WOTC database 08/04/21 (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services)
It is a clone of this request.
| Multi Request | WOTC database 08/04/21 |
| Submitted | Aug. 4, 2021 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Emily Corwin
Attention: Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Unit
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Ohio Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
1) All reports regarding Work Opportunity Tax Credits certified in 2019 and 2020 provided to the US Department of Labor, including forms 9058.
2) Any database tracking Work Opportunity Tax Credit certifications which is created or maintained by your department or by any third party vendor under contract with your department, preferably in .csv or .xlsx format. If it is easier, the database can be limited to the calendar or fiscal years ending in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
3) The most recent of any contracts with third party vendors to track WOTC certifications.
My goal is to ascertain which businesses and industries are applying for and/or receiving Work Opportunity Tax Credits, for which categories of employees and which occupations. If a conversation could help narrow or expedite the completion of this request, I am available at 802 233 4992 and emily_corwin@harvard.edu.
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 10 business days.
Sincerely,
Emily Corwin
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Ohio Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 4, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Good morning.
With respect to the first item in your request, we recommend that you visit the WOTC Performance webpage<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dol.gov%2Fagencies%2Feta%2Fwotc%2Fperformance&data=04%7C01%7CRamesh.Thambuswamy%40jfs.ohio.gov%7C031275e361de4d110e1608d95c3de4c2%7C50f8fcc494d84f0784eb36ed57c7c8a2%7C0%7C0%7C637642243158156209%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=hpwpOlgKhkpH%2FDTMPS6TyMtuIU0lvFTETtOUOQhpMNk%3D&reserved=0> on the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOL/ETA) website. Note: The WOTC performance page reports national annual performance, wage, and occupational data. Fiscal expenditure data is not shared with the public. Information from state grantees' quarterly 9058 reports is compiled into the annual performance reports on the DOL/ETA website.
WOTC annual performance reports are accessible to the general public on the following DOL/ETA website; and, if additional performance reports for prior years are requested, DOL/ETA will provide those years as well: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wotc/performance.
The second item in your request is not a valid records request under Ohio law, as it seeks the entire database, rather than an identifiable record.
With respect to the third item in your request, our WOTC unit has informed the Office of Legal and Acquisition Services that it is not aware of any contracts with third party vendors to track WOTC certifications.
If you have questions, let us know.
Best Regards,
Public Records Mailbox
Office of Legal and Acquisition Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
30 E. Broad Street, Columbus OH 43215
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~WRD3389
From: Emily Corwin
Hello,
Thanks for this response. Unfortunatley, USDOL's WOTC performance page doesn't provide the same state-by-state level of detail as the form 9058 quarterly reports. If you are denying that your department has copies of the quarterly reports it sends to USDOL, or if you are claiming they are exempt from public records law, please cite the relevant exemption.
I will attach two examples of other states' responses to this request.
As for item #2, please cite the exact statute or case law you are claiming exempts databases from public records law. In case it is helpful, I will also attach an example of another state's response, which they have provided to me in lieu of their entire database for the sake of efficiency.
Many thanks,
Emily
From: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Dear Ms. Corwin:
With respect to the WOTC performance reports you requested, our WOTC unit has informed Legal Services that the same information ODJFS submits to DOL-ETA in its quarterly reports is available through DOL’s website (at the link previously provided), except that DOL posts data for the entire year instead of quarterly. DOL-ETA also provides WOTC performance information for each state, including Ohio, alphabetically. We can provide copies of the quarterly performance reports for Ohio if needed.
With respect to your request for the WOTC database, under Ohio law, a database is an organized collection of data, not a record, and the Ohio Public Records Act does not require a public office to search a database for information and compile or summarize it to create new records. See State ex rel. White v. Goldsberry, 85 Ohio St.3d 153, 154, 1999-Ohio-447, 707 N.E.2d 496, citing State ex rel. Kerner v. State Teachers Retirement Bd., 82 Ohio St.3d 273, 1998-Ohio-242, 695 N.E.2d 256.
Moreover, except for aggregate data, such as that contained in the quarterly performance reports, WOTC data collected and/or maintained by ODJFS is confidential tax data. WOTC is a federal tax credit, for which employers apply by completing IRS form 8850 (Instructions for Form 8850 (03/2021) | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov<https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8850>), and the State Workforce Agency (SWA), which in Ohio is ODJFS, just plays one part in helping employers process the form and apply for this federal credit (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8850.pdf<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irs.gov%2Fpub%2Firs-pdf%2Fi8850.pdf&data=04%7C01%7CRamesh.Thambuswamy%40jfs.ohio.gov%7Cb2c0041b46ea46c6648d08d9666dc83e%7C50f8fcc494d84f0784eb36ed57c7c8a2%7C0%7C0%7C637653443970216773%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=kbSSeI2ZMlu1LNeIVXrTH7HVc7ITbo7nfUkJjJZlZ3s%3D&reserved=0>). 26 USC 6103 makes income tax returns and return information confidential.
Sincerely,
Public Records Mailbox
Office of Legal and Acquisition Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
30 E. Broad Street, Columbus OH 43215
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~WRD0001
From: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Ms. Corwin,
We previously responded to your 8/4/21 request on 8/23/21 and 8/24/21 (see below email chain). While it is unclear to us what you have failed to receive, as a courtesy, attached are the quarterly performance reports for 2019 and 2020, which we believe is responsive to item #1 of your request. As stated previously, the same information is available (except in annual form) on DOL's website, a link to which was provided in our earlier email.
Regards,
Public Records Mailbox
Office of Legal and Acquisition Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
30 E. Broad Street, Columbus OH 43215
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From: Emily Corwin
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Emily Corwin
From: Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Responses to each of your itemized requests have already been provided as shown below. If you wish to make a new request or revise your previous request, please specify exactly what you are seeking.
Public Records Mailbox
Office of Legal and Acquisition Services
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services
Columbus, OH 43215
From: Emily Corwin
Hello. I want to first of all apologize for the reminders you've received on this request. For a time it was miscategorized in the Muckrock system, which automates its email reminders. If you prefer to email me directly at any time, you can reach me at emily_corwin@harvard.edu. I can be reached by phone at 802 233 4992. Apologies again for what was no doubt an irritating situation!
Next, I want to thank you for the records you've provided which are responsive to item #1. You can consider that portion of my request closed.
As for item #2: thank you for explaining your reasoning for declining to disclose these records. I wonder if there is a misunderstanding, however, regarding the nature of the data I am requesting. The database fields I am looking for should be populated by a form produced by the Department of Labor, not the IRS. Specifically, I am interested in data from the following fields of DOL Form 9061 or 9062 (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/wotc/pdfs/ETA-FORM-9061-(ENGLISH).pdf):
Business name | Target Group | Starting Wage | Job Position | Application date | Approve/Deny.
This information is not considered PII by DOL guidance TEGL 39-11. Examples of records provided by other states can be viewed at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nm11juhxwes8a9m/AAA7K5aB-wVGqhLFKb40_J-Qa?dl=0
Many thanks,
Emily
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