29 C.F.R. Subpart A—General
Title 29 - Labor
This part contains the regulations of the Department of Labor implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as amended, 5 U.S.C. 552 and Executive Order 12600. It also implements the public information provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. 435, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. 1026 (106), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 U.S.C. app. 11. Subpart A contains general information about Department of Labor policies and procedures; subpart B sets forth the procedures for obtaining access to records of the Department; subpart C contains the Department's regulations on fees; and subpart D sets forth the procedures for obtaining access to certain public records. Appendix A contains a list of all Department of Labor disclosure officers from whom records may be obtained. As used in this part: (a) The terms agency, person, party, rule, order, and adjudication have the meaning attributed to these terms by the definitions in 5 U.S.C. 551. (b) Component means each separate bureau, office, board, division, commission, service or administration of the Department of Labor. (c) Disclosure officer means an official of a component who has authority to disclose or withhold records under the FOIA and to whom requests to inspect or copy records in his/her custody should be addressed. Department of Labor disclosure officers are listed in Appendix A to this part. (d) The Secretary means the Secretary of Labor. (e) The Department means the Department of Labor. (f) Request means any written request for records made pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) and which meets the requirements of this Part. (g) Requester means any person who makes a request. (h) Record means information in any format, including electronic format. (i) Search means to seek, manually or by automated means, Department records for the purpose of locating records in response to a request. (j) Business information means commercial or financial information received or obtained by the Department from a submitter, directly or indirectly, that arguably may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA. (k) Submitter means any person or entity from whom the Department receives or obtains commercial or financial information, directly or indirectly. The term submitter includes, but is not limited to corporations, labor organizations, non-profit organizations, and local, state, tribal and foreign governments. All agency records, except those exempt from mandatory disclosure by one or more provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552(b), will be made promptly available to any person submitting a written request in accordance with the procedures of this part. (a) To the extent required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), each component within the Department will make the materials listed in this section available for public inspection and copying (unless they are published and copies are offered for sale): (1) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as orders, made in the adjudication of cases; (2) Those statements of policy and interpretation which have been adopted by the agency and are not published in the (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public except to the extent that such records or portions thereof are exempt from disclosure under section 552(b) of the FOIA; and (4) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released to any person under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3) and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, the agency determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records. (5) A general index of the records referred to in paragraph (a) (4) of this section. (b) Each component of the Department will maintain and make available, including through the Department's Internet/World Wide Web site [http://www.dol.gov], current indexes providing identifying information regarding any matter issued, adopted or promulgated after July 4, 1967, and required by paragraph (a) of this section to be made available or published. Each component will publish and make available for distribution copies of such indexes and their supplements at least quarterly, unless it determines by Notice published in the (c) A component may exclude information from records made available to the public pursuant to paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2) and (a)(3) of this section where release of such information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy and may also exclude identifying details from records made available to the public pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section when disclosure would be harmful to an interest protected by an exemption. When making a deletion for such purposes, the component will explain the reason for the deletion. Also, a component will describe the extent of the deletion and must, if technically feasible, identify the exact location where the deletion was made. (d) Records described in this section are available for examination or copying without the submission of a formal FOIA request. All records covered by this section are available through public reading rooms, and, to the extent indicated in this paragraph, through the Department's Internet/World Wide Web site [http://www.dol.gov]. (1) Some components have public reading rooms only in Washington, DC, while other components provide reading rooms in area, district or regional offices throughout the United States. A disclosure officer in the appropriate component listed in Appendix A to this part should be contacted to find out where the public reading room is located. If the appropriate component is unknown, inquiries can be directed to the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Management and Administrative Legal Services, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N–2428, Washington, DC 20210. Fees for reproduction of records in public reading rooms are charged consistent with §70.40. (2) To the extent feasible, components are required to place copies of any records covered by this section and which were created on or after November 1, 1996 on the Internet/World Wide Web. In particular, when records are required to be made available to the public pursuant to the requirements of paragraph (a)(4) of this section, the component will also place on the Internet/World Wide Web, if technically feasible, any records that are released in the response to a FOIA decision. The Department's Internet home page may be searched to obtain these documents. The Department will make available to the public by electronic or other appropriate media any documents covered by this section that cannot be feasibly placed on the Internet/World Wide Web. Nothing in 5 U.S.C. 552 or this part requires that any agency or component create a new record in order to respond to a request for records. A component must, however, make reasonable efforts to search for records that already exist in electronic form or format, except when such efforts would significantly interfere with the operation of the component's automated information systems. The component will determine what constitutes a reasonable effort on a case-by-case basis. (a) No original record or file in the custody of the Department of Labor, or of any component or official thereof, will on any occasion be given to any agent, attorney, or other person not officially connected with the Department without the written consent of the Secretary, the Solicitor of Labor or the Inspector General. (b) The individual authorizing the release of the original record or file must ensure that a copy of the document or file is retained in the component that had custody and/or control when an original document or file is released pursuant to this subpart.
Title 29: Labor
PART 70—PRODUCTION OR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION OR MATERIALS
Subpart A—General
§ 70.1 Purpose and scope.
§ 70.2 Definitions.
§ 70.3 Policy.
§ 70.4 Public reading rooms.
§ 70.5 Compilation of new records.
§ 70.6 Disclosure of originals.
§§ 70.7-70.18 [Reserved]
