Leave without pay policies for disabled veterans (United States Department of Agriculture - Office of Civil Rights)

Dear Ms. Lipton:

This email is in response to your FOIA request received in the office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) by Fax on November 28, 2016. OASCR FOIA Office referred your FOIA request to the USDA FOIA Service Center, because USDA Departmental Management maintains the records you seek. You wish to contact that office directly at the telephone number or email below.

USDA Departmental FOIA Officer
Alexis Graves
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Room 428-W, Whitten Building
Washington, DC 20250-0706
Email: USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov<mailto:USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov>

Sincerely,

Samantha Y. Jones, FOIA Specialist
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
Office of Adjudication
Patriot Plaza III
355 E Street, S.W., 7th Floor
7-147-A
Washington, DC 20024
E-mail: Samantha.Jones@ascr.usda.gov<mailto:Samantha.Wiggins@ascr.usda.gov>
Voice: 202-720-7569
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This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

Good morning, Mr. Lipton.

This e-mail acknowledges receipt of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request you re-submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) on November 28, 2016. OASCR has routed your request to USDA's FOIA Service Center for processing and direct response to you. Your request was received in the FSC today, December 9th.

The FSC is under the purview of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and serves as the focal point for USDA's FOIA program. The FSC provides coordination and ensures agency-wide compliance with the FOIA. The FSC processes requests and appeals on behalf of the Office of the Secretary and Departmental Management's ("DM") components. For a complete listing of DM's components, please visit http://www.dm.usda.gov/agencies.htm.

The FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i), requires USDA to make a determination in response to a FOIA request within 20 business days from its date of receipt. In unusual circumstances, the Federal agency time limit may be extended by 10 business days as stated in 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B). If your request seeks numerous documents that will necessitate a wide-ranging search including searches with components and possible consultations with components that have a substantial interest in the determination of this request, USDA will invoke a 10 business day extension for determination of your request. You have the option to narrow the scope of your request to limit the number of potentially responsive documents.

Provisions of the FOIA allow USDA to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. For purposes of fee assessment, you are categorized as a news media requester, pursuant to 7 CFR Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 1 Section (5)(c). For your review and information, a copy of the USDA FOIA Fee Schedule is enclosed. In accordance with 7 CFR Appendix A to Subpart A of Part 1 Section 6(a)(4), your fees shall be waived where the amount of the fee is $25.00 or less. You will be contacted before any fees over $25.00 are accrued.

A search will be conducted for records responsive to your request. If any responsive records are located, they will be reviewed for determination of releasability. Please be assured that a FOIA Analyst in this office will respond to your request as expeditiously as possible. We appreciate your patience as we proceed with your request.

Your request has been assigned FOIA Case No. 2017-OCIO-01025-F. Please refer to this case number in any future correspondence. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Ms. Christine Jordan at (202) 772-9091 or electronically at Christine.Jordan@ocio.usda.gov<mailto:Christine.Jordan@ocio.usda.gov> or USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov<mailto:USDAFOIA@ocio.usda.gov>. For additional information regarding USDA FOIA regulations and process, please refer to the information available on-line at www.dm.usda.gov/foia<http://www.dm.usda.gov/foia>.

The FSC Team appreciates the opportunity to assist you in this matter.

Best,
Christine Jordan, Esq.
Program Manager-FOIA
USDA/OCIO Contractor
FOIA Service Center
Patriot Plaza III, 355 E Street, SW
Washington DC 20024
Telephone: (202) 772-9091

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

Good afternoon, Mr. Lipton.

I am processing your FOIA request referenced in the Subject line above. Will you please give me a call about this request? I have begun inquiring about responsive records and want to make certain I am on track regarding records of interest to you.

Thanks very much. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Best,
Christine Jordan, Esq.
Program Manager-FOIA
USDA/OCIO Contractor
FOIA Service Center
Patriot Plaza III, 355 E Street, SW
Washington DC 20024
Telephone: (202) 772-9091

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.

Good afternoon, Beryl.

First, my apologies for referring to you as “Mr.” in my email below.

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me earlier today regarding my question about your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This email is intended to summarize the substance of our telephone conversation.

During our brief conversation, you explained to me that you are specifically interested in USDA policies, procedures, directives, memos and any other guiding materials pertaining to leave of absence without pay, that apply to disabled veterans. You relayed to me that you are not interested in receiving general HR policies about leave of absences that apply to the general USDA employee staff.

Thank you very much for discussing the scope of your request. Will you please, by reply email, confirm my understanding as relayed above? And as I mentioned when we spoke, I currently am gathering records and processing your request. I will provide a response as soon as possible.
Best,
Christine Jordan

Good afternoon, Ms. Lipton.

Please find attached a final response letter and corresponding responsive records associated with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request you submitted recently to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A copy of your incoming request is also attached for your reference.

Best,
Christine Jordan, Esq.
Program Manager-FOIA
USDA/OCIO Contractor
FOIA Service Center
Patriot Plaza III, 355 E Street, SW
Washington DC 20024
Telephone: (202) 772-9091

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.