Covid-19 Labor Complaints

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the New York Freedom of Information Law, I hereby request the following records:

All responses to the Department of Labor COVID-19 Complaint Form. (linked below)

https://forms.ny.gov/s3/Department-of-Labor-COVID-19-Complaint-Form

Please include all responsive documents from January 1, 2020 to the date this request was received.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Vaughn Golden

Commissioner of Labor
New York State Department of Labor
Harriman State Office Campus
Building 12, Room 500
Albany, NY 12240

Re: Freedom of Information Law Request Appeal

20 May 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

On April 25, 2020, I filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the New York State Department of Labor The request sought the following records described, in part, from the original request:

“All responses to the Department of Labor COVID-19 Complaint Form. (linked below)
https://forms.ny.gov/s3/Department-of-Labor-COVID-19-Complaint-Form
Please include all responsive documents from January 1, 2020 to the date this request was received.”

I have not received an acknowledgment of the request being received and approximate date it will be fulfilled, a denial of access to the records, nor the responsive records.

New York’s Freedom of Information Law states, in part, as follows:

“Each entity subject to the provisions of this article, within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, shall make such record available to the person requesting it, deny such request in writing or furnish a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request and a statement of the approximate date, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request, when such request will be granted or denied, including, where appropriate, a statement that access to the record will be determined in accordance with subdivision five of this section.”

Seeing as several weeks have passed since this request was made with no response from the Department of Labor, I am considering this to be a constructive denial to the records.

I am appealing this denial.

These records hold significant public interest. Reporting by organizations like the Oneonta Daily Star (https://www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/n-y-labor-department-gets-20-000-virus-safety-complaints/article_fcf3256b-9695-5bea-8ac8-7c8f68ff89e4.html), Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/amazon-worker-safety-osha-complaints-coronavirus-covid-19-1505429), and others have noted extremely significant and pressing interest in increasing labor complaints in response to the covid-19 pandemic. These records also clearly and plainly exist.

Please inform me if there is any additional information that I may be able to provide for consideration of this appeal. If the records are denied on appeal, please explain the reasons for the denial fully in writing as required by law.

In addition, please be advised that the Freedom of Information Law directs that all appeals and the determinations that follow be sent to the Committee on Open Government, Department of State, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, New York 12231.

I look forward to receiving your response within 10 business days as the statute requires.

Regards,

Vaughn E Golden