DOL FOIA Protocols

Hello Andrew:
OSHA has received your FOIA request 2022-F-08060 and it has been tolled for fees because your request for policy and procedures is a little unclear to me.  The request for training materials is quite broad.  The Department of Labor provides binding regulations at 29 CFR Part 70. OSHA's national office has two official pieces of FOIA policies in Chapter 16 of the Field Operations Manual and Chapter 23 of the Whistleblower Investigations Manual which are currently in force.
But, OSHA has over 90+ area offices, 10 regional offices, and 10 national office directorates in OSHA.  Each manager may have their own separate instructions that cover training or procedures (e.g., the check the fax machine, use thumbdrives for FOIAs as opposed to paper, file FOIAs in this room etc...).  For search fee purposes that would be $40/hour, we would have to ask 90+ managers if they have special administrative instructions or training.  Consequently, we have tolled your FOIA request for fees.
If you wish to discuss or to narrow the scope of your request to only national office policies issued by the national office, please let me know.  If we do not hear from you by May 10, 2022, we will close your request as with drawn.
Viet Ly
Office of Communications
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Hello:
This e-mail is our follow-up to our May 3, 2022 e-mail.  We had asked that you resolve both fee and clarity issues which we raised no later than May 10, 2022.  Because we have not heard from you by May 10, 2022, we are closing your request as not perfected.  No fees are due.
You are free to contact either myself or Mr. Durso should you have any questions.  If you wish to file a new FOIA request, you should consider contacting OSHA first to resolve any questions and file a request at FOIArequests@dol.gov.
Thank you,
Viet Ly Office of Communications Occupational Safety andHealth Administration 202-693-1724 (direct)

Good afternoon Mr. Free,

You are correct in that the Department of Labor’s Freedom of Information Act implementing regulations consider a determination that a request does not reasonably describe the records sought is an adverse determination and appeal rights granted. See 29 CFR 70.21(d). Our apology for the oversight. Please find below your appeal rights to request 2022-F-08060.

You have the right to appeal this decision with the Solicitor of Labor within 90 days from the date of this letter. The appeal must state, in writing, the grounds for the appeal, including any supporting statements or arguments. The appeal should also include a copy of your initial request and a copy of this letter.

If you appeal, you may mail your appeal to: Solicitor of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2420, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 or fax your appeal to (202) 693-5538. Alternatively, you may email your appeal to foiaappeal@dol.gov; appeals submitted to any other email address will not be accepted. The envelope (if mailed), subject line (if emailed), or fax cover sheet (if faxed), and the letter indicating the grounds for appeal, should be clearly marked: “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.”

In addition to filing an appeal, you may contact the Department’s FOIA Public Liaison, Thomas G. Hicks, Sr. at (202) 693-5427 or hicks.thomas@dol.gov for assistance in resolving disputes.

You also may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) for assistance. OGIS offers mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and federal agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation. Using OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue litigation. You may mail OGIS at the Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road – OGIS, College Park, MD 20740-6001. Alternatively, you may contact OGIS through email: ogis@nara.gov; or the web: www.archives.gov/ogis/about-ogis/contact. Finally, you can call or fax OGIS at: telephone: (main) 202-741-5770 or (toll-free) 1-877-684-6448; or fax: (202) 741-5769.

It is also important to note that the services offered by OGIS, is not an alternative to filing an administrative FOIA appeal.

Chris

Christopher Durso, Esq.
U.S. Department of Labor
National Office FOIA Coordinator
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Rm N-3647
Washington, DC 20210
202/693-2009

This message may contain information that is privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Do not disclose without consulting with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. If you think you received this-email in error, please notify the sender immediately.

I appreciate that you took the time to speak with me on the phone.
Please have Shelly give me a call.
Thanks,

Viet Ly

Good morning Mr. Free,

I’m responding to your October 7, 2022, letter requesting a status update on request 2022-F-08060. Your request was closed on May 11, 2022, for not describing the records sought sufficiently and not responding to our request for clarity.

Department of Labor Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations require “Requesters must describe the record or records sought in sufficient detail to enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. To the extent possible, the request should provide enough identifying information to help the component identify the requested records, such as the subject of the record, the date or approximate date when the record was created, the record’s title or name, case or file number, reference number, the person or office or the office location that created it, and any other pertinent identifying details.” See 29 CFR 70.19(c). Your request for “DOL FOIA Protocols” did not provide sufficient information for a search. Defining a record as “any and all agency records showing policies and procedures DOL FOIA Officers require OSHA personnel to follow” did not provide additional clarity.

You noted that you have filed a FOIA appeal and OSHA will respond to the appeal when contacted the Solicitor’s Office. If you desire to file another FOIA request with OSHA you are free to do so. The following information may assist you in focusing on the records you seek.

The Department of Labor is formed of 26 free standing agencies. See https://www.dol.gov/ under Agencies link. Each agency maintains its own FOIA program. OSHA is one such agency. For purposes of FOIA the agencies are coordinated and guided by the Department’s Chief FOIA Office who is the Solicitor of Labor through her Solicitors in the Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services [SOL-MALS]. Your original request varied between asking about DOL generally and OSHA specific records. It would be helpful to specific whether you seek either OSHA records or SOL records when requesting FOIA procedures.

We note that many of OSHA’s and the Department’s FOIA procedures are already on our websites. OSHA’s website https://www.osha.gov/foia under Frequently Asked Questions contains the Field Operations Manual of which Chapter 16 is OSHA’s FOIA SOP. See https://www.osha.gov/enforcement/directives/cpl-02-00-164/chapter-16 . The Department of Labor also maintains a FOIA page at https://www.dol.gov/general/foia that may contain information useful to you. Lastly, if you are searching for a broader review of government FOIA guidance the Department of Justice’s webpage at https://www.justice.gov/oip contains a plethora of FOIA information including the DOJ Guide to the FOIA https://www.justice.gov/oip/doj-guide-freedom-information-act-0 .

We hope this information is useful to you and wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season.

Chris

Christopher Durso, Esq.
U.S. Department of Labor
National Office FOIA Coordinator
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
200 Constitution Ave., N.W.
Rm N-3647
Washington, DC 20210
202/693-2009

This message might contain information that is privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you think you received this email in error please immediately notify the sender.