Unhireable jobs at State

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

A list of the unfilled positions that the Department of State cannot fill due to the federal hiring freeze. Please include the job title, GS level, office, and division and limit to the following: Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment; Bureau of Energy Resources; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; and Office of the Science & Technology Adviser.

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, please 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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,
Alexander Rony

To Whom It May Concern,

There was a delay in the processing and delivery of my Freedom of Information Act request, originally for "[a] list of the unfilled positions that the Department of State cannot fill due to the federal hiring freeze. Please include the job title, GS level, office, and division and limit to the following: Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment; Bureau of Energy Resources; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; and Office of the Science & Technology Adviser."

This was written before the federal hiring freeze was lifted. Since that time, it has been reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is maintaining the hiring freeze for the department. Accordingly, I would like to amend my request to the following:

* A list of the unfilled positions that the Department of State cannot fill due to the agency's hiring freeze. Please include the job title, GS level, office, and division and limit to the following: Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment; Bureau of Energy Resources; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; and Office of the Science & Technology Adviser.
* The internal memo sent April 12 by Secretary Tillerson detailing his hiring decision, as mentioned in this article: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-tillerson-idUSKBN17F1QW.
* Any subsequent memos offering official guidance on hiring that were sent to or by the secretary, under secretaries, or assistant secretaries.

I respectfully request that you waive all fees in connection with this request as provided by 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). I work at the Sierra Club, a national environmental nonprofit with no commercial interest in obtaining the request information. Instead, our organization intends to analyze and disseminate the requested information free of charge so that the public can be better informed and meaningfully participate in the debate over government reorganization and its impacts on the environment.

The Sierra Club and its supporters have demonstrated interest and expertise in the subject area, especially regarding international treaties and ocean conservation. The Sierra Club also has the ability and intention to disseminate the information it receives through this request. The information may be shared through emails to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people, Facebook and Twitter posts reaching thousands of individuals, articles on our website, and analysis provided to the media.

The subject matter of the requested records is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government by disclosing plans for determining the appropriate staffing level at the State Department, along with how certain positions and offices of importance to our supporters will be impacted.

Thank you,

Alexander Rony
Sierra Club

Dear Ms. Duckett,

How does the department justify such a long (more than 11 months) response time to my request (Case Control Number F-2017-10437)? Most departments have already sent me their final response with any responsive records.

Respectfully,
Alexander

To whom it may concern:

I am writing for an update regarding Freedom of Information Request #F-2017-10437. The State Department gave me an estimated completion date of March 31, 2018, which has come and went. It is now over a year since I filed my request. Has work been done to provide me with a response?

--Alexander Rony

To whom it may concern:

Given that it's been almost three years since you told me there was a backlog of approximately 10,600 cases, and I have received no further communication, you may close out Freedom of Information Act Request #F-2017-10437.

Alexander Rony