CCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REVIEW COMMISSION (OSHRC) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REPORT FISCAL YEAR 2006
I. Basic Information Regarding Report
A. Name, title, address and telephone number of person to be contacted with questions about this report:
Robert M. Kahn, Attorney-Advisor
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Office of the General Counsel
1120 - 20th St., N.W., 9th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036-3457
(202) 606-5410
B. Electronic address for this report on the World Wide Web:
http://www.oshrc.gov/foia/foia_annual_reports.html
This report can be found in the “FOIA” section of the agency’s Web site.
C. Address for requesting paper copies of this report:
Robert M. Kahn, Attorney-Advisor
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Office of the General Counsel
1120 - 20th St., N.W., 9th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036-3457
II. How to Make a FOIA Request
For basic information on how to make a FOIA request, please visit our Web site at www.oshrc.gov, click on the “FOIA” section, and then click on the “Guide for Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requesters.”
A. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that process FOIA requests:
Robert M. Kahn, Attorney-Advisor
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
Office of the General Counsel
1120 - 20th St., N.W., 9th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036-3457
(202) 606-5410
B. Brief description of the agency’s response-time ranges:
The agency responds to FOIA requests within 1-20 working days. Over half of all requests were processed within two days.
C. Brief description of why some requests are not granted:
Some requests are not granted because no record responsive to the request is located. Requests are also not granted because the request is for records not held by this agency and has to be referred to the proper agency. Some requests are not granted because the records requested are protected by one of the nine exemptions specified in the FOIA.
III. Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report
A. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms:
OSHRC, for Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
B. Basic terms, expressed in common terminology:
1. FOIA/PA request – a Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is generally a request for access to records concerning a third party, an organization, or a particular topic of interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for records concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless of which law is cited by the requester, are included in this report.)
2. Initial Request – a request to a federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act.
3. Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a full denial or partial denial of access to records under the Freedom of Information Act, or any other FOIA determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.
4. Processed Request or Appeal – a request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final action on the request or the appeal in all respects.
5. Multi-track processing – a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first-out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for records may request expedited processing (see below).
6. Expedited processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the records which warrants prioritization of his or her request over other requests that were made earlier.
7. Simple request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the volume and/or simplicity of records requested.
8. Complex request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the volume and/or complexity of records requested.
9. Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
10. Partial grant – an agency decision to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request, deleting information determined to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA’s exemptions; or a decision to disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold others in whole or in part.
11. Denial – an agency decision not to release any part of a record or records in response to a FOIA request because all the information in the requested records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one or more of the FOIA’s exemptions, or for some procedural reason (such as because no record is located in response to a FOIA request).
12. Time limits – the time period in the Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper receipt of a “perfected” FOIA request).
13. “Perfected” request – a FOIA request for records which adequately describes the records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office of the agency or agency component in possession of the records, and for which there is no remaining question about the payment of applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute – a separate federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain type of information and authorizing its withholding under FOIA subsection (b)(3).
15. Median number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
16. Average number – the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
17. Day – working day.
IV. Exemption 3 Statutes
Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current fiscal year: 0
V. Initial FOIA/PA Access Requests
A. Number of initial requests.
1. Number of requests pending at the end of preceding fiscal year: 0
2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year: 70
3. Number of requests processed during current fiscal year: 70
4. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year: 0
B. Disposition of initial requests.
1. Number of total grants: 31
2. Number of partial grants: 1
3. Number of denials: 0
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per request):
1) Exemption 1: 0
2) Exemption 2: 0
3) Exemption 3: 0
4) Exemption 4: 0
5) Exemption 5: 1
6) Exemption 6: 0
7) Exemption 7(A): 0
8) Exemption 7(B): 0
9) Exemption 7 (C): 0
10) Exemption 7(D): 0
11) Exemption 7(E): 0
12) Exemption 7(F): 0
13) Exemption 8: 0
14) Exemption 9: 0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 38
a. no records: 7
b. referrals: 0
c. request withdrawn: 28
d. fee-related reason: 3
e. records not reasonably described: 0
f. not a proper FOIA request for some other reason: 0
g. not an agency record: 0
h. duplicate record: 0
i. other (specify): 0
VI. Appeals of Initial Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
A. Number of appeals.
1. Number of appeals received during fiscal year: 3
2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year: 3
B. Disposition of appeals.
1. Number completely upheld: 1
2. Number partially reversed: 0
3. Number completely reversed: 0
a. Number of times each FOIA exemption used (counting each exemption once per appeal):
1) Exemption 1: 0
2) Exemption 2: 0
3) Exemption 3: 0
4) Exemption 4: 0
5) Exemption 5: 1
6) Exemption 6: 0
7) Exemption 7(A): 0
8) Exemption 7(B): 0
9) Exemption 7( C ): 0
10) Exemption 7(D): 0
11) Exemption 7(E): 0
12) Exemption 7(F): 0
13) Exemption 8: 0
14) Exemption 9: 0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 2
a. no records: 0
b. referrals: 0
c. request withdrawn: 0
d. fee-related reason: 2
e. records not reasonably described: 0
f. not a proper FOIA request for some other reason: 0
g. not an agency record: 0
h. duplicate record: 0
i. other: 0
VII. Compliance with Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
A. Median processing time for requests processed during the year.
1. Median processing time for requests processed during the year:
(As multi-track processing system was not required to be used this Fiscal Year, this reporting is for all requests.)
a. number of requests processed: 70
b. median number of days to process: 2
B. Status of pending requests.
1. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal year: 0
2. Median number of days that such requests were pending as of that date: 0
VIII. Comparisons with Previous Year(s) (Optional)
A. Comparison of numbers of requests received:
The 70 FOIA requests received represent a 63% increase from the 43 FOIA requests received in Fiscal Year 2005.
B. Comparison of numbers of requests processed:
The 70 FOIA requests processed represent a 63% increase from the 43 FOIA requests processed in Fiscal Year 2005.
C. Comparison of median numbers of days requests were pending as of end of fiscal year:
Not applicable, as no cases were pending at end of either fiscal year 2005 or 2006.
D. Other statistics significant to agency:
1. Median processing time for FOIA requests decreased 90%; from 20 days in Fiscal Year 2005 to 2 days in Fiscal Year 2006.
2. All FOIA requests were processed within twenty working days.
3. FOIA fee collection increased 563%: $1,778.22 in fees was collected in Fiscal Year 2006, compared to $268.25 in fees collected in Fiscal Year 2005.
4. OSHRC received seven requests for expedited processing in Fiscal Year 2006 and processed five of those requests within the ten-calendar-day period. OSHRC denied the other two requests due to the requester’s failure to state a basis under OSHRC’s FOIA regulations for granting expedited processing.
E. Other narrative statements describing agency efforts to improve timeliness of FOIA performance and to make records available to the public:
At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2006, OSHRC moved all FOIA processing to the Office of the General Counsel, where paralegals and attorneys have received training in the handling of FOIA requests. Previously, a single person was responsible for all FOIA requests as part of that person’s duties. This move explains in part the significant decrease in median processing times.
IX. Costs/FOIA Staffing
A. Staffing levels.
1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 0
2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA duties: 0.63 work-years
3. Total number of personnel (in total work years): 0.63 work-years
B. Total costs.
1. FOIA processing: $49,356
2. Litigation related activities: $0
3. Total costs: $49,356
4. Comparison with previous year: $13,423 increase in processing costs due to increased number of FOIA requests, appeals, and additional personnel with part-time FOIA duties.
C. Statement of additional resources needed for FOIA compliance (optional): Not applicable.
X. Fees
A. Total amount of fees collected by agency for processing requests: $1,778.22
B. Percentage of total costs: 3.6%
XI. FOIA Regulations (Including Fee Schedule)
The agency’s regulations, which include its fee schedule, are attached in the paper format of this report. They can also be found at 29 C.F.R. Part 2201 and at the agency’s Web site: http://www.oshrc.gov/foia/regs_implementing_foia.html .
XII. Report on FOIA Executive Order Implementation
A. Description of supplementation/modification of agency improvement plan (if applicable)
Not applicable.
B. Report on agency implementation of its plan, including its performance in meeting milestones, with respect to each improvement area
Pursuant to the requirements of the President’s Executive Order No. 13,392, OSHRC developed a FOIA Improvement Plan, submitted in June 2006. In developing the plan, OSHRC reviewed its entire FOIA program for the areas of potential improvement identified in the Executive Order. Based on this review, OSHRC determined that the improvement area for its plan would be to revise its FOIA regulations, directive, and reference guide.
OSHRC published and/or completed revisions to its FOIA regulations, directive, and reference guide before the imposed milestone deadline. A committee led by the FOIA Public Liaison redrafted the agency’s FOIA regulations. OSHRC then initiated a proposed rulemaking with a notice and comment period to seek public input on changes to its FOIA regulations. See Regulations Implementing the Freedom of Information Act, 71 Fed. Reg. 41,384 (July 21, 2006). Receiving no public comment, OSHRC completed and published a final rule revising its FOIA regulations. See Regulations Implementing the Freedom of Information Act, 71 Fed. Reg. 56,347 (Sept. 27, 2006). OSHRC’s internal directive and reference guide were updated based on the revisions made in its regulations implementing the FOIA.
As documented above, OSHRC has radically decreased the processing times on the FOIA requests it receives. Further reductions would be difficult to achieve as many of the records requested are kept in off-site storage. However, OSHRC constantly monitors its FOIA procedures for ways to improve its services.
C. Identification and discussion of any deficiency in meeting plan milestones (if applicable)
Not applicable.
D. Additional narrative statement regarding other executive order-related activities (optional)
Not applicable.
E. Concise descriptions of FOIA exemptions
The nine FOIA exemptions authorize federal agencies to withhold information covering: (1) classified national defense and foreign relations information; (2) internal agency rules and practices; (3) information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law; (4) trade secrets and other confidential business information; (5) inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges; (6) information involving matters of personal privacy; (7) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; (8) information relating to the supervision of financial institutions; and (9) geological information on wells. In addition, it is highly unlikely that OSHRC will withhold information using the three FOIA exclusions because they pertain to especially sensitive law enforcement and national security matters.
F. Additional statistics:
1. Time range of requests pending, by date of request (or, where applicable, by date of referral from another agency)
Not applicable.
2. Time range of consultations pending with other agencies, by date of initial interagency communication
Not applicable.
G. Attachment: Agency improvement plan (in current form)
http://www.oshrc.gov/foia/foia_improvement_plan_06.htm
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Last Updated: February 5, 2007