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DOL Seal

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT ANNUAL REPORT
FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012
October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Department of Labor (DOL) has a decentralized Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) program in which each component agency responds directly to FOIA requests implicating its programs and activities. This allows for more accurate, complete, and timely responses to the public. While this report reflects FOIA activities at the Departmental level, it also distinguishes the volume and timeliness of each DOL component as it carries out its respective responsibilities under the FOIA.

Although FOIA processes at DOL are decentralized, departmental oversight is provided by the Office of Information Services (OIS), which operates under the supervision of the Solicitor of Labor, the Department's Chief FOIA Officer. OIS provides agency-wide leadership and guidance to ensure compliance with FOIA, particularly to increase the quality and timeliness of FOIA responses; reduce the backlog of pending FOIA requests; and review the effectiveness of each agency's FOIA processes in order to benchmark best practices, and make recommendations for programmatic improvements. Additional information about the Department's FOIA program is available online at https://www.dol.gov/general/foia.

The Department received a total of 18,560 initial requests for records during Fiscal Year 2012, a slight increase from 18,012 received in FY2011. The Department also increased the number of FOIA requests processed from 18,129 in FY2011 to 19,224 in FY2012.

One of the initiatives advanced by OIS this fiscal year was an audit of data in the Department's centralized FOIA tracking database, the Secretary's Information Management System for FOIA or "SIMS-FOIA." This initiative was aimed at ensuring full processing of FOIA requests as well as obtaining the most accurate data for FOIA reporting purposes. As part of this audit, OIS located a large number of records that had been improperly listed in the FOIA request system with a pending "Action Required" or "AR" code. When records are in an "AR" status, SIMS-FOIA does not track them for timeliness or any other processing milestone. Of this group of records, OIS determined that some were administrative messages that should be deleted (e.g., test data and system messages); others represented FOIA requests that had been fully processed but not correctly logged into and closed out of the tracking system; and 996 records were actual FOIA requests, received in DOL in FY2011 as well as in earlier years, that not yet been fully processed. These 996 records have now been included in their component agency's processing queues and included in this report. Since SIMS-FOIA records that are in "AR" status are not included in the tracking system's data collections, the addition of these 996 records to the FY2012 Annual Report means that some data will not reconcile back to the FOIA report submitted by the agency in FY2011. Specifically, in FY2011 DOL reported 1,143 FOIA requests pending at the end of the fiscal year. This year, DOL is reporting 2,139 requests pending at the start of FY2012. The difference between these numbers represents the 996 requests discovered as a part of the data audit. This report incorporates a footnote in Section V. (A.) to reconcile that difference. These additional requests also impact backlog numbers for FY2011 and will result in the reporting of older requests that were not previously reported among the agencies' 10 oldest requests. Footnotes have been inserted where appropriate to address these issues.

I.    Basic Information Regarding Report.

    A.    For questions concerning this report, please contact Ramona Branch Oliver, Director, Office of Information Services (OIS), Office of the Solicitor, Room N-2420, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210, telephone number (202) 693-5391, fax number 202-693-5389.

    B.    The electronic address for this report is https://www.dol.gov/general/foia.

    C.    You may obtain a paper copy of this report by visiting the DOL website or by contacting OIS using the information above.

II.    How to Make a FOIA Request.

    The Department of Labor is organized into divisions and agencies often referred to as components. Each component processes its own FOIA requests. Therefore, a request will receive the fastest possible response if it is addressed directly to the disclosure officer for the component that a requester believes has the records.

    The DOL "Guide to Submitting a Request Under FOIA" provides general information about the FOIA program at DOL and provides basic information on how to submit a FOIA request. The Guide also contains links to the DOL agency components in both the national and regional offices, a brief description of expected response times and reasons why some requests cannot be granted by DOL. This Guide is available on DOL's website at https://www.dol.gov/general/foia/guide.

    Requesters who cannot determine the proper disclosure officer to whom the request should be addressed may direct the request to the Office of Information Services (OIS), Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Room N-2420, Washington, D.C. 20210, by e-mail to foiarequests@dol.gov or by fax to 202-693-5389.

    A.    The following list contains the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the individual agency components and offices in the national and regional offices of the Department of Labor. The disclosure officer for each component is responsible for making records in the custody of that component available for inspection and copying, in accordance with the provisions of the FOIA. Unless otherwise specified, the mailing address for the following national office components is as follows:

U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20210

1.    Office of the Secretary (OSEC), (202) 693-7277
2.    Office of the Solicitor (SOL), (202) 693-5391
3.    Office of Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), 800 K Street, N.W., Suite N-400, Washington, D.C. 20001-8002, (202) 693-7440
4.    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM), (202) 693-7277
5.    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), (202) 693-5925
6.    Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), (202) 693-6806
7.    Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA), (202) 693-4630
8.    Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), (202) 693-4930
9.    Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), (202) 693-1145
10.    Office of Inspector General (OIG), (202) 693-5113
11.    Office of Labor Management Standards (OLMS), (202) 693-0123
12.    Office of Public Affairs (OPA), (202) 693-4654
13.    Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), (202) 693-0934
14.    Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), (202) 693-4770
15.    Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Postal Square Building, Room 4040, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212-0001, (202) 691-7628
16.    Employment and Training Administration (ETA), (202) 693-3140.
         Job Corps (part of ETA), 1-800-733-JOBS.
17.    Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), 1100 Wilson Boulevard, 21st Floor, Arlington, Virginia 22209, (202) 693-9424
18.    Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), (202) 693-1897
19.    Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), (202) 693-8655
20.    Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS), (202) 693-4745
21.    Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), (202) 693-5028
22.    Administrative Review Board (ARB), (202) 693-5028
23.    Benefits Review Board (BRB), (202) 693-5028
24.    Wage and Hour Division (WHD), (202) 693-0388
25.    Women's Bureau (WB), (202) 693-6735.

The addresses and telephone numbers for the various regional offices for the Department's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) are listed below.

Region I:

U.S. Department of Labor
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
One Congress Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02203
(617) 565-1991
(For Wage and Hour Division only: Contact Region III)

Region II:

U.S. Department of Labor
201 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
(212) 337-2215
(For Wage and Hour Division only: Contact Region III)

Region III:

U.S. Department of Labor
The Curtis Center, Suite 600 East
170 S. Independence Mall West
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-3305
(215) 861-5030

Region IV:

U.S. Department of Labor
Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 562-2018

For Office of Workers' Compensation (OWCP) in Region IV only:
U.S. Department of Labor
214 N. Hogan Street, Suite 1006
Jacksonville, Florida 32202
(904) 357-4725

Region V:

U.S. Department of Labor
Kluczynski Federal Building
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604
(312) 353-8373

For OWCP, Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) in Region V only:
U.S. Department of Labor
1240 East Ninth Street, Room 851
Cleveland, Ohio 44199
(216) 357-5372

Region VI:

U.S. Department of Labor
525 Griffin Square Building
Griffin & Young Streets
Dallas, Texas 75202
(214) 767-6800

Region VII:

U.S. Department of Labor
City Center Square Building
1100 Main Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64105-2112
(816) 426-3891
(For Wage and Hour Division only: Contact Region V)

For Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in Region VII only:
U.S. Department of Labor
1100 Main Street, Suite 860
Kansas City, Missouri 64105
(816) 502-0370

Region VIII:

U.S. Department of Labor
1999 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 844-1700
(For Wage and Hour Division and OFCCP: Contact Region VI)

For OWCP in Region VII only:
U.S. Department of Labor
1999 Broadway, Suite 600
Denver, Colorado 80201
(720) 264-3038

The mailing address for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Director of the Regional Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training in Region VIII is:

Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
U.S. Custom House
721 - 19th Street, Room 465
Denver, Colorado 80202
(303) 844-4791

Region IX:

U.S. Department of Labor
90 7th Street, Suite 18-300
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 625-7804
(415) 625-7799 (fax)

U.S. Department of Labor
1111 Third Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98101-3212
(415) 975-4057
(For Wage and Hour Division: Contact San Francisco)

    B.    Agency response time.

    The agency's response time generally ranges from one to forty eight days. Complex requests usually take more time.

    C.    Why some requests are not granted.

    A FOIA request can be made for any agency record. This does not mean, however, that the Labor Department will disclose every record sought. There are statutory exemptions that authorize the withholding of certain information. In addition, the agency cannot comply with a FOIA request if there are no responsive records. Further, FOIA does not require agencies to do research for the requester, to analyze data, to answer questions, or to create records in order to respond to a FOIA request.

III.    Definitions of Terms and Acronyms Used in the Report

1.    Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.

1.

ADJ BDS

Adjudicatory Boards includes the Administrative Review Board (ARB), Benefits Review Board (BRB), and Employees' Compensation Appeal Board (ECAB)

2.

ALJ

Office of Administrative Law Judges

3.

ASP

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy

4.

BLS

Bureau of Labor Statistics

5.

CFO

Office of the Chief Financial Officer

6.

EBSA

Employee Benefits Security Administration

7.

ETA

Employment and Training Administration

8.

Exec Sec

Executive Secretariat

9.

ILAB

Bureau of International Labor Affairs

10.

MSHA

Mine Safety and Health Administration

11.

OASAM

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

12.

OCIA

Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs

13.

ODEP

Office of Disability Employment Policy

14.

OFCCP

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

15.

OIG

Office of Inspector General

16.

OLMS

Office of Labor Management Standards

17.

OPA

Office of Public Affairs

18.

OSEC

Office of the Secretary

19.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

20.

OWCP

Office of Workers' Compensation Programs

21.

SOL

Office of the Solicitor

22.

VETS

Veterans' Employment and Training Service

23.

WB

Women's Bureau

24.

WHD

Wage and Hour Division

2.    Definition of Terms Used in This Report.

a.    Administrative Appeal – a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.

b.    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.

c.    Backlog – the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.

d.    Component – for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.

e.    Consultation – the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded.

f.    Exemption 3 Statute – a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.

g.    FOIA Request – a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a "third-party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)

h.    Full Grant – an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.

i.    Full Denial – an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.

j.    Median Number – the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.

k.    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 granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.

i.    Expedited Processing – an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.

ii.    Simple Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

iii.    Complex Request – a FOIA request that an agency using multi- track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.

l.    Partial Grant/Partial Denial – in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.

m    Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.

n.    Perfected Request – a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.

o.    Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal – a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.

p.    Range in Number of Days – the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.

q.    Time Limits – the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).

3.    Nine FOIA Exemptions.

a.    Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information

b.    Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices

c.    Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law

d.    Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information

e.    Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges

f.    Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy

g.    Exemption 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

h.    Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions

i.    Exemption 9: geological information on wells

IV.    EXEMPTION 3 STATUTES

Statute

Type of Information Withheld

Case Citation

# of Times Relied
Upon Per Component

Total # of Times
Relied Upon By Agency

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, Section 103(g)(1), 30 U.S.C. § 813(g)

Complaint Information & Interviews of Miners

None

MSHA

2

41 USC § 253b(m)(1)

Contractor Proposals

Hornbostel v. U.S. Dep't of the Interior, 305 F. Supp. 2d 21, 30 (D.D.C. 2003), summary affirmance granted, No. 03-5257, 2004 WL 1900562 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2004).

OIG

1

Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e), enacted by Act of July 30, 1997, Pub. L. No. 98-78, 91 Stat. 319

Grand Jury Proceedings

Sussman v. USMC, 494 F. 3d 1106, 1113 (D.C. Cir. 2007); Fund for Constitutional Gov't v. NARS, 656 F.2d 856, 867-68 (D.C. Cir. 1981)

OIG

1

Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e), enacted by Act of July 30, 1997, Pub. L. No. 98-78, 91 Stat. 319

Grand Jury Proceedings

Sussman v. USMC, 494 F. 3d 1106, 1113 (D.C. Cir. 2007); Fund for Constitutional Gov't v. NARS, 656 F.2d 856, 867-68 (D.C. Cir. 1981)

OLMS

1

Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 USC § 666(f)

Advance Notice Of Inspection

None

OSHA

84

DOL OVERALL

89

V.    A.    FOIA REQUESTS

 

# of Requests Pending
as of Start of Fiscal Year
[1]

# of Requests Received
in Fiscal Year

# of Requests Processed
in Fiscal Year

# of Requests Pending
as of End of Fiscal Year

OSHA

677

8,684

8,952

409

OFCCP

46

349

361

34

OLMS

3

81

79

5

OWCP

78

371

410

39

WHD

390

2,749

2,701

438

MSHA

229

2,010

2,109

130

EBSA

101

476

550

27

ETA

186

2,497

2,530

153

OASAM

28

237

238

27

ALJ

7

183

188

2

VETS

92

512

479

125

OIG

14

66

69

11

BLS

6

43

44

5

Adj Bds

1

18

17

2

WB

1

12

8

5

ODEP

59

13

71

1

ASP

40

17

53

4

OCIA

16

29

39

6

ILAB

2

23

24

1

CFO

31

19

49

1

OPA

18

32

28

22

SOL

46

102

125

23

OSEC

4

15

19

0

EXEC SEC

64

22

81

5

DOL OVERALL

2,139

18,560

19,224

1,475

B.    (1)    Disposition of FOIA Requests – All Processed Requests

 

# of
Full Grants

# of
Partial
Grants/
Partial
Denials

# of
Full
Denials
Based
on
Exemptions

# of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions

TOTAL

No Records

All Records
Referred
to Another
Component
or Agency

Request Withdrawn

Fee
Related
Reason

Records
Not
Reasonably
Described

Improper
FOIA
Request
for Other
Reason

Not
Agency
Record

Duplicate
Request

Other
*Explain
in chart
below

OSHA

625

4,265

1,039

1,687

184

180

56

83

31

65

285

452

8,952

OFCCP

47

83

10

107

30

9

38

4

4

12

17

0

361

OLMS

4

22

13

27

4

2

0

0

5

0

1

1

79

OWCP

168

34

23

106

0

3

10

7

7

12

20

20

410

WHD

129

1,233

255

770

10

56

0

1

12

7

159

69

2,701

MSHA

754

936

94

435

0

65

23

4

0

7

37

54

2,109

EBSA

155

87

15

224

16

19

3

3

1

9

11

7

550

ETA

572

512

14

862

237

34

66

18

109

48

58

0

2,530

OASAM

78

54

7

38

1

18

0

1

2

34

2

3

238

ALJ

126

19

2

20

4

2

0

1

0

4

6

4

188

VETS

128

102

4

152

3

10

0

1

1

10

4

64

479

OIG

15

23

4

14

6

0

0

0

2

2

0

3

69

BLS

9

9

0

22

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

2

44

Adj Bds

9

0

0

5

0

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

17

WB

0

0

0

7

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

8

ODEP

0

0

3

64

0

0

0

1

0

3

0

0

71

ASP

1

0

0

26

0

1

0

0

0

6

13

6

53

OCIA

12

4

3

16

0

0

0

0

0

3

1

0

39

ILAB

8

1

0

10

0

1

0

0

0

4

0

0

24

CFO

3

3

0

15

0

1

0

0

0

27

0

0

49

OPA

0

0

15

13

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

28

SOL

24

24

2

34

1

8

2

1

1

17

3

8

125

OSEC

2

8

0

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

19

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

79

81

DOL OVERALL

2,869

7,419

1,503

4,360

496

411

199

125

175

274

617

776

19,224

B.    (2)    Disposition of FOIA Requests – "Other" Reasons for "Full Denials Based on Reasons Other than Exemptions" from Section V, B (1) Chart

Component

Description of "Other" Reasons for Denials from Chart B (1) & # of Times Those Reasons Were Relied Upon

TOTAL

OSHA

(9) Requester was asked to narrow search with no response
(62) Requests transferred
(21) Records destroyed in accordance with approved schedule
(189) Case file still open
(3) Information available on public website
(41) Misrouted requests
(84) Under contest/investigation
(40) Requests not perfected
(3) Privacy Act

452

OFCCP

N/A

0

OLMS

(1) Misrouted request

1

OWCP

(16) Requests not perfected
(1) Privacy Act
(3) Misrouted requests

20

WHD

(8) Requests not perfected
(61) Misrouted requests

69

MSHA

(54) Misrouted

54

EBSA

(2) Privacy Act;
(5) Requests not perfected.

7

ETA

N/A

0

OASAM

(1) Information available on web
(1) Request not perfected
(1) Misrouted request

3

ALJ

(1) Records destroyed in accordance with approved schedule
(2) Request not perfected
(1) Misrouted request

4

VETS

(29) Misrouted request
(34) Request not perfected
(1) Information publically available
(1) Duplicate request

64

OIG

(3) Privacy Act

3

BLS

(2) Misrouted request

2

Adj Bds

N/A

0

WB

(1) Misrouted request

1

ODEP

N/A

0

ASP

(6) Requests not perfected

6

OCIA

N/A

0

ILAB

N/A

0

CFO

N/A

0

OPA

N/A

0

SOL

(1) Information publically available
(5) Misrouted request
(2) Request not perfected

8

OSEC

(3) Misdirected requests

3

EXEC SEC

(79) Departmental search conducted (not a request for processing)

79

DOL OVERALL

776

B.    (3)    Disposition of FOIA Requests – Number of Times Exemptions Applied

 

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Ex. 5

Ex. 6

Ex. 7(A)

Ex. 7(B)

Ex. 7(C)

Ex. 7(D)

Ex. 7(E)

Ex. 7(F)

Ex. 8

Ex. 9

OSHA

2

122

84

2,929

2,571

1,076

1,257

81

3,916

1,697

164

2

0

0

OFCCP

0

3

0

43

21

15

3

0

78

6

46

0

0

0

OLMS

0

0

1

2

4

18

5

0

20

3

10

0

0

0

OWCP

0

0

0

1

3

50

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WHD

0

0

0

737

231

47

213

3

1,247

598

901

1

0

0

MSHA

0

3

2

25

157

181

105

0

675

141

2

0

0

0

EBSA

0

1

0

12

16

62

16

0

36

0

24

0

0

0

ETA

0

8

0

34

33

481

2

0

2

0

1

0

0

0

OASAM

0

5

0

35

4

13

0

0

5

0

0

0

0

0

ALJ

0

0

0

0

2

18

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

0

0

0

10

66

47

16

4

53

20

24

0

0

0

OIG

0

0

2

2

1

14

0

0

22

1

1

0

0

0

BLS

0

0

0

0

7

8

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

1

1

5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

1

0

2

0

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

2

0

2

14

13

1

0

10

4

1

0

0

0

OSEC

0

0

0

1

2

8

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

2

144

89

3,835

3,133

2,058

1,618

88

6,066

2,470

1,176

3

0

0

VI.    A.    ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS

Component

# of Appeals Pending as of Start of Fiscal Year

# of Appeals Received in Fiscal Year

# of Appeals Processed in Fiscal Year

# of Appeals Pending as of End of Fiscal Year

OSHA

19

129

109

39

OFCCP

1

12

10

3

OLMS

3

8

4

7

OWCP

19

115

98

36

WHD

8

42

37

13

MSHA

12

26

25

13

EBSA

3

7

6

4

ETA

8

55

49

14

OASAM

7

12

10

9

ALJ

1

1

2

0

VETS

3

1

1

3

OIG

3

2

1

4

BLS

0

1

0

1

Adj Bds

1

0

0

1

WB

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

3

2

1

OSEC

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

88

414

354

148

B.    Disposition of Administrative Appeals – All Processed Appeals

Component

# Affirmed on Appeal

# Partially Affirmed & Partially Reversed/Remanded on Appeal

# Completely Reversed/Remanded on Appeal

# of Appeals Closed for Other Reasons

TOTAL

OSHA

10

39

19

41

109

OFCCP

0

3

2

5

10

OLMS

0

0

1

3

4

OWCP

2

0

22

74

98

WHD

1

3

11

22

37

MSHA

3

5

7

10

25

EBSA

1

0

1

4

6

ETA

0

0

15

34

49

OASAM

1

0

1

8

10

ALJ

0

2

0

0

2

VETS

0

1

0

0

1

OIG

0

1

0

0

1

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

1

0

0

1

2

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

19

54

79

202

354

C.    (1)    Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Number of Times Exemptions Applied

 

Ex. 1

Ex. 2

Ex. 3

Ex. 4

Ex. 5

Ex. 6

Ex. 7(A)

Ex. 7(B)

Ex. 7(C)

Ex. 7(D)

Ex. 7(E)

Ex. 7(F)

Ex. 8

Ex. 9

OSHA

0

0

0

5

1

0

10

0

42

18

0

0

0

0

OFCCP

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

OLMS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OWCP

0

0

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WHD

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

2

0

0

0

0

MSHA

0

0

0

1

3

1

1

0

6

1

0

0

0

0

EBSA

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ETA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OASAM

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ALJ

0

0

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

OIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL Overall

0

1

0

9

6

7

13

0

54

21

1

0

0

0

C.    (2)    Reasons for Denial on Appeal – Reasons Other Than Exemptions

 

No. of Records

Records Referred at Initial Request Level

Request Withdrawn

Fee- Related Reason

Records Not Reasonably Described

Improper Request for Other Reasons

Not Agency Record

Duplicate Request or Appeal

Request in Litigation

Appeal Based Solely on Denial of Request for Expedited Processing

Other
*Explain in chart below

OSHA

5

0

8

0

0

3

2

7

0

0

16

OFCCP

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

OLMS

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

OWCP

1

0

2

1

0

10

0

0

0

0

60

WHD

1

0

1

0

0

9

0

2

0

0

9

MSHA

1

0

3

0

0

1

0

1

0

0

4

EBSA

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

ETA

17

0

1

1

0

4

0

0

0

0

11

OASAM

3

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL Overall

32

0

17

2

0

27

2

10

0

0

112

C.    (3)    Reasons for Denial On Appeal – "Other" Reasons from Section VI, C (2) Chart

 

Description of "Other" Reasons for Denial on Appeal from Chart C (2) & # of Times Those Reasons Were Relied Upon

TOTAL

OSHA

(4) Untimely
(2) Constructive denial moot
(5) 7(A) now closed
(1) Supplemental decision issued by component
(1) Moot by subpoena response
(3) Abandoned

16

OFCCP

(2) Withdrawn
(1) Initial request
(1) Untimely

4

OLMS

(1) Constructive denial moot

1

OWCP

(52) Constructive denial moot
(3) Initial request
(2) Moot; supplemental decision issued
(1) Amendment request
(2) Abandoned

60

WHD

(2) Abandoned
(3) Supplemental decision issued by component
(3) 7(A) closed
(1) Constructive denial moot

9

MSHA

(1) Abandoned
(2) Constructive denial moot
(1) Premature (records not yet created)

4

EBSA

(2) Withdrawn

2

ETA

(2) Supplemental response issued
(3) Constructive denial moot
(4) Initial request
(1) Untimely
(1) Abandoned

11

OASAM

(1) Constructive denial moot
(1) Supplemental response issued
(2) Initial request

4

ALJ

N/A

0

VETS

N/A

0

OIG

N/A

0

BLS

N/A

0

ADJ BDS

N/A

0

WB

N/A

0

ODEP

N/A

0

ASP

N/A

0

OCIA

N/A

0

ILAB

N/A

0

CFO

N/A

0

OPA

N/A

0

SOL

(1) Constructive denial now moot

1

OSEC

N/A

0

EXEC SEC

N/A

0

DOL Overall

 

112

C.    (4)    Response Time for Administrative Appeals

 

Median # of Days

Average # of Days

Lowest # of Days

Highest # of Days

OSHA

52

118.91

1

1,013

OFCCP

70.5

179.30

13

910

OLMS

104

131

4

312

OWCP

28

103.40

0

1,288

WHD

37

143.75

0

877

MSHA

52

185.60

0

798

EBSA

213

205.33

26

375

ETA

36

66.48

1

527

OASAM

34

69

8

119

ALJ

1,404

1,404

855

1,953

VETS

112

112

112

112

OIG

57

57

57

57

BLS

0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

SOL

72.5

72.5

63

82

OSEC

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

DOL Overall

43.5

122.88

0

1,953

C.    (5)    Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals

 

10th Oldest Appeal

9th

8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

Oldest Appeal

OSHA

10/04/2011
259

8/16/2011
294

8/8/2011
297

7/6/2011
323

6/10/2011
341

8/31/2010
544

8/10/2010
559

6/8/2010
604

5/5/2010
889

4/15/2009
903

OFCCP

0

0

0

0

0

9/28/2012
1

9/4/2012
19

7/18/2012
53

2/27/2012
154

2/26/2012
155

OLMS

0

0

0

9/27/2012
2

1/18/2012
183

1/18/2012
183

11/21/2011
225

7/22/2011
311

6/24/2010
592

1/11/2010
710

OWCP

12/6/2011
214

12/6/2011
214

12/6/2011
214

11/21/2011
225

11/21/2011
225

11/15/2011
229

11/15/2011
229

10/27/2011
242

8/18/2011
292

4/11/2011
385

WHD

7/10/2012
59

7/9/2012
60

6/15/2012
76

6/4/2012
85

5/30/2012
88

5/30/2012
88

5/23/2012
93

4/3/2012
129

4/3/2012
129

4/3/2012
129

MSHA

4/23/2012
115

4/23/2012
115

1/25/2012
178

1/25/2012
178

1/25/2012
178

12/6/2011
214

11/15/2011
229

10/27/2011
242

9/1/2011
282

8/19/2011
291

EBSA

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/27/2012
2

9/11/2012
14

9/4/2012
19

12/28/2011
198

ETA

8/10/2012
26

8/9/2012
37

8/8/2012
38

7/18/2012
53

5/23/2012
93

4/23/2012
115

4/3/2012
29

3/5/2012
150

3/9/2011
408

8/20/2010
551

OASAM

0

9/26/2012
3

9/4/2012
19

7/10/2012
59

4/23/2012
115

8/16/2011
294

8/16/2011
294

5/23/2011
355

1/4/2011
454

12/14/2010
469

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/4/2012
19

VETS

0

0

0

0

0

0

5/23/2011
355

1/10/2011
450

9/14/2010
534

9/9/2010
537

OIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

12/6/2011
214

9/19/2011
270

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/4/2012
19

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

10/27/11
242

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL Overall

9/14/2010
534
VETS

9/9/2010
537
VETS

8/31/2010
544
OSHA

8/20/2010
551
ETA

8/10/2010
559
OSHA

6/24/2010
592
OLMS

6/8/2010
604
OSHA

1/11/2010
10
OLMS

5/5/2009
889
OSHA

4/15/2009
903
OSHA

VII.    FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS

A.    Processed Requests – Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests

 

SIMPLE

COMPLEX

EXPEDITED PROCESSING

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest #Of Days

Highest # Of Days

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest # Of Days

Highest # Of Days

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest # Of Days

Highest # Of Days

OSHA

4,881

6.0

27.6

0

999

3,996

9.0

29.4

0

2,796

74

7.0

15.2

1

193

OFCCP

62

3.0

4.3

0

28

299

13.0

26.1

0

223

0

0

0

0

0

OLMS

41

13.0

19.4

1

77

37

10.0

25.6

0

266

1

89.0

89.0

89

89

OWCP

53

12.0

71.2

1

1,306

356

15.0

89.4

0

1,753

1

5.0

5.0

5

5

WHD

2,086

13.0

32.6

1

757

597

24.0

53.8

0

1,249

18

4.5

8.8

1

39

MSHA

0

0

0

0

0

2,090

11.0

38.6

0

1,936

19

51.0

174.4

5

1,302

EBSA

116

14.5

16.2

0

77

434

17.0

120.3

0

1,980

0

0

0

0

0

ETA

1563

8.0

14.1

0

249

960

9.0

16.7

0

279

7

6.0

8.6

0

20

OASAM

8

6.0

19.0

2

109

228

26.5

35.2

0

257

2

35.5

35.5

22

49

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

184

3.0

7.2

1

171

4

2.0

6.0

1

19

VETS

112

793.0

811.9

2

1,970

365

26.0

60.3

1

1,888

2

7.5

7.5

7

8

OIG

47

6

13

0

70

16

91

173

0

712

6

1

3

0

15

BLS

23

20.0

18.9

9

22

20

20.0

30.5

17

99

1

91.0

91.0

91

91

Adj Bds

15

9.0

27.0

3

277

1

13.0

13.0

13

13

1

1.0

1.0

1

1

WB

5

88.0

95.4

50

150

3

102.0

468.7

6

1298

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

1

1,875.0

1,875.0

1,875

1,875

70

1,503.5

1,259.2

1

1,929

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

35

2,62.0

369.9

9

1,645

18

781.0

806.4

18

1,825

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

8

20.5

705.8

12

1,899

29

39.0

503.3

1

1,928

2

21.0

21.0

20

22

ILAB

1

1.0

1.0

1

1

23

16.0

57.7

1

758

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

16

1,579.5

1,235.6

291

1923

25

30.0

429.1

1

1,916

8

1,865.0

1,871.9

1,845

1,928

OPA

2

973.0

973.0

5

1941

23

75.0

692.7

4

1,940

3

6.0

9.7

6

17

SOL

11

18.0

88.4

1

494

114

46.0

132.3

0

1,182

0

0

0

0

0

OSEC

1

8.0

8.0

8

8

18

39.2

57.2

5

186

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

75

1,163.0

937.9

1

1909

6

794.0

966.5

194

1891

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

9,162

8.0

48.0

0

1,970

9,913

12.0

54.6

0

2,796

143

9.0

139.9

1

1,928

B.    Processed Requests – Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which Information Was Granted

 

SIMPLE

COMPLEX

EXPEDITED PROCESSING

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest #Of Days

Highest # Of Days

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest # Of Days

Highest # Of Days

# of Requests Processed

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

Lowest # Of Days

Highest # Of Days

OSHA

2,399

10.0

26.3

0

978

2443

12.0

23.1

0

739

48

7.0

18.7

1

193

OFCCP

15

7.0

5.9

0

12

115

17.0

36.0

0

223

0

0

0

0

0

OLMS

1

35.0

35.0

35

35

24

6.5

20.4

0

87

1

89.0

89.0

89

89

OWCP

14

10.0

12.5

2

43

187

15.0

33.9

0

819

1

5.0

5.0

5

5

WHD

984

21.0

37.7

1

357

363

29.0

59.6

0

1,249

15

3.0

8.7

1

39

MSHA

0

0

0

0

0

1,676

11.0

17.7

0

1,190

14

39.0

105.4

5

386

EBSA

73

14

154

68

169

16.0

20.9

1

186

0

0

0

0

0

0

ETA

360

13.0

17.0

0

100

718

9.0

17.8

0

279

6

7.0

9.0

1

20

OASAM

6

6.5

23.7

2

109

125

26.0

28.9

1

102

1

49.0

49.0

49

49

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

143

3.0

6.3

1

100

2

2.0

2.0

2

2

VETS

25

14.0

86.7

3

1,842

205

20.0

27.5

2

154

0

0

0

0

0

OIG

23

3

17

0

70

11

39

208

7

712

6

0

3

0

15

BLS

8

20.0

18.4

11

20

9

20.0

42.4

19

99

1

91.0

91.0

91

91

Adj Bds

7

6.0

8.1

3

19

1

13.0

13.0

13

13

1

1.0

1.0

1

1

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

1

27.0

27.0

27

27

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

1

12.0

12.0

12

12

15

53.0

410.3

6

1,917

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

1

1.0

1.0

1

1

8

19.0

46.6

1

234

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

6

28.5

25.8

6

39

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

5

22.0

137.8

1

494

43

42.0

108.0

1

852

0

0

0

0

0

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

10

75.0

79.3

8

186

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

3,900

13.0

28.5

0

1,842

6,261

13.0

25.2

0

1,917

90

8.5

31.1

1

386

C.    Processed Requests – Response Time in Day Increments

SIMPLE REQUESTS

 

1-20
Days

21-40
Days

41-60
Days

61-80
Days

81-100
Days

101-120
Days

121-140
Days

141-160
Days

161-180
Days

181-200
Days

201-300
Days

301-400
Days

401+
Days

TOTAL

OSHA

3,875

656

79

30

27

20

16

12

12

7

35

26

86

4,881

OFCCP

61

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

62

OLMS

28

8

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

41

OWCP

43

5

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

50

WHD

1,240

379

159

86

45

41

35

28

19

10

29

10

5

2,086

MSHA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EBSA

82

29

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

116

ETA

1,267

174

97

15

8

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

1,563

OASAM

7

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

8

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

32

3

0

0

1

0

0

0

2

0

4

6

64

112

OIG

39

2

5

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

47

BLS

22

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

23

Adj Bds

14

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

15

WB

0

0

1

0

2

1

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

5

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

ASP

1

3

1

0

0

1

2

1

1

3

5

5

12

35

OCIA

4

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

8

ILAB

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

1

13

16

OPA

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

2

SOL

6

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

2

0

4

6

64

84

OSEC

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

EXEC SEC

7

1

0

0

0

0

2

2

3

3

13

0

44

75

DOL OVERALL

6,731

1,264

350

136

84

65

55

44

39

23

94

54

293

9,232

COMPLEX REQUESTS

 

1-20
Days

21-40
Days

41-60
Days

61-80
Days

81-100
Days

101-120
Days

121-140
Days

141-160
Days

161-180
Days

181-200
Days

201-300
Days

301-400
Days

401+
Days

TOTAL

OSHA

2,960

582

139

55

56

27

29

17

14

6

42

14

55

3,996

OFCCP

184

61

17

13

9

5

3

0

1

3

3

0

0

299

OLMS

24

7

2

2

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

37

OWCP

243

70

9

4

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

28

356

WHD

239

192

52

35

11

13

10

8

4

1

15

5

12

597

MSHA

1,619

276

63

35

17

10

6

2

4

0

13

9

36

2,090

EBSA

253

102

22

9

8

0

5

1

1

4

3

1

25

434

ETA

720

140

69

13

11

3

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

960

OASAM

87

85

32

9

3

3

0

3

3

1

2

0

0

228

ALJ

132

6

3

1

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

144

VETS

147

89

66

42

3

4

2

1

0

0

5

1

5

365

OIG

5

2

0

0

1

1

0

1

0

1

2

1

2

16

BLS

15

2

1

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

20

Adj Bds

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

WB

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

3

ODEP

13

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

57

70

ASP

1

1

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

14

18

OCIA

12

4

3

1

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

8

29

ILAB

19

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

1

23

CFO

6

9

0

2

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

25

OPA

9

1

0

2

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

8

23

SOL

37

16

17

7

6

5

2

3

2

0

3

5

11

114

OSEC

6

3

4

0

1

2

0

1

0

1

0

0

0

18

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

3

6

DOL OVERALL

6,733

1,649

500

230

133

76

61

38

31

19

92

38

272

9,872

REQUESTS GRANTED EXPEDITED PROCESSING

 

1-20
Days

21-40
Days

41-60
Days

61-80
Days

81-100
Days

101-120
Days

121-140
Days

141-160
Days

161-180
Days

181-200
Days

201-300
Days

301-400
Days

401+
Days

TOTAL

OSHA

60

9

2

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

74

OFCCP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OLMS

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

OWCP

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

WHD

16

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

18

MSHA

6

3

2

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

3

2

19

EBSA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ETA

7

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

7

OASAM

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

ALJ

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

VETS

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

OIG

6

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6

BLS

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

8

8

OPA

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

SOL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

106

16

5

2

3

2

0

0

0

1

0

3

10

148

D.    Pending Requests – All Pending Perfected Requests

 

SIMPLE

COMPLEX

EXPEDITED PROCESSING

# Pending

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

# Pending

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

# Pending

Median # Of Days

Average # Of Days

OSHA

113

8.0

19.6

295

12.0

37.4

0

0

0

OFCCP

0

0

0

34

26.0

40.7

0

0

0

OLMS

0

0

0

5

30.0

0.8

0

0

0

OWCP

8

413.0

412.0

31

42.0

227.5

0

0

0

WHD

79

15.0

76.0

359

65.0

102.5

0

0

0

MSHA

0

0

0

130

10.0

41.4

1

48.0

48.0

EBSA

2

819.0

819.0

25

368.0

199.0

0

0

0

ETA

68

5.0

17.9

85

6.0

10.6

0

0

0

OASAM

0

0

0

27

23.0

28.4

0

0

0

ALJ

0

0

0

2

119.5

119.5

0

0

0

VETS

16

154.5

131.4

109

21.0

64.4

0

0

0

OIG

0

0

0

11

37

226

0

0

0

BLS

3

30.0

20.3

2

15.0

15.0

0

0

0

Adj Bds

2

.5

0.5

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

4

60.0

92.3

1

115.0

115.0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

1

326.0

326.0

0

0

0

ASP

3

30.0

23.7

1

42.0

42.0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

6

30.0

28.5

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

1

123.0

7.0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

1

278.0

278.0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

22

100.0

179.4

0

0

0

SOL

0

0

0

23

226.0

225.9

0

0

0

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

3

1327.0

1012.0

2

30.0

30.0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

301

9.0

66.5

1,173

23.0

74.1

1

48.0

48.0

E.    Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Perfected Requests

 

10th Oldest Request
and # of Days Pending
[2] [3]

9th

8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

Oldest Request
and # of Days Pending

OSHA

9/9/2011
264

6/14/2011
317

4/27/2011
348

3/15/2011
390

2/3/2011
417

1/7/2011
425

12/21/2010
437

9/17/2010
510

5/5/2010
612

9/23/2009
757

OFCCP

7/8/2012
57

7/6/2012
57

7/6/2012
57

6/22/2012
67

5/24/2012
72

4/3/2012
115

1/20/2012
174

8/15/2011
273

7/19/2011
300

4/18/2011
314

OLMS

0

0

0

0

0

9/11/2012
2

9/11/2012
13

8/14/2012
41

8/14/2012
41

6/7/2012
77

OWCP

7/27/2009
796

6/22/2009
813

6/22/2009
813

6/22/2009
813

6/22/2009
813

6/22/2009
813

6/22/2009
813

6/15/2009
818

6/15/2009
818

6/15/2009
818

WHD

5/18/2011
342

5/17/2011
342

3/15/2011
390

10/7/2010
496

9/23/2010
506

8/19/2010
530

3/26/2010
632

7/17/2009
804

1/27/2009
924

3/3/2005
1902

MSHA

4/20/2012
112

4/20/2012
112

4/20/2012
112

3/20/2012
135

12/20/2011
168

12/13/2011
175

9/7/2011
267

8/27/2010
396

4/27/2010
610

9/25/2007
1,251

EBSA

4/4/2011
376

4/4/2011
376

4/4/2011
376

4/4/2011
376

3/29/2011
380

3/29/2011
380

3/29/2011
380

3/29/2011
380

3/29/2011
380

6/1/2009
828

ETA

8/24/2012
27

8/24/2012
27

8/18/2012
35

7/23/2012
46

3/15/2012
101

11/19/2011
221

10/31/2011
232

10/14/2011
241

9/29/2011
250

9/12/2011
264

OASAM

8/9/2012
37

8/9/2012
37

8/9/2012
37

8/3/2012
41

7/27/2012
44

7/25/2012
45

7/25/2012
45

7/2/2012
61

4/23/2012
112

4/5/2012
123

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/28/2012
0

10/17/2011
239

VETS

2/3/2012
166

2/2/2012
166

1/31/2012
168

1/30/2012
169

1/27/2012
170

1/24/2012
172

1/19/2012
177

12/27/2011
190

12/22/2011
193

12/9/2011
202

OIG

9/17/2012
9

9/12/2012
12

8/07/2012
37

6/01/2012
83

5/11/2012
97

7/11/2011
308

4/04/2011
376

3/03/2011
398

6/18/2010
574

5/27/2010
589

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

9/26/2012
1

9/13/2012
11

8/31/2012
19

8/14/2012
29

8/13/2012
30

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

9/28/2012
0

9/25/2012
3

WB

0

0

0

0

0

8/14/2012
29

8/13/2012
30

5/18/2012
90

4/4/2012
115

11/15/2011
219

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6/1/2011
326

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

8/30/2012
20

8/14/2012
29

8/13/2012
30

7/18/2012
43

OCIA

0

0

0

0

9/24/2012
3

8/15/2012
28

8/14/2012
29

8/13/2012
30

8/6/2012
39

4/23/2012
48

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4/4/2012
7

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

8/9/2011
278

OPA

4/19/2012
112

2/17/2012
154

1/9/2012
181

11/15/2011
221

8/1/2011
284

6/1/2011
334

6/1/2011
334

6/1/2011
334

6/1/2011
334

2/8/2010
651

SOL

10/4/2011
243

9/20/2011
256

9/20/2011
256

8/10/2011
277

7/21/2011
300

9/17/2010
501

8/16/2010
524

8/3/2010
533

6/24/2010
560

1/4/2010
687

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

8/15/2012
32

8/6/2012
39

9/1/2011
261

6/14/2007
1,327

12/20/2006
1,448

DOL OVERALL

6/22/2009
813
OWCP

6/15/2009
818
OWCP

6/15/2009
818
OWCP

6/15/2009
818
OWCP

6/1/2009
828
EBSA

1/27/2009
924
WHD

9/25/2007
1,251
MSHA

6/14/2007
1,327
EXECSEC

12/20/2006
1,448
EXECSEC

3/3/2005
1,902
WHD

VIII.    REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER

A.    Requests for Expedited Processing

 

# Granted

# Denied

Median # of Days to Adjudicate

Average # of Days to Adjudicate

# Adjudicated Within Ten Days

OSHA

58

116

12.0

105.5

83

OFCCP

0

13

21.0

25.6

6

OLMS

0

4

7.5

8.5

2

OWCP

1

11

22.5

22.5

1

WHD

11

81

23.5

57.8

35

MSHA

19

22

14.0

495.4

17

EBSA

0

30

24.5

123.7

10

ETA

5

77

5.0

13.3

58

OASAM

1

19

29.5

36.2

3

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

2

22

688.0

1132.8

3

OIG

6

2

2

1

4

BLS

1

5

37.0

56.8

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

14

2689.0

2306.7

0

ASP

0

12

1073.0

1240.6

0

OCIA

2

6

26.5

1041.5

1

ILAB

0

2

34.0

34.0

1

CFO

8

2

2699.0

2186.1

0

OPA

3

7

2753.0

1678.6

2

SOL

0

0

0

0

0

OSEC

0

2

14.5

14.5

1

EXEC SEC

0

23

1984.0

1483.3

1

DOL OVERALL

117

470

21.0

347.0

231

B.    Requests for Fee Waiver

 

# Granted

# Denied

Median # of Days to Adjudicate

Average # of Days to Adjudicate

OSHA

128

134

18.0

107.5

OFCCP

5

29

22.5

42.9

OLMS

0

5

3.0

10.2

OWCP

4

51

21.0

60.5

WHD

38

317

12.0

28.5

MSHA

47

23

17.5

181.6

EBSA

4

45

41.0

237.3

ETA

9

164

13.0

19.7

OASAM

11

32

23.0

34.8

ALJ

5

1

3.5

16.3

VETS

2

23

708.0

816.5

OIG

14

1

2

1

BLS

0

7

20.0

40.0

Adj Bds

1

1

139.0

139.0

WB

0

1

6.0

6.0

ODEP

0

17

1390.0

1371.6

ASP

1

17

499.0

681.4

OCIA

6

4

16.0

498.0

ILAB

3

3

20.0

53.3

CFO

3

5

326.0

792.3

OPA

4

0

1048.5

1006.0

SOL

3

15

44.5

140.0

OSEC

2

9

33.0

56.4

EXEC SEC

0

27

1128.0

902.5

DOL OVERALL

290

931

20.0

142.8

IX.    FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

 

PERSONNEL

COSTS

# of "Full-Time FOIA Employees"

# of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees"

Total # of "Full-Time FOIA Staff"

Processing Costs

Litigation-Related Costs

Total Costs

OSHA

27

40.6

67.6

$4,100,320

0

$4,100,320

OFCCP

3

5.3

8.3

$485,290

0

$485,290

OLMS

0

2

2

$160,400

0

$160,400

OWCP

3

1.30

4.30

$480,729

0

$480,729

WHD

9

3

12

$742,000

0

$742,000

MSHA

6

19.25

25.25

$2,578,101

0

$2,578,101

EBSA

0

3.79

3.79

$543,153

0

$543,153

ETA

1

11.23

12.23

$977,328

0

$977,328

OASAM

0

5.53

5.53

$632,734

0

$632,734

ALJ

0

.81

.81

$85,862

0

$85,862

VETS

0

2.08

2.08

$182,998

0

$182,998

OIG

1

0

1

$126,000

0

$126,000

BLS

0

.45

.45

$35,873

0

$35,873

Adj Bds

0

.35

.35

$15,000

0

$15,000

WB

0

.25

.25

$28,000

0

$28,000

ODEP

0

.5

.5

$5,650

0

$5,650

ASP

0

.5

.5

$45,000

0

$45,000

OCIA

0

.4

.4

$35,000

0

$35,000

ILAB

0

.33

.33

$35,613

0

$35,613

CFO

0

.3

.3

$30,000

0

$30,000

OPA

0

.5

.5

$48,000

0

$48,000

SOL

10

2.96

12.96

$1,194,240

$497,973

$1,692,213

OSEC

0

.10

.10

$15,054

0

$15,054

EXEC SEC

0

.15

.15

$16,300

0

$16,300

AGENCY OVERALL

60

101.68

161.68

$12,598,645

$497,973

$13,096,618

X.    FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS

 

Total Amount of Fees Collected

Percentage of Total Costs

OSHA

$14,8751.77

3.63

OFCCP

$8,939.53

1.84

OLMS

$201.35

0.13

OWCP

$391.25

0.08

WHD

$14,800.94

1.99

MSHA

$64,505.97

2.50

EBSA

$4,024.50

0.74

ETA

$8,458.95

0.87

OASAM

$320.80

0.05

ALJ

$1,754.36

2.04

VETS

$1,541.36

0.84

OIG

$250.00

0.17

BLS

$0

0.00

Adj Bds

$28.50

0.19

WB

$0

0.00

ODEP

$0

0.00

ASP

$0

0.00

OCIA

$0

0.00

ILAB

$0

0.00

CFO

$0

0.00

OPA

$0

0.00

SOL

$6,712.10

0.56

OSEC

$0

0.00

EXEC SEC

$0

0.00

DOL OVERALL

$260,681.38

2.07

XI.    FOIA REGULATIONS

    U.S. Department of Labor FOIA regulations and fee schedule can be accessed via the DOL public FOIA website at the following link: A. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals

 

# of Backlogged Requests at DOL as of End of Fiscal Year

# of Backlogged Appeals at DOL as of End of Fiscal Year

OSHA

174

45

OFCCP

18

4

OLMS

0

6

OWCP

7

27

WHD

319

14

MSHA

42

11

EBSA

17

2

ETA

16

13

OASAM

24

8

ALJ

0

1

VETS

54

4

OIG

8

2

BLS

3

1

Adj Bds

0

0

WB

2

0

ODEP

1

0

ASP

1

0

OCIA

5

0

ILAB

0

0

CFO

1

0

OPA

22

0

SOL

21

1

OSEC

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

DOL OVERALL

735

139

  • Discuss/explain the backlog here:

    DOL was able to achieve a substantial drop in backlogged initial requests, despite having added to the data 996 pending requests that had not, but should have, been included in the FY2011 Annual FOIA report as discussed in the Executive Summary. Whereas all of DOL had 1,430 backlogged requests at the end of FY2011 (as indicated by the updated data), by the end of FY2012, the backlog had been halved down to 735 pending requests. This is attributed to more robust oversight of the departmental oversight of FOIA, the hard work of DOL's FOIA staff, consistent monitoring of FOIA related performance measures, and sustained effort toward backlog reduction throughout the Department's 23 FOIA components.

    DOL experienced a substantial increase from only 87 backlogged appeals pending at the end of FY2011, up to 139 backlogged pending as of the end of FY2012. This is attributed to a substantial increase among the number of incoming FOIA appeals received. Further, due to the nature and complexity of the incoming FOIA appeals the number of FOIA appeals processed decreased from 393 in FY2011 to 354 in FY2012. DOL is looking for ways to address issues regarding the processing of incoming FOIA appeals.

B.    Consultations on FOIA Requests – Received, Processed, and Pending Consultations

XII.    BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS AND COMPARISONS

# of Consultations Received From Other Agencies That Were Pending at DOL as of Start of the Fiscal Year [4]

# of Consultations Received from Other Agencies During the Fiscal Year

# of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Processed by DOL During the Fiscal Year

# of Consultations Received from Other Agencies that Were Pending at DOL as of End of the Fiscal Year

OSHA

3

87

84

6

OFCCP

0

5

5

0

OLMS

0

2

2

0

OWCP

0

0

0

0

WHD

0

7

7

0

MSHA

2

0

2

0

EBSA

0

1

1

0

ETA

0

5

5

0

OASAM

0

3

3

0

ALJ

0

0

0

0

VETS

1

1

2

0

OIG

0

0

0

0

BLS

0

1

1

0

Adj Bds

0

3

3

0

WB

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

ASP

2

0

2

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

3

3

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

SOL

4

0

3

1

OSEC

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

12

118

123

7

C.    Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency.

Agency

10th Oldest Consultation and # of Days Pending [5]

9th

8th

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

Oldest Consultation and # of Days Pending

OSHA

0

0

0

0

9/21/2012
5

9/21/2012
5

9/20/2012
6

9/18/2012
8

8/27/2012
21

8/27/2012
23

OFCCP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OLMS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OWCP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WHD

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

MSHA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EBSA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ETA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OASAM

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ALJ

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

VETS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OIG

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

BLS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ADJ BDS

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

SOL

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

6/24/2010
560

OSEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

EXEC SEC

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

0

0

0

9/21/2012
5

9/21/2012
5

9/20/2012
6

9/18/2012
8

8/29/2012
21

8/27/2012
23

6/24/2010
560

D.    Comparison of #s of Requests from Previous and Current Annual Report – Requests Received, Processed, and Backlogged

 

NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED

NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED

# Received During Fiscal Year From Last Year's Annual Report [6], [7]

# Received During Fiscal Year From Current Annual Report

# Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report3

# Processed During Fiscal Year From Current Annual Report

OSHA

8,682

8,684

8,566

8,952

OFCCP

415

349

383

361

OLMS

127

81

132

79

OWCP

409

371

392

410

WHD

2,282

2,749

2,131

2,701

MSHA

2,253

2,010

2,256

2,109

EBSA

1,824

476

1,815

550

ETA

1,767

2,497

1,667

2,530

OASAM

297

237

352

238

ALJ

187

183

182

188

VETS

170

512

163

479

OIG

15

0

16

0

BLS

38

43

38

44

Adj Bds

30

18

30

17

WB

25

12

25

8

ODEP

18

13

17

71

ASP

33

17

44

53

OCIA

36

29

33

39

ILAB

21

23

33

81

CFO

21

19

19

49

OPA

47

32

43

28

SOL

83

102

79

125

OSEC

35

15

51

19

EXEC SEC

46

22

33

81

DOL OVERALL

18,861

18,560

18,500

19,224

BACKLOG REQUEST COMPARISONS

Agency

# of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report [8]

# of Backlogged Requests as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report

OSHA

439

174

OFCCP

24

18

OLMS

1

0

OWCP

17

7

WHD

442

319

MSHA

83

42

EBSA

28

17

ETA

164

16

OASAM

42

24

ALJ

3

0

VETS

114

54

OIG

9

8

BLS

6

3

Adj Bds

0

0

WB

2

2

ODEP

1

1

ASP

1

1

OCIA

4

5

ILAB

0

0

CFO

1

1

OPA

22

22

SOL

20

21

OSEC

2

0

EXEC SEC

5

5

DOL OVERALL

1,430

735

E.    Comparison of Numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report – Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged.

AGENCY

NUMBER OF APPEALS RECEIVED

NUMBER OF APPEALS PROCESSED

# Received During Fiscal Year From Last Year's Annual Report

# Received During Fiscal Year From Current Annual Report

# Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report

# Processed During Fiscal Year From Current Annual Report

OSHA

120

129

162

109

OFCCP

6

12

8

10

OLMS

10

8

13

4

OWCP

54

115

55

98

WHD

35

42

40

37

MSHA

24

26

24

25

EBSA

13

7

10

6

ETA

50

55

57

49

OASAM

15

12

11

10

ALJ

1

1

2

2

VETS

7

1

9

1

OIG

1

2

0

1

BLS

0

1

0

0

Adj Bds

0

0

0

0

WB

0

0

0

0

ODEP

0

0

0

0

ASP

0

0

0

0

OCIA

0

0

0

0

ILAB

0

0

0

0

CFO

0

0

0

0

OPA

0

0

0

0

SOL

2

3

2

2

OSEC

0

0

0

0

DOL OVERALL

338

414

393

354

BACKLOG APPEALS COMPARISONS

AGENCY

# of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Previous Annual Report

# of Backlogged Appeals as of End of the Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report

OSHA

19

45

OFCCP

1

4

OLMS

3

6

OWCP

19

27

WHD

8

14

MSHA

12

11

EBSA

3

2

ETA

8

13

OASAM

7

8

ALJ

1

1

VETS

3

4

OIG

2

2

BLS

0

1

Adj Bds

1

0

WB

0

0

ODEP

0

0

ASP

0

0

OCIA

0

0

ILAB

0

0

CFO

0

0

OPA

0

0

SOL

0

1

OSEC

0

0

DOL OVERALL

87

139

F.    Discussion of Other FOIA Activities (optional)

As a part of the overall improvement of DOL's decentralized FOIA program, OIS continues to promote initiatives that are aimed at improving the FOIA administrative processes across DOL. The Department continues to work towards: improved customer service to our internal and external customers by providing clear and consistent FOIA responses; increased transparency by continuing to make discretionary disclosures of information where there is no foreseeable harm; and expanding DOL affirmative disclosures through the agency website and other mechanisms. DOL has also established robust process measures to closely monitor the timeliness of FOIA processing and backlog reduction.

As discussed in the Executive Summary, during FY2012 OIS initiated an audit of the Department's FOIA data and located a large number of records that had not been properly logged into the FOIA tracking system. While this audit did change some numbers previously reported, we believe that this review resulted in the most accurate data for the purposes of FOIA reporting, ensured that all FOIA requests received by the Department are answered as accurately and completely as possible and gave an opportunity for OIS to address data reconciliation issues and make it a part of our regularly scheduled program reviews. In light of all this, the Department still managed to process more requests than it received and close all of the 10 oldest FOIA requests reported in the FY2011 report. Also, in light of the data audit, DOL was able to make a substantial reduction in the overall backlog, closing a total of 695 backlogged requests.

Signed at Washington, D.C. this 31st day of January 2013.

___signed______
M. Patricia Smith
Chief FOIA Officer


Footnotes

[1]    As noted above in the Executive Summary, during this fiscal year DOL initiated a review of the data in its FOIA tracking system and identified 996 FOIA requests that were pending in the system and required action. Those requests are now accounted for in this report. Specifically, in FY2011 DOL reported 1,143 FOIA requests pending at the end of the fiscal year. This year DOL is reporting 2,139 requests pending at the start of FY2012. The difference between these numbers represents the 996 requests discovered as a part of the data audit.

[2]    As a part of the audit of data in Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL located 996 requests that remained pending in the system and requiring further action, many of which were received in prior years. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report identified the 10 oldest pending requests it believed to be pending at the end of FY2011, after the addition of 548 FOIA requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting 21 additional requests that should have been previously reported.

[3]    Some work day ranges reported appear to be out of sequence based on the date of the receipt of the request. However, this is attributed to request that have been "tolled" for clarification or to resolve fee matters consistent with the provisions of the statute.

[4]    As a part of the audit of data in Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL located 996 requests that remained pending in the system and requiring further action, many of which were received in prior years. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report identified 6 consultations at the end of FY2011, after the addition of 548 FOIA requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting 12 additional consultations that should have been previously reported.

[5]    As a part of the audit of data in Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL located 996 requests that remained pending in the system and requiring further action, many of which were received in prior years. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report identified the 10 oldest pending consultations it believed to be pending at the end of FY2011, after the addition of 548 FOIA requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting 1 additional request that should have been previously reported.

[6]    As a part of the audit of data in Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL located 996 requests that remained pending in the system and requiring further action, many of which were received in prior years. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report stated that 18,012 FOIA requests were received during FY2011, after the addition of 548 FOIA requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting that 18,560 requests were received in FY2011.

[7]    As part of the audit of data in the Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL identified 371 requests that had been fully processed in FY2011 but not fully closed out in the system. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report stated that 18,129 FOIA requests were processed during FY2011, after the addition of 371 requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting that a total of 18,500 requests were fully processed during FY2011.

[8]    As a part of the audit of data in Departmental FOIA tracking system, DOL located 996 requests that remained pending in the system and requiring further action, many of which were received in prior years. Whereas DOL's FY2011 report stated that 593 backlogged request were pending at the end of FY2011, after the addition of 837 backlogged requests identified as part of the audit, DOL is now reporting that a total of 1,430 backlogged request were pending at the end of FY2011.