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GAO-18-235R 1 (2018-03-12)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacpfz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: c AO U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 March 13, 2018 Congressional Requesters Freedom of Information Act: Federal Court Decisions Have Not Required the Office of Special Counsel to Initiate Disciplinary Actions for the Improper Withholding of Records Based on the principles of openness and accountability in government, the Freedom of Information Act1 (FOIA) requires federal agencies to provide the public with access to agency records unless the information is exempt or excluded from disclosure.2 Each year, federal agencies respond to FOIA requests and subsequently release information to FOIA requesters, which contributes to the understanding of government actions. When responding to requests, agencies are generally required by the act to determine within 20 working days whether a request will be fulfilled.3 In addition, FOIA allows requesters to sue an agency in federal court if the agency does not respond to a request for information within the statutory time frames or if the requesters believe they are entitled to information that is being withheld by the agency. Further, the act requires the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against agency personnel in cases involving lawsuits where a court has found, among other things, that agency personnel may have acted arbitrarily or capriciously in responding to a FOIA request.4 The act requires the Department of Justice (Justice) to notify OSC 15 U.S.C. § 552. 2Agencies can apply nine specific exemptions to withhold information that is determined to be, for example, classified, confidential commercial, pre-decisional, private, or one of several types of law enforcement information. 3The 20-day time period to respond to a request may be extended beyond 30 days in certain circumstances. For example, the agency may notify the requester that the time limit cannot be met, and provide the requester with an opportunity to limit the scope of the request so that it may be processed within that time limit or offer the requester an opportunity to arrange with the agency an alternative time frame for processing the request. 4The Office of Special Counsel is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants for federal employment from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal from whistleblowing. The office conducts investigations of alleged prohibited personnel practices, attempts informal resolution through discussion with an agency (or by offering mediation), and, when necessary, takes corrective or disciplinary action. GAO-18-235R Freedom of Information Act Page 1

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