FOIA News: OGIS releases report on agency records management

OGIS Publishes Report Based on Agency Self-Assessments

Office of Govt. Info. Serv., Feb. 12, 2020

Federal agencies are generally complying with FOIA’s mandate to create procedures for preparing documents to post on FOIA reading rooms, and more often than not, the responsibility for prepping the documents rests with the FOIA staff. That is one of the key findings of a collaboration between the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) and the Office of the Chief Records Officer (CRO) for the U.S. Government.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Interior’s FOIA backlog increases 29 percent; litigation costs soar

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s FOIA backlog increased from 3191 requests in fiscal year 2018 to 4116 requests in fiscal year 2019, according to the department’s recently released annual report. Over the same period, the department’s litigation costs rose from $1.0 million to $2.5 million, an increase of 150 percent.

FOIA News: National Press Club to host FOIA panel on Feb. 19

FOIA as a last resort: Getting public information through the front door

PR Newswire, Feb. 11, 2020

As a reporter, filing a Freedom of Information Act request should be your last resort. The government documents you need may be hiding in plain sight. Whether you're a Washington policy writer, a regional reporter or a local journalist covering a beat, this workshop from three accomplished reporters will show you how to get the government records you always wanted but weren't quite sure how to find.

The session will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 19 from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at the National Press Club.

Read more here.

FOIA News: OGIS seeks summer interns

The Office of Government Information Services is seeking 1 or 2 interns for the summer of 2020, per its website. More information is available here.

FOIA News: USCIS to demonstrate FOIA processing system

USCIS demos open-source code system

Office of Govt. Info. Serv., Feb. 5, 2020

Are you an agency FOIA professional interested in developing an automated processing system? U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites you to a two-hour demonstration of its FOIA processing system at 1:30 p.m. EST Wednesday February 12th. The demonstration will take place at the USCIS Washington, DC office at 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW as well as via webinar.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Dep't of Labor will not appeal EEO-1 decision; company seeks to intervene

The U.S. Department of Labor has decided not to appeal a decision issued last month by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that would require the agency to release the federal contractors' employment diversity reports (known as EEO-1 reports) of 55 companies,; however, one of those companies, Synopsys, Inc., has filed a motion to intervene in the case, which the court indicated that it was “inclined to grant” in an order issued on Feb. 4, 2020.

FOIA News: DHS releases annual report; CBP designated a "security agency"

• The Department of Homeland Security, which receives the most FOIA requests, released its annual FOIA report for fiscal year 2019. DHS reported that it received 400,245 requests during the years and that it processed 429,798 requests, reducing the number of pending requests from 88,233 to 58,680 — a nearly 30 percent decrease.

• The Nation reported that President Trump recently designated Customs and Border Protection as a “security agency,” which will permit the agency to protect the names and salaries of its employees. Senator Leahy reacted to the article with a tweet.

FOIA News: FOIA Advisory Committee to meet Mar. 5

The National Archives and Records Administration has announced that the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee will convene on March 5, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. EST. Meeting material will be posted online here. NARA will live-stream the meeting on the National Archives' YouTube channel.

FOIA News: Attorney General Barr Names Bobak Talebian Director of the Office of Information Policy

Attorney General Barr Names Bobak Talebian Director of the Office of Information Policy

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, Feb. 3, 2020

Attorney General William P. Barr today appointed Bobak (Bobby) Talebian as Director of the Office of Information Policy (OIP). He has served as Acting Director since October 2019, and replaces Melanie Ann Pustay as Director.

Mr. Talebian will be responsible for managing the Department’s responsibilities related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including responding to initial requests made to the Department’s senior leadership offices, adjudicating all appeals from denials by any Department component under the FOIA, developing FOIA policy guidance for all Executive Branch agencies, providing legal counsel and training to agency personnel on the procedural and substantive aspects of the Act, and for overseeing agency compliance with the law.

Read more here.

FOIA News: Federal FOIA jobs available

Attorney-Advisor, Executive Office for U.S Attorneys (D.C.), closing Feb. 3

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Nat’l Oceanic & Atmospheric Admin. (Silver Spring, MD), closing Feb. 3

Gov’t Info. Specialist, U.S. Forest Serv. (D.C.), closing Feb. 3

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of Labor (D.C.), closing Feb. 4

Attorney-Adviser, Envtl. Prot. Agency (D.C.), closing Feb. 5

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Consumer Financial Prot. Bureau (D.C.), closing Feb. 10

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (D.C.), closing Feb. 10

Sup. Gov’t Info. Specialist, Dep’t of the Treasury (D.C.), closing Feb. 12

Gov’t Info. Specialist, Veterans Health Admin. (Decatur, GA), closing Feb. 14

Attorney Advisor, DOJ, Office of Prof’l Responsibility (D.C.), closing Feb. 25