn d Reasonab for Request Z
Compone Recor nin
Reason ly Other
nt or : d chart
Described | Reason
Agency below
76 3 q 6 Z 0 6 0 0 0 0 0
RRB.
i 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OIG



25

XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS

A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

Number of Backlogged Number of Backlogged
Requests as of End of Appeals as of End of
Fiscal Year Fiscal Year
i! 0
RRB
0 0



Il.

US. Railroad Retirement Board
Annual Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Report
Fiscal Year 2011

BASIC INFORMATION REGARDING REPORT.

1s Name, title, address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted with
questions about the Report.

Karl T. Blank

General Counsel/Chief FOIA Officer
US. Railroad Retirement Board

844 North Rush Street

Chicago, IL. 60611-2092
312-751-4935

2; Electronic address for Report on the World Wide Web.
A copy of this Report will be posted on the RRB’s Web Site at www.rrb.gov.
3 How to obtain a copy of the Report in paper form.

A copy of this Report may be obtained by writing to Steven A. Bartholow
at the above address.

MAKING A FOIA REQUEST.

The United States Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is a federal agency charged with the
administration of the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts.
In general, the Railroad Retirement Act replaces the Social Security Act for employment
in the railroad industry. Similarly, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act replaces
state unemployment acts for work in the railroad industry. The RRB is headquartered at
844 North Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. All written requests for records
should be directed to this address.

Information available from the RRB under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
includes the agency’s procedure manuals, final decisions of the three-member Board
which heads the agency, rulings of the Board, and legal opinions. Board coverage
decisions and agency legal opinions are available on our web site.

Because the RRB administers a comprehensive program of railroad retirement,
unemployment, and sickness benefits for railroad workers, it also maintains information
about individuals that may not be disclosed in response to a FOIA request. The Railroad
Retirement Act, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and the Privacy Act restrict
the disclosure of information about individuals. If someone requests information about


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

12

RRB -
Ex. | Ex. | Ex. | Ex. | Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. Ex. | Ex.
i 2 3 4 5 6 (A) 7(B) 1(C) 7) 7) 71(F) 8 9
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



11
VI. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF
FOIA REQUESTS

Note: The OIG did not have any administrative appeals to report, therefore no
statistics are reported for the OIG in this section.

A. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals

Number of Nanberor Number of Number of
Appeals Pending Appeals Received Appeals Appeals Pending
as of Start of in Fiscal Yea Processed in as of End of
Fiscal Year re Fiscal Year Fiscal Year

RRB 0 4 4 0

B: Disposition of Administrative Appeals — All Processed Appeals

Number Partially
Number Affirmed | Affirmed & Partially Nuniber Completely, ets
Reversed/Remanded Appeals Closed
on Appeal Reversed/Remanded
on Appeal for Other Reasons
on Appeal

RRB 3 1 0 0



3

Number of Backlogged Appeals

Number of Backlogged Appeals as

as of End of the Fiscal Year from of End of the Fiscal Year from
Previous Annual Report Current Annual Report
0 0
RRB
0 0

OIG



OVERALL

Vv. FOIA REQUESTS.
Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests. Due to the independent nature of the Office of
Inspector General (OIG), requests for information that are directed to the OIG are
handled by that office and are separately reported below.
A. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Request Requests Requests Requests
Pending as of | Received in Processed in Pending as of
Start of Fiscal | Fiscal Year Fiscal Year End of Fiscal
Year Year
RRB 1 100 100 1
OIG 5 ES 0
AGENCY 1 105 105 4



22

VIII. REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE

WAIVER
A. Requests for Expedited Processing
Median Average Number
Number Number Number of Number of Adjudicated
Granted Denied Days to Days to Within Ten
Adjudicate Adjudicate Calendar Days
0 0 0 0 0
RRB
0 0 0 0 0
OIG

B. Requests for Fee Waiver
Median Average
Number Number Number of Number of
Granted Denied Days to Days to
Adjudicate Adjudicate
4 0 7 q
RRB
0 0 0 0



D:

28

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

Number Received

Number Received Number Processed Number Processed
During Fiscal Year During Fiscal Year During Fiscal Year During Fiscal Year
from Last Year’s from Current from Last Year’s from Current
Annual Report Annual Report Annual Report Annual Report
119 100 118 100
1 ) 1 5)



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., “first-party” 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 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 number, 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.


vil.

15

FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

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

SIMPLE

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

13

15.86

1

215

0

0

0

0

0

6.2

18



ty

Cc. Processed Requests — Response Time in Day Increments
Simple Requests
1-20 | 21-40 | 41-60 | 61-80 81-100 | 101-120 | 121-140 | 141-160 | 161-180 | 181-200 | 201-300 | 301-400 | 401+
Days | Days | Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days Days
89 8 1 0 0 0 il 0 0 0 1 0 0



The most common reason that a request cannot be granted is the restrictions on
disclosure contained in sections 12(d) and 12(n) of the Railroad Unemployment
Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 362(d) and (n)) and section 7(b)(3) of the Railroad
Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231f(b)(3)), which incorporates sections 12(d) and
12(n) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. Those sections restrict the
disclosure of personally identifiable material (section 12(d)) and medical records
(section 12(n)). Section 12(d) has been held to be an exemption 3 statute in
Association of Retired Railroad Workers v. United States Railroad Retirement

Bd., 830 F. 2d 331,334 (D.C. Cir. 1987).

Ill. ACRONYMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXEMPTIONS.

1. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.

a. RRB-- Railroad Retirement Board

b. FTE—Full-time employee

OIG — Office of Inspector General

2. Basic terms, expressed in common terminology.

a.

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 an 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 the
other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt


26

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

Consultations
Number of Nuiiberot Number of Number of
Consultations Received - Consultations Received | Consultations Received
. Consultations i .
from Other Agencies Received eon Olliee from Other Agencies from Other Agencies
that Were Pending at piers a that Were Processed by | that Were Pending at
Agencies During the baamer es
Your Agency as of Fiseal Vear Your Agency During Your Agency as of
Start of the Fiscal Year the Fiscal Year End of the Fiscal Year
0 0 0 0
RRB
0 0 0 0

OIG

\GENCY

ERALL


an individual, the requester must, as a general rule, provide the RRB a written
authorization signed by the individual who is the subject of that record.

h Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components
and offices that receive FOIA requests.

The RRB has designated the Office of General Counsel as the FOIA Requester
Service Center for the agency. All requests, other than those to the Inspector
General, under the FOIA should be made by writing to Steven A. Bartholow,
General Counsel/ Chief FOIA Officer. No form is needed. Mark both the
envelope and its contents: “FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST” or
“INFORMATION REQUEST.” Address your request to:

Steven A. Bartholow

General Counsel/Chief FOIA Officer
Railroad Retirement Board

844 North Rush Street

Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

Requests may also be made by facsimile t0 (312) 751-7102 or by E-FOIA at
foiarequest@rrrb. gov.

Because of the independent nature of the Office of Inspector General, requests for
information from the Inspector General should be made by writing to Martin J. Dickman,
Inspector General. No form is needed. Mark both the envelope and its contents:
“FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST” or “INFORMATION REQUEST.”
Address your request to:

Martin J. Dickman

Inspector General

Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

E-FOIA requests may also be made at foiarequest-oig@rrb.gov.

If someone wants to request a record that we do not publish or which we do not make
available in one of our offices, the requester must give us a detailed description of the
record(s) he or she wants. The requester should give us as many details as possible, such
as names, dates, subject matter and location. A vague description could delay our answer
or prevent us from finding the records requested. We will ask a requester to revise a
request if we need information to find the record(s). A requester should include a
daytime telephone number where he or she can be reached in case we have questions
about the request.

2. Brief description of why some requests are not granted.


29

Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of the Fiscal Year from

Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of the Fiscal Year from

Previous Annual Report Current Annual Report
1 1
0 0



13
C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal — Reasons Other than Exemptions

RRB -
No Records Request Fee- Records | Improper | Not | Duplicate | Request Appeal Other
Records | Referred | Withdrawn | Related not Request | Agency | Request in Based Solely

at Initial Reason | Reasonably | for Other | Record or Litigation | on Denial of | *Explain
Request Described | Reasons Appeal Request for | in chart

Level Expedited below

Processing
3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

C. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal — “Other” Reasons from Section VI, C (2) Chart

RRB -

Description of “Other” Reasons for Denial on
Appeal from Chart C (2) & Number of Times
Those Reasons Were Relied upon



16

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

SIMPLE

Median | Average | Lowest | Highest | Median | Average | Lowest | Highest
Number | Number | Number | Number | Number | Number | Number

Median | Average | Lowest | Highest
of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days

Number | Number | Number | Number | Number
of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days | of Days

0 0 0 0 0

13 15.86 1 215 0 0 0