29 C.F.R. Subpart D—Fees
Title 29 - Labor
(a) Generally. Pursuant to the provisions of FOIA, as amended, charges will be assessed to cover the direct costs of searching for, reviewing, and/or duplicating records requested under FOIA from the PBGC, except where the charges are limited or waived under paragraph (b) or (d) of this section, according to the fee schedule in §4901.32 of this part. No charge will be assessed if the costs of routine collection and processing of the fee would be equal to or greater than the fee itself. (1) Direct costs means those expenditures which the PBGC actually incurs in searching for and duplicating (and in the case of commercial requesters, reviewing) documents to respond to a request under FOIA and this part. Direct costs include, for example, the salary of the employee performing work (i.e., the basic rate of pay plus benefits) or an established average pay for a homogeneous class of personnel (e.g., all administrative/clerical or all professional/executive), and the cost of operating duplicating machinery. Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as costs of space, and heating or lighting the facility in which the records are stored. (2) Search means all time spent looking for material that is responsive to a request under FOIA and this part, including page-by-page or line-by-line identification of materials within a document, if required, and may be done manually or by computer using existing programming. “Search should be distinguished from “review” which is defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. (3) Review means the process of examining documents located in response to a request under FOIA and this part to determine whether any portion of any document located is permitted or required to be withheld. It also includes processing any documents for disclosure, e.g., doing all that is necessary to excise them and otherwise prepare them for release. Review does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. (4) Duplication means the process of making a copy of a document necessary to respond to a request under FOIA and this part, in a form that is reasonably usable by the requester. Copies can take the form of paper copy, microform, audio-visual materials, or machine readable documentation (e.g., magnetic tape or disk), among others. (b) Categories of requesters. Requesters who seek access to records under FOIA and this part are divided into four categories: commercial use requesters, educational and noncommercial scientific institutions, representatives of the news media, and all other requesters. The PBGC will determine the category of a requester and charge fees according to the following rules. (1) Commercial use requesters. When records are requested for commercial use, the PBGC will assess charges, as provided in this subpart, for the full direct costs of searching for, reviewing for release, and duplicating the records sought. Fees for search and review may be charged even if the record searched for is not found or if, after it is found, it is determined that the request to inspect it may be denied under the provisions of subsection (b) of FOIA and this part. (i) “Commercial use” request means a request from or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made. (ii) In determining whether a request properly belongs in this category, the PBGC will look to the use to which a requester will put the documents requested. Moreover, where the PBGC has reasonable cause to doubt the use to which a requester will put the records sought, or where that use is not clear from the request itself, the PBGC will require the requester to provide clarification before assigning the request to this category. (2) Educational and noncommercial scientific institution requesters. When records are requested by an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, the PBGC will assess charges, as provided in this subpart, for the full direct cost of duplication only, excluding charges for the first 100 pages. (i) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, an institution of graduate higher education, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of professional education, and an institution of vocational education, which operates a program or programs of scholarly research. (ii) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that is not operated on a “commercial” basis as that term is defined in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, and which is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. (iii) To be eligible for inclusion in this category, requesters must show that the request is being made as authorized by and under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use, but are sought in furtherance of scholarly (if the request is from an educational institution) or scientific (if the request is from a noncommercial scientific institution) research. (3) Requesters who are representatives of the news media. When records are requested by representatives of the news media, the PBGC will assess charges, as provided in this subpart, for the full direct cost of duplication only, excluding charges for the first 100 pages. (i) Representative of the news media means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. The term news means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large, and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances when they can qualify as disseminators of “news”) who make their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. These examples are not intended to be all-inclusive. “Freelance” journalists may be regarded as working for a news organization if they can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization, even though not actually employed by it. (ii) To be eligible for inclusion in this category, the request must not be made for a commercial use. A request for records supporting the news dissemination function of the requester who is a representative of the news media shall not be considered to be a request that is for a commercial use. (4) All other requesters. When records are requested by requesters who do not fit into any of the categories in paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(3) of this section, the PBGC will assess charges, as provided in this subpart, for the full direct cost of searching for and duplicating the records sought, with the exceptions that there will be no charge for the first 100 pages of duplication and the first two hours of manual search time (or its cost equivalent in computer search time). Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, there will be no charge for search time in the event of requests under the Privacy Act of 1974 from subjects of records filed in the PBGC's systems of records for the disclosure of records about themselves. Search fees, where applicable, may be charged even if the record searched for is not found. (c) Aggregation of requests. If the PBGC reasonably believes that a requester or group of requesters is attempting to break a request down into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, the PBGC will aggregate any such requests and charge accordingly. In no case will the PBGC aggregate multiple requests on unrelated subjects from one requester. (d) Waiver or reduction of charges. Circumstances under which searching, review, and duplication facilities or services may be made available to the requester without charge or at a reduced charge are set forth in §4901.34 of this part. (a) Charges for searching and review of records. Charges applicable under this subpart to the search for and review of records will be made according to the following fee schedule: (1) Search and review time. (i) Ordinary search and review by custodial or clerical personnel, $1.75 for each one-quarter hour or fraction thereof of employee worktime required to locate or obtain the records to be searched and to make the necessary review; and (ii) search or review requiring services of professional or supervisory personnel to locate or review requested records, $4.00 for each one-quarter hour or fraction thereof of professional or supervisory personnel worktime. (2) Additional search costs. If the search for a requested record requires transportation of the searcher to the location of the records or transportation of the records to the searcher, at a cost in excess of $5.00, actual transportation costs will be added to the search time cost. (3) Search in computerized records. Charges for information that is available in whole or in part in computerized form will include the cost of operating the central processing unit (CPU) for that portion of operating time that is directly attributable to searching for records responsive to the request, personnel salaries apportionable to the search, and tape or printout production or an established agency-wide average rate for CPU operating costs and operator/programmer salaries involved in FOIA searches. Charges will be computed at the rates prescribed in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. (b) Charges for duplication of records. Charges applicable under this subpart for obtaining requested copies of records made available for inspection will be made according to the following fee schedule and subject to the following conditions. (1) Standard copying fee. $0.15 for each page of record copies furnished. This standard fee is also applicable to the furnishing of copies of available computer printouts as stated in paragraph (a)(3) of this section. (2) Voluminous material. If the volume of page copy desired by the requester is such that the reproduction charge at the standard page rate would be in excess of $50, the person desiring reproduction may request a special rate quotation from the PBGC. (3) Limit of service. Not more than 10 copies of any document will be furnished. (4) Manual copying by requester. No charge will be made for manual copying by the requesting party of any document made available for inspection under the provisions of this part. The PBGC shall provide facilities for such copying without charge at reasonable times during normal working hours. (5) Indexes. Pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of FOIA copies of indexes or supplements thereto which are maintained as therein provided but which have not been published will be provided on request at a cost not to exceed the direct cost of duplication. (c) Other charges. The scheduled fees, set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, for furnishing records made available for inspection and duplication represent the direct costs of furnishing the copies at the place of duplication. Upon request, single copies of the records will be mailed, postage prepaid, free of charge. Actual costs of transmitting records by special methods such as registered, certified, or special delivery mail or messenger, and of special handling or packaging, if required, will be charged in addition to the scheduled fees. (a) Medium of payment. Payment of the applicable fees as provided in this subsection shall be made in cash, by U.S. postal money order, or by check payable to the PBGC. Postage stamps will not be accepted in lieu of cash, checks, or money orders as payment for fees specified in the schedule. Cash should not be sent by mail. (b) Advance payment or assurance of payment. Payment or assurance of payment before work is begun or continued on a request may be required under the following rules. (1) Where the PBGC estimates or determines that charges allowable under the rules in this subpart are likely to exceed $250, the PBGC may require advance payment of the entire fee or assurance of payment, as follows: (i) Where the requester has a history of prompt payment of fees under this part, the PBGC will notify the requester of the likely cost and obtain satisfactory assurance of full payment; or (ii) Where the requester has no history of payment for requests made pursuant to FOIA and this part, the PBGC may require the requester to make an advance payment of an amount up to the full estimated charges. (2) Where the requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged in a timely fashion (i.e., within 30 days of the date of the billing), the PBGC may require the requester to pay the full amount owed plus any applicable interest as provided in paragraph (c) of this section (or demonstrate that he has, in fact, paid the fee) and to make an advance payment of the full amount of the estimated fee. (c) Late payment interest charges. The PBGC may assess late payment interest charges on any amounts unpaid by the 31st day after the date a bill is sent to a requester. Interest will be assessed at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the date the bill is sent. [61 FR 34123, July 1, 1996, as amended at 68 FR 61358, Oct. 28, 2003] (a) The disclosure officer may waive or reduce fees otherwise applicable under this subpart when disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. A fee waiver request shall set forth full and complete information upon which the request for waiver is based. (b) The disclosure officer may reduce or waive fees applicable under this subpart when the requester has demonstrated his inability to pay such fees.
Title 29: Labor
PART 4901—EXAMINATION AND COPYING OF PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION RECORDS
Subpart D—Fees
§ 4901.31 Charges for services.
§ 4901.32 Fee schedule.
§ 4901.33 Payment of fees.
§ 4901.34 Waiver or reduction of charges.
