CFR

70.19—Requests for records.

(a) How to make a request. Requests under this subpart for a record of the Department of Labor must be written and received by mail, delivery service/courier, facsimile or e-mail.

(b) To whom to direct requests. A request should be sent to the appropriate official/officer for the component that maintains the records at its proper address. The request as well as the envelope itself should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Request.” If the request is made by e-mail, it must be sent to foiarequest@dol.gov. Requests submitted to any other e-mail address will not be accepted as a request made under this Part.

(1) The functions of each major Department of Labor component are summarized in the United States Government Manual which is issued annually. The manual is available in print from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402-9328, and electronically at the Government Printing Office's World Wide Web site, http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs. Appendix A of this part lists the disclosure officers of each component by title and address. This initial list has been included for information purposes only, and the disclosure officers may be changed through appropriate designation. Regional, district and field office addresses have been included in Appendix A to this part to assist requesters in identifying the disclosure officer who is most likely to have custody of the records sought.

(2) Requesters who cannot determine the proper disclosure officer to whom the request should be addressed may direct the request to the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-2428, Washington, DC 20210 or by e-mail to foiarequest@dol.gov. Note, pursuant to § 70.25(a), the time for the component to respond to a request begins to run when the request is received by the proper disclosure officer.

(c) Description of information requested. Each request must reasonably describe the record or records sought. The descriptions must be sufficiently detailed to permit the identification and location of the requested records with a reasonable amount of effort. So far as practicable, the request should specify the subject of the record, the date or approximate date when made, the place where made, the person or office that created it, and any other pertinent identifying details.

(d) Deficient descriptions. If the description is insufficient, so that a knowledgeable employee who is familiar with the subject area of the request cannot locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort, the component processing the request should notify the requester and describe what additional information is needed to process the request. Every reasonable effort will be made to assist a requester in the identification and location of the record or records sought. Any amended request must be confirmed in writing and meet the requirements for a request under this part.

(e) Agreement to pay fees. The filing of a request under this subpart will be deemed to constitute an agreement by the requester to pay all applicable fees charged under this part, up to $25.

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