Source: https://www.dol.gov/sol/foia/2018anrpt.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 18:29:44
Document Index: 473641230

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 6103', '§ 6103', '§ 6103', '§ 6105', '§ 253', '§ 4702', '§ 3501']

U.S. Department of Labor Freedom of Information Act Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2018
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The Department of Labor (DOL) has a decentralized Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) program in which each component agency responds directly to FOIA requests implicating its programs and activities. This allows for more accurate, complete, and timely responses to the public. While this report reflects FOIA activities at the Departmental level, it also distinguishes the volume and timeliness of each DOL component as it carries out its respective responsibilities under the FOIA.
Although FOIA processes at DOL are decentralized, departmental oversight is provided by the Office of Information Services (OIS), which operates under the supervision of the Solicitor of Labor, the Department's Chief FOIA Officer. OIS provides agency-wide leadership and guidance to ensure compliance with FOIA, particularly to increase the quality and timeliness of FOIA responses; reduce the backlog of pending FOIA requests; and review the effectiveness of each agency's FOIA processes in order to benchmark best practices, and make recommendations for programmatic improvements.
During FY2018, the Department received a total of 14,696 initial requests and processed 14,679 requests. Additional information about the Department's FOIA program is available online at http://www.dol.gov/dol/foia/.
I. Basic Information Regarding Report.
A. For questions concerning this report, please contact Ramona Branch Oliver, Director, Office of Information Services (OIS), Office of the Solicitor, Room N-2420, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone number (202) 693-5391, fax number 202-693-5389.
B. The electronic address for this report is http://www.dol.gov/dol/foia/main.htm.
C. You may obtain a paper copy of this report by visiting the DOL website or by contacting OIS using the information above.
The Department of Labor is organized into divisions and agencies often referred to as components. Each component processes its own FOIA requests. Therefore, a request will receive the fastest possible response if it is addressed directly to the disclosure officer for the component that a requester believes has the records.
The DOL "Guide to Submitting a Request Under FOIA" provides general information about the FOIA program at DOL and provides basic information on how to submit a FOIA request. The Guide also contains links to the DOL agency components in both the national and regional offices, a brief description of expected response times and reasons why some requests cannot be granted by DOL. This Guide is available on DOL's website at http://www.dol.gov/dol/foia/guide6.htm.
Requesters who cannot determine the proper disclosure officer to whom a request should be addressed may direct the request to the Office of Information Services (OIS), Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-2420, Washington, D.C. 20210, by e-mail to foiarequests@dol.gov or by fax to 202-693-5389.
A. The following list contains the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the individual agency components and offices in the national and regional offices of the Department of Labor. The disclosure officer for each component is responsible for making records in the custody of that component available for inspection and copying, in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA. Unless otherwise specified, the mailing address for the following national office components is as follows:
Office of the Secretary (OSEC), (202) 693-7277
Office of the Solicitor (SOL), (202) 693-5391
Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), 800 K Street, N.W., Suite N-400, Washington, D.C. 20001-8002, (202) 693-7440
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), (202) 693-7277
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), (202) 693-5925
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), (202) 693-6806
Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA), (202) 693-4630
Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), (202) 693-4930
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), (202) 693-1145
Office of Inspector General (OIG), (202) 693-5113
Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), (202) 693-0123
Office of Public Affairs (OPA), (202) 693-4654
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), (202) 693-0934
Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), (202) 693-4770
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Postal Square Building, Room 4040, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212-0001, (202) 691-7628
Employment and Training Administration (ETA), (202) 693-3140
Job Corps (part of ETA), 1-800-733-JOBS
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 1100 Wilson Boulevard, 21st Floor, Arlington, Virginia 22209, (202) 693-9424
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), (202) 693-1897
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), (202) 693-8655
Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), (202) 693-4745
Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), (202) 693-5028
Administrative Review Board (ARB), (202) 693-5028
Benefits Review Board (BRB), (202) 693-5028
Wage and Hour Division (WHD), (202) 693-0388
Women's Bureau (WB), (202) 693-6735
The addresses and telephone numbers for the various regional offices for the Department's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) are listed below.
(617) 565-1991
(212) 337-2215
The Curtis Center, Suite 600 East
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-3305
(404) 562-2018
For Office of Workers' Compensation (OWCP) in Region IV only:
214 N. Hogan Street, Suite 1006
(904) 357-4725
(312) 353-8373
For OWCP, Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) in Region V only:
1240 East Ninth Street, Room 851
(216) 357-5372
525 Griffin Square Building
Griffin & Young Streets
(214) 767-6800
City Center Square Building
Kansas City, Missouri 64105-2112
(816) 426-3891
For Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in Region VII only:
1100 Main Street, Suite 860
(816) 502-0370
(303) 844-1700
For OWCP in Region VII only:
(720) 264-3038
721 - 19th Street, Room 465
(303) 844-4791
90 7th Street, Suite 18-300
(415) 625-7804
(415) 625-7799 (fax)
(415) 975-4057
B. Agency response time.
The vast majority of requests received by the Department are fully processed within 40 working days of receipt. More complex requests take additional time to process.
C. Why some requests are not granted.
A FOIA request can be made for any agency record. This does not mean, however, that the Labor Department will disclose every record sought. There are statutory exemptions that authorize the withholding of certain information. In addition, the agency cannot comply with a FOIA request if there are no responsive records. Further, FOIA does not require agencies to do research for the requester, to analyze data, to answer questions, or to create records in order to respond to a FOIA request.
1. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.
List Item number
Agency Acroyn
Acroyn definition
Adjudicatory Boards includes the Administrative Review Board (ARB), Benefits Review Board (BRB), and Employees' Compensation Appeal Board (ECAB)
2. Definition of Terms Used in This Report.
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.
Exemption 3 Statute - 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.)
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.
3. Nine FOIA Exemptions.
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
Certain tax return information, to include Taxpayer Identification Numbers of third parties, and certain tax convention information
Church of Scientology v. IRS, 484 U.S. 9, 15 (1987) (26 U.S.C. § 6103); Pac. Fisheries, Inc. v. IRS, 395 F. App'x. 438, 440 (9th Cir. 2010) (unpublished disposition) (26 U.S.C. §§ 6103, 6105); Leonard v. U.S. Dep't of Treasury, No. 10-6625, 2013 WL 4517912, at *2 (D.N.J. Aug. 26, 2013) (26 U.S.C. § 6103); Tax Analysts v. IRS, 217 F. Supp. 2d 23, 27-29 (D.D.C. 2002) (26 U.S.C. § 6105)
41 U.S.C. § 253b(m)(1) (currently at 41 U.S.C. § 4702)
Contractor proposals that are in the possession or control of an executive agency and that have not been set forth or incorporated by reference into contracts
Sinkfield v. HUD, No. 10-885, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35233, at *13-15 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 15, 2012); Margolin v. NASA, No. 09-CV-00421, 2011 WL 1303221, at *6 (D. Nev. Mar. 31, 2011); Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03-5257, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004).
44 U.S.C. § 3501 note
Data or information acquired under a pledge of confidentiality for exclusively statistical purposes
V. A. FOIA REQUESTS - RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING FOIA REQUESTS
During fiscal year 2018, as part of DOL's continuing review of the data in the SIMS-FOIA system, DOL worked to evaluate all aspects of the data in the system to promote more accurate data for tracking and reporting purposes. As part of this evaluation, we continued to review the data to identify requests that were received during FY2017 but that were not placed into active processing and tracking status until after the end of the fiscal year. During FY2018, we also identified instances where the system contained data inaccuracies such as requests that had been fully processed during FY2017 but that were not closed correctly in the system. As a result of these reviews, DOL found 87 requests that were not placed into active processing status until the end of FY2017 and 82 requests that had been fully processed but not correctly closed out in the tracking system. These changes impacted the number of requests reported as pending at the end of FY2017. This means that the 1,479 FOIA requests that the FY2017 DOL Annual FOIA report reported as pending at the end of the fiscal year must be increased by four to 1,483 requests pending.
B. (1) Disposition of FOIA Requests - All Processed Requests
Number of Full Grants Number of Partial Grants / Partial Denials Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions TOTAL
No Records All Records
or Agency Request Withdrawn Fee
Described Improper
Record Duplicate
V.B. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests - "Other" Reasons for "Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions" from Section V, B (1) Chart
Agency / Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B (1) Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Replied Upon TOTAL
V.B. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - Number of Times Exemptions Applied
0 0 0 9 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 4 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 8 4 7 9 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 31 22 58 19 4 64 2 39 0 0 0
0 0 0 85 21 200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 5 0 31 138 129 116 1 307 37 1 1 0 6
0 5 0 16 8 21 9 2 7 1 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 24 17 67 16 1 69 4 54 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 16 10 0 22 1 1 0 0 0
0 0 0 4 6 14 13 0 23 2 18 0 0 0
0 2 0 2,630 1,779 905 1,579 20 3,806 1,962 81 0 0 0
0 9 0 4 11 52 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 6 10 17 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
0 2 0 11 63 33 12 5 36 33 13 0 0 0
0 0 0 861 272 805 97 1 967 465 923 0 0 0
0 24 10 3,718 2,359 2,338 1,879 34 5,304 2,507 1,130 1 0 6
VI. A. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS - RECEIVED, PROCESSED AND PENDING ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS
22 9 14 17
192 120 131 181
42 49 51 40
26 13 18 21
363 239 271 331
0 0 4 11 15
3 1 3 7 14
0 0 2 5 7
5 5 14 107 131
0 0 12 39 51
0 2 6 10 18
11 12 47 201 271
C. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal - Number of Times Exemptions Applied
0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 1 3 0 4 0 5 4 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 2 5 3 7 0 12 5 0 0 0 0
VI.C. (2) Reasons for Denial on Appeal - Reasons Other Than Exemptions
0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
2 1 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2
0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
4 1 81 1 0 11 1 5 2 0 1
4 0 6 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 23
0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 0 3 0 0 4 0 2 1 0 1
11 3 109 4 0 22 1 11 8 0 32
VI.C. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests - "Other" Reasons for " Denials on Appeal --"Other" Reasons
Agency / Component Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials on Appeal from Chart C (2) Number of Times "Other" Reason Was Replied Upon TOTAL
106.00 106.00 29.00 183.00
41.00 41.00 41.00 41.00
627.00 547.40 13.00 1,076.00
393.00 471.40 43.00 1,006.00
551.00 532.40 12.00 981.00
528 599.60 236.00 1,024.00
50.00 147.40 7.00 676.00
326.00 428.00 20.00 887.00
607.00 538.90 17.00 1,201.00
50.00 268.00 0 1,150.00
848.00 695.00 175.00 1,062.00
689.00 762.40 672.00 955.00
287.00 391.40 7.00 1,052.00
518.00 461.40 0 1,201.00
VI.C. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals
Appeal 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Appeal
Date-of-Appeal
SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING
Due to a system limitation, the charts in this section may contain information about unperfected requests.
18 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22
32 4 1 1 0 1 0 2 2 1 2 0 2 48
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
22 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25
99 22 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 124
497 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 510
2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
10 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
34 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 42
39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39
16 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23
2,187 247 80 38 16 10 3 3 0 2 3 0 1 2,590
205 63 23 10 3 1 4 3 4 0 0 0 1 317
17 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21
5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
649 161 92 67 42 19 24 11 3 3 20 37 33 1,161
3,843 537 198 117 62 33 32 19 10 8 26 40 38 4,963
48 13 6 3 2 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 79
20 6 1 0 2 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 34
10 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18
14 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 23
274 107 21 6 11 1 6 3 4 1 11 1 7 453
293 45 8 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 0 2 1 362
2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
615 44 26 13 9 10 1 1 1 5 3 1 1 730
53 48 20 8 9 11 1 7 2 2 10 5 3 179
1 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7
111 29 13 9 1 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 171
13 11 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 32
14 16 9 4 2 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 50
4,601 901 292 124 68 46 32 12 9 5 19 6 13 6,128
229 60 4 6 11 2 0 0 3 0 5 2 0 322
24 8 28 12 9 5 26 2 3 3 9 0 1 130
101 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 118
3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
344 184 69 48 30 14 23 10 5 3 20 18 26 794
6,770 1,500 505 239 160 104 94 44 31 22 79 36 57 9,641
Agency/ Component
1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4
2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3
7 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
29 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 33
0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
55 8 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 75
Due to system limitations, the charts in this section may contain information about unperfected requests.
Some work day ranges reported appear to be out of sequence based on the date of the receipt of the request. However, this is attributed to requests that have been "tolled" once for clarification and/or " tolled" on one occasion or more to resolve fee matters consistent with the provisions of the statute.
Number Adjudicated Within Ten Days
2 1 3 11.7 2
1 9 10 50.4 5
0 1 15 15 0
20 1 8 13.3 2
0 4 87.5 86.3 1
4 13 10 67.7 9
0 16 16 41.3 5
3 6 9 15 5
1 13 108 131.9 1
0 7 11 33.1 3
1 2 10 10 3
20 101 7 19.6 74
0 15 139 164 4
2 13 139 164 1
0 2 12.5 12.5 1
3 42 22 93.5 18
58 248 13 50.9 137
Due to system limitations, the carts in this section may contain information about unperfected requests.
1 4 2 5.6
4 6 30 40.9
0 17 23 52.5
11 4 3 5.3
0 8 14.5 42.1
41 27 11 28.3
13 77 6 36
0 1 28 28
18 8 10 13.1
33 27 40 87.3
2 1 18 25.3
2 20 16 19.6
0 8 6 7.6
160 182 8 22.9
4 38 27.5 67
10 26 112 116.4
6 4 10.5 11.1
0 3 3 11.7
46 130 50 140.7
355 591 15 56
Number of "Full-Time FOIA Employees" Number of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees" Total Number of "Full-Time FOIA Staff" Processing Costs Litigation-Related Costs Total Costs
$800,143
$1,824,451
$2,624,551
$713,007
$5,040,810
$1,625,855
$2,137,651
$16,583,836
$17,095,632
$348.75 1.99%
$809.25 0.44%
$8,071.75 1.01%
$1,368.05 0.07%
$9,832.75 0.37%
$1,489.25 0.21%
$138,646.50 2.75%
$21,812.00 6.49%
$240.00 0.01%
$1,045.50 0.32%
$4,869.00 0.46%
$188,532.80 1.14%
XII. BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS AND COMPARISONS
816 320
Number of Consultations Received From Other Agencies That Were Pending at DOL as of Start of the Fiscal Year
Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Processed by DOL During the Fiscal Year
Number of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Pending at DOL as of End of the Fiscal Year
2 44 42 4
At the end of FY2017, DOL reported six consultations pending with OSHA. During fiscal year 2017, as part of DOL&apos;s continuing review of SIMS-FOIA data, DOL identified that of the six consultations we reported pending with OSHA; one actually was being handled by SOL. This report has been updated to reflect that the number of consultations received from other agencies that were pending at DOL as of the start of FY2017, is five for OSHA and one for SOL.
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 Annual Report" Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report" Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
As reported above during fiscal year 2017, as part of DOL&apos;s continuing review of SIMS-FOIA data, DOL identified additional requests that were received during FY2016 but that were not placed into active processing and tracking status until after the end of fiscal year 2016. As a part of this review we determined that additional request may have been received and fully processed but not properly documented in the FOIA tracking system. Accordingly this section of the report has been revised to reflect that an additional 247 FOIA requests have been identified as being received by the Department during FY2016 and an additional 154 requests have been identified as being fully processed and closed during the same time period. Accordingly the number of requests received from last year&apos;s Annual Report has been revised from 16,196 to 16,470. Similarly, the number of processed requests from last year&apos;s Annual Report has been revised from 16,466 to 16,620.
Number of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year
from Previous Annual Report
from Current Annual Report
NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED NUMBER OF PROCESSED PROCESSED
As a part of the overall improvement of DOL's decentralized FOIA program, under direction of the Chief FOIA Officer, OIS continues to promote initiatives that are aimed at improving the FOIA administrative processes across DOL. The Department continues to work towards: improved customer service to our internal and external customers by providing clear and consistent FOIA responses; increased transparency by continuing to make discretionary disclosures of information where there is no foreseeable harm; and expanding DOL affirmative disclosures through the agency website and other mechanisms. DOL has also established robust process measures to closely monitor the timeliness of FOIA processing and backlog reduction.
As discussed in prior reports, DOL continues to analyze and review the data that resulted from our audit of the Department's FOIA data and located an additional number of FOIA requests that had not been properly logged into the FOIA tracking system. This ongoing initiative reaffirms our commitment to providing and publishing the most accurate data for the purposes of FOIA reporting, ensured that all FOIA requests received by the Department are answered as accurately and completely as possible and gave an opportunity for OIS to continue addressing data reconciliation issues and make it a part of our regularly scheduled program reviews. In light of all this, the Department still managed to process more requests than it received, and exceed the required goals for backlog reduction.