>From the web page http://www.eeoc.gov/foia/handbook.html

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Freedom Of Information Act Reference Guide

(Issued July, 1998 by the Office of Legal Counsel)

I. Introduction

II. Access to Certain Records Without a FOIA Request

III. Where to Make a FOIA Request

IV. How to Make a FOIA Request

V. Time for Response

VI. Expedited Processing

VII. Fees

VIII. Fee Waivers

IX. Initial Request Determination

X. Appeals

XI. Judicial Review


This page was last modified on January 25, 1999.

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I. Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which can be found in
section 552, of Title 5 of the United States Code, provides that
every person has the right to request access to federal agency
records or information. Federal agencies, such as the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) are required to
disclose records upon receiving a written request for them,
except for those records that are protected from disclosure by
the nine exemptions and three exclusions of the FOIA. This right
of access is enforceable in court. The federal FOIA does not,
however, provide a right of access to records held by state or
local government agencies, or by private businesses or
individuals. All states have their own statutes governing public
access to state and local records and state authorities should
be consulted for further information about them.

This reference guide is designed to familiarize you with the
specific procedures for making a FOIA request to the EEOC. The
process is neither complicated nor time-consuming. Following the
guidance below will make it more likely that you will receive
the information you are seeking in the shortest amount of time.
This guide also includes descriptions of the types of records
maintained by the EEOC, some of which are available through
means other than the FOIA.

Other general sources of information about how to make a FOIA
request include:

  * "Your Right to Federal Records," available for fifty cents
    per copy from the Consumer Information Center, P.O. Box 100,
    Pueblo, CO 81002. This publication also can be accessed
    electronically on the Internet at
    http://cpsr.org/cpsr/foia/foia_q&a.txt.

  * "A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act
    and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records."
    This report is published by the Committee on Government
    Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives. This
    publication is available for sale for $5.00 from the U.S.
    Government Printing Office, stock number 052-071-012-30-3.
    It also can be accessed on the Internet by going to
    http://www.house.gov/reform/replist/foia.htm.

In addition, the "Consumer's Resource Handbook" describes which
federal agencies are responsible for specific consumer problems
and where to write for assistance. Single copies of this
publication may be obtained for free by writing to: Handbook,
U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, 750 17th Street, NW,
Washington, D.C. 20006-4607. This booklet also can be found on
the Internet at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/1997res.htm.

The formal rules for making a FOIA request to the EEOC are found
in Part 1610 of Volume 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(C.F.R.). This multiple-volume set is available in many law
libraries and federal depositary libraries. A copy of the
portions of Chapter 1600 pertaining to making FOIA requests may
be obtained from the EEOC, Office of Legal Counsel, 1801 L
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20507. The formal rules may also be
accessed on the Internet at
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html (enter "29CFR1610"
in the "Search Terms" box). A copy may also be obtained from the
EEOC web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/foia/1610.txt. In most
cases, though, this reference guide should provide you with the
basic information that you will need.

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II. Access to Certain Records Without a FOIA Request

All agencies make certain types of records, created by the
agency on or after November 1, 1996, available electronically.
For EEOC, many of these can be found on EEOC's website, located
at http://www.eeoc.gov. These records include EEOC's National
Enforcement Plan, the text of all statutes enforced by EEOC,
interpretative guidance on Title VII and the Americans with
Disabilities Act and information on how to file a charge of
discrimination.

Information concerning the EEOC may also be accessed through the
Government Information Locator Service (GILS), which contains an
extensive electronic listing of the EEOC's information
resources. Each GILS entry describes the information resource
and tells you how to obtain or access it. EEOC's GILS can be
located at the following uniform resource locator address:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/gils/gils.html. It is also
possible to access EEOC's GILS for free through Federal
depository libraries -- call 202/512-1530 or send Internet
e-mail to: gpoaccess@gpo.gov.

The EEOC GILS may also be accessed through GPO Access using the
following alternative procedures:

  * Via Telnet - telnet://swais.access.gpo.gov (and select GILS
    from the menu.)

  * Via WAIS Client - Host: wais.access.gpo.gov Database: GILS;
    PORT: 210

  * Via dial-up to the GPO Access Bulletin Board - 202/512-1661
    (Modem setting N, 8, 1); type "swais", login as "guest" and
    select GILS from the menu.)

After following one of the above procedures, you will be on the
GPO Access GILS Home Page. A menu will provide the option of
accessing the records of a number of agencies, of which EEOC
will be one. To retrieve a summary guide to EEOC's GILS records,
select the default "Search Full Text," select "EEOC" for agency,
"IRMS.3" for Search Term. To retrieve EEOC GILS records, again
select the default "Search Full Text" option, "EEOC" for Search
Terms. The GPO Access User Support Team may be contacted for
assistance by E-Mail - gpoaccess@gpo.gov or by telephone at
202/512-1530.

The EEOC also maintains public reading areas at its headquarters
library and in each of its District Offices that are available
to the public by appointment. The public reading areas contain
the information listed below. This same information is available
at the Commission's Field, Area and Local offices, but these
offices are not required to have designated reading areas for
the public unless space permits.

The EEOC's District, Field, Area and Local offices maintain the
following materials for public inspection:

  * Blank EEOC forms relating to the Commission's procedures as
    they affect the public;

  * EEOC's annual reports to Congress;

  * EEOC's Compliance Manual and Index:

  * Federal Register notices published by the Commission;

  * EEOC Directives, including Internal Orders, Supplements, and
    Notices; and

  * An equal employment decisions looseleaf service and bound
    volumes.

In addition to the materials listed above, the Headquarters
library maintains the following on file for public inspection:

  * Commercially unpublished Commission Precedent Decisions and
    index;

  * Commission budgets submitted to Congress;

  * Commercially published indexes to the Compliance Manual and
    the Commission Precedent Decisions; and

  * Other materials that the Legal Counsel or designee
    determined should be publicly available for inspection and
    copying in the public reading room under the FOIA.

The EEOC makes certain information, such as its publications and
standard forms, available in paper copy form without requiring a
formal FOIA request. Requests for these publications and forms
can be made to any EEOC office. Among these publications is the
EEOC annual report to the U.S. Attorney General on the FOIA,
which includes extensive statistical information about FOIA
requests to the EEOC. Copies of the annual FOIA report may be
obtained from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
Office of Legal Counsel, 1801 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
20507. Commencing with the 1998 report, the annual FOIA report
will be available through the EEOC's website.

The EEOC also discloses information from employment
discrimination charge files to the parties to the charges
pursuant to section 83 of the EEOC Compliance Manual. Section 83
does not apply to charges filed under the Age Discrimination in
Employment of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq. (ADEA) or
Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 206(d) EPA)
matters. It only applies to charging parties or respondent
employers. Requests for disclosure pursuant to section 83 may be
addressed to the director of the office where the charge was
filed or investigated at the address provided in 29 C.F.R. 1610.

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III. Where to Make a FOIA Request

The EEOC is composed of a headquarters office in Washington,
D.C. and a total of 50 district, area, and local offices located
throughout the country. These subdivisions of the EEOC are often
referred to as field offices. District offices process FOIA
requests for their own records as well as for those located in
area or local offices that report to them. Each district office
has a resident regional attorney. Therefore, your request will
receive the quickest possible response if it is addressed
directly to the regional attorney. In fact, your request will
not be deemed received until it is actually received by the
appropriate EEOC official.

Requests for the following types of records must be submitted to
the regional attorney for the pertinent district, local or area
office at the district office address. Requests for records from
the Washington Field Office must be submitted to the regional
attorney in the Baltimore District Office at the district office
address.

  * information about current or former employees of a field
    office;

  * existing non-confidential statistical data related to the
    case processing of a field office;

  * agreements between the Commission and State or local Fair
    employment agencies operating within the jurisdiction of a
    field office; or

  * materials in field office investigative files related to
    charges under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
    U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); the Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. 206(d));
    the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C.
    621 et seq.); or, the Americans with Disabilities Act of
    1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).

Requests for any other records or for records whose location is
unknown to the requester, must be submitted in writing to the
Legal Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1801 L
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20507.

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IV. How to Make a FOIA Request

A FOIA request can be made for any agency record. This does not
mean, however, that the EEOC will disclose any record sought. As
noted above, there are statutory exemptions that authorize the
withholding of information of an appropriately sensitive nature.
When the EEOC does withhold information from you, it will
specify what exemption of the FOIA permits the withholding. You
should be aware that the FOIA does not require agencies to do
research for you, to analyze data, to answer written questions,
or to create records in order to respond to a request.

Requests must be in writing, either handwritten or typed. While
requests may be submitted by fax, the EEOC does not yet have the
capability to accept FOIA requests submitted through the
Internet.

There is no special form or particular wording for making
requests; simply state that you are requesting documents under
the FOIA and describe the documents you are requesting. In
making your request you should be as specific as possible with
regard to names, dates, places, events, subjects, etc. In
addition, if you seek records about a case, you should provide
the names of the parties to the case, the court or office in
which the case was filed, and the nature of the case. If known,
you should include any file numbers or descriptions for the
records that you want. You do not have to give a requested
record's name or title, but the more specific you are about the
records or types of records that you want, the more likely it
will be that the EEOC will be able to locate those records and
that any search charges will be minimized. For example, if you
filed a charge of discrimination and you wish to request a copy
of the file, listing the charge number, the EEOC office where it
was filed, and the name of the respondent will be helpful in
deciding where to search and in determining which records
respond to your request.

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V. Time for Response

Under the statute, all federal agencies are required to respond
to a FOIA request within 20 business days, excluding Saturdays,
Sundays, and legal holidays. This period does not begin until
the request is actually received by the appropriate agency
official which is either the Regional Attorney or the Legal
Counsel. This does not mean that the agency official is required
to send out the releasible documents within those 20 days. The
FOIA requires that EEOC send you a letter informing you of its
decision within those 20 days; it can then send out the
documents within a reasonable time after its decision or its
receipt of fees owed.

Under the FOIA, the response time may be extended for an
additional ten business days when: (1) responsive records need
to be collected from field offices; (2) the request involves a
"voluminous" amount of records which must be located, compiled,
and reviewed; or (3) the EEOC must consult with another agency
which has a substantial interest in the responsive material.
When such an enlargement is needed, the EEOC will notify you of
this in writing and indicate when a response will be made. If it
will not be able to respond to your request even with a ten
business day extension, it will notify you of this in writing
and offer you the opportunity to modify or limit your request.
Alternatively, you may agree to a different timetable for the
processing of your request.

When a determination on your request is not made within the
deadline described above and you have not agreed to a different
response deadline, you may file suit in federal court to obtain
a response. If, however, the court concludes that you have
unreasonably refused to limit your request or to accept an
alternate timetable for response, the court may find that the
EEOC's failure to comply within the statutory time period is
justified. The court also may approve a delay if it concludes
that the EEOC is experiencing an unexpected, substantial
increase in the number of requests received. In addition, the
court may excuse the lack of a timely response if the EEOC
demonstrates that it has a backlog of requests that were
received before yours, that it processes its requests on a
first-come/ first-served basis, and that it is making reasonable
progress in reducing its backlog. In such cases, the court may
postpone its consideration of your lawsuit until the EEOC
reaches your request in its processing backlog.

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VI. Expedited Processing

Under certain conditions you may be entitled to have your
request processed on an expedited basis. However, you should
realize that whenever a FOIA request is expedited for a
particular requester, it results in an additional delay for
previous requesters who have been waiting for a response.

A request for records may be expedited upon the requester's
demonstration of a compelling need. Compelling need means that
the failure to obtain the records on an expedited basis could
pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an
individual or that the requester is primarily engaged in the
dissemination of information, and there is a urgency to inform
the public concerning actual or alleged Federal government
activity. A request will not be expedited simply because a
requester is facing a court deadline.

A request for expedited processing must set forth the reasons
why the request should be expedited. The requester must certify
that the reasons given for seeking expedited processing of his
request are true and correct to the best of his knowledge and
belief. The EEOC will notify the requester of its decision
whether to grant expedited processing within ten days after
receiving the certified request. If the EEOC denies the request
for expedited processing, the requester will be advised of his
right to submit an administrative appeal, which will be handled
expeditiously.

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VII. Fees

There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request and, in the
majority of requests made to the EEOC, no fees are charged. By
law, however, an agency is entitled to charge photocopying,
search and processing fees as explained below.

For the purposes of fees only, the FOIA divides requesters into
three categories. First, commercial requesters may be charged
fees for searching for records, processing the records, and
photocopying them. Second, educational or noncommercial
scientific institutions and representatives of the news media
are charged only for photocopying expenses after the first 100
pages. Third, requesters who do not fall into either of these
first two categories are charged for searching and photocopying,
but there is no charge for the first two hours of search time or
for the first 100 pages of photocopies. The EEOC currently
charges $17.00 per hour for professional search and review,
$7.00 for clerical search and review and 15 cents per page for
photocopying. In all cases, if the costs of routine collection
and processing of the fee are likely to equal or exceed the
amount of the fee, the EEOC will not charge any fee at all.

You may always include in your request letter a specific
statement limiting the amount that you are willing to pay in
fees. If you do not do so, the EEOC will assume that you are
willing to pay fees of up to $25.00. If it is estimated that the
total fees for processing your request will exceed $25.00, you
will be notified in writing of the estimate and offered an
opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees.
If you continue to want all of the records involved you will be
asked to agree to pay the estimated fees. The processing of your
request will be suspended until you agree to bear the costs. You
ordinarily will not be required to actually pay the fees until
the records have been processed and are ready to be sent to you.
If, however, you have failed to pay fees within 30 days of
billing in the past, or if the estimated fees exceed $250.00,
you may be required to pay the estimated fees in advance. If you
agree to pay fees and then fail to do so within 30 days of
billing, you may be charged interest on your overdue balance and
the EEOC will not process any further requests from you until
payment has been made in full. If you agree to pay fees for
searching for records, be aware that you may be required to pay
such fees even if the search does not locate any responsive
records or if the located records are withheld.

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VIII. Fee Waivers

If you are advised or expect that a fee will be charged, you may
request a waiver of those fees. However, fee waivers are limited
to situations in which a requester can show that the disclosure
of the requested information is in the public interest because
it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding
of the operations and activities of the government and is not
primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Requests
for fee waivers from individuals who are seeking records
pertaining to themselves usually are denied under this standard
because such disclosures usually will not result in any increase
of the public's understanding of government operations and
activities. In addition, a requester's inability to pay fees is
not a legal basis for granting a fee waiver.

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IX. Initial Request Determination

Once your request has been processed, you will be sent a written
initial determination. In many cases, the EEOC will include any
documents that can be disclosed along with the determination
letter, although where a fee has been charged, the documents
themselves will be sent within a reasonable time after the fee
has been paid. The FOIA provides access to all federal agency
records (or portions of those records), except for those records
that are withheld under nine exemptions and three exclusions
(reasons for which an agency may withhold records from a
requester). The determination letter will advise you whether any
information is being withheld pursuant to one or more of the
exemptions. When pages are being withheld in their entirety, the
EEOC usually either will specify the number of pages being
withheld or will make a reasonable effort to estimate the amount
of the withheld information.

The 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 whose disclosure would invade someone's personal
privacy, (7) information compiled for law enforcement purposes,
(8) information relating to the supervision of financial
institutions, and (9) certain geological information. The three
exclusions, which are rarely used, pertain to especially
sensitive law enforcement and national security matters. Even if
information may be withheld under the FOIA, the EEOC still may
disclose it as a matter of administrative discretion if
disclosure is not prohibited by any law and would not cause any
foreseeable harm, although the EEOC is not legally obligated to
do so.

The vast majority of requests received by the EEOC are for
charge files. They are ordinarily not available under FOIA to
anyone other than the charging party or respondent because of
the confidentiality provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act and privacy
concerns. Even the charging party and respondent may not be
entitled to the files if EEOC has not terminated its proceedings
on the charge, the time for filing a lawsuit has expired or
privacy concerns warrant it. Specific documents from a file may
be withheld from the charging party or respondent if they are
privileged or disclosure would invade privacy or reveal a
confidential informant's identity.

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X. Appeals

You may file an administrative appeal if you are not satisfied
with the initial response because you may disagree with the
withholding of information or you may believe that there are
additional records responsive to your request that were not
located. You also may file an administrative appeal if your
request for expedited processing or a fee waiver was denied. You
will be advised of your right to file an appeal in the initial
determination letter or in the letter denying your request for
expedited processing or a fee waiver. Ordinarily, your appeal
must be received within thirty days of the date of the
component's determination letter. This time may be extended if
you can show that unusual circumstances prevented you from
appealing or if the EEOC failed to notify you of your right to
appeal in its determination letter. All appeals must be made in
writing and addressed to:

Assistant Legal Counsel
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1801 L Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20507

Both the front of the envelope and the appeal letter should
contain the notation "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."

There is no specific form or particular language needed to file
an administrative appeal but you must enclose a copy of the
initial determination letter. Please do not attach copies of
released documents unless they pertain to some specific point
you are raising in your appeal. You may explain the reasons for
your disagreeing with the action, but a simple statement that
you are appealing the decision is ordinarily sufficient. If,
however, you are appealing because you believe there are
additional records that have not been located in response to
your request, you should specify why you think such records
exist and, if possible, where you believe they might be located.

The Office of Legal Counsel will review the withheld documents
and the reasons cited in the initial decision, and will make an
independent determination as to whether your request was
properly processed.

Under the FOIA, EEOC is required to make a determination on your
administrative appeal within 20 business days. The Office of
Legal Counsel may take one of several actions on your appeal. It
may affirm the decision in full, in which case it will identify
which exemptions (if any) have been appropriately claimed. Or,
it may affirm part of the decision (identifying the applicable
exemptions), but order the release of other information
previously withheld. Finally, under some circumstances, it may
return or "remand" the request for complete reprocessing. When a
case is remanded, you will have an opportunity again to appeal
to the Office of Legal Counsel after the regional attorney has
reprocessed the records if you remain dissatisfied with the
regional attorney's action in any respect.

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XI. Judicial Review

If you still believe that the EEOC has not handled your FOIA
request in accordance with the law after your appeal has been
decided, you have a right to challenge the agency's action in a
lawsuit filed in Federal Court, through the litigation process
known as "judicial review." Before doing so, you ordinarily will
be required first to have filed an administrative appeal and to
have received a response. If the EEOC fails to respond to either
your initial request or your appeal within the time limits
discussed above, however, you may file suit as soon as the time
limits have expired.

If you do bring a court action, you may file your suit in a
Federal District Court in any of the following places: (1) where
you reside, (2) where you have your principal place of business
(if any), (3) in the District of Columbia, or (4) where the
records are located, if they are not located in the District of
Columbia. If you have waited until you have received an
administrative appeal determination, that final administrative
response letter will advise you of your right to seek judicial
review and will specify where you can do so. You have six years
to file suit from the time your right to sue begins. Lastly,
please understand that attorneys and employees of the EEOC are
prohibited from giving legal advice to members of the public on
any matters, including Freedom of Information Act litigation.

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