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CWA Strategic Research Manual
How to Ask the Government For Information on Employers
In some cases, government agencies will send you information based on a telephone request.
However, you normally should send a follow-up request in writing so that your phone request is not forgotten.
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the federal government must give you certain information.
Some states (and local governments) also have FOIA-type statutes, often known as "sunshine laws." The rules vary from state to state, so you will have to check your state's status for what information is covered and how the request process works. Check the National Freedom of Information Coalition's web site [www.nfoic.org/web/index.htm] for citations to each state's relevant laws and other state-by-state resources..
FOIA gives any person the right to look at and have copies of many documents, records and files kept by the executive branch of the federal government. The law does not cover records of Congress, the courts, or state and local governments.
Records may include written reports, letters received, letters sent, computer records, memos, tape recordings, notes from phone con-versations or meetings, and so on.
Agencies must answer written requests for records within 20 working days. In some cases, such as when the amount of information requested is particularly voluminous, an agency may have an extra 10 days to respond, upon written notice to the requester. If you receive such a notice and cannot wait the additional 10 days, you may narrow down your request to avoid the time extension.
If the request is refused, you can file an appeal with the head of the agency, who must answer within 20 working days. If necessary, you can then go to court.
An agency may charge you for copying costs and for time spent searching for the records. However, fees don't have to be charged if release of the information will primarily benefit the general public.
A government official who "arbitrarily or capriciously" withholds a record you request faces punishment, such as a reprimand or a pay cut.
An agency may withhold portions of certain types of records. However, it can choose to release any records, even if they fall under one of these categories. Even if part of a record is withheld for one of the reasons listed below, the rest should be given to you.
Trade secrets. The government does not have to give you information if it was obtained on a confidential basis and if its release would cause a company "substantial competitive injury."
Certain internal agency documents. In order to encourage government employees to make honest recommendations to their supervisors, the law says an agency may refuse to release advice and recommendations concerning policies the agency is considering or lawsuits in which it may be involved.
Certain investigative files. An agency does not have to release records if doing so would interfere with its efforts to enforce the law. It can also refuse access to records which reveal the identity of a confidential source in a law enforcement investigation.
Some personnel and medical files. An agency may decide that the public benefit of releasing such files is not great enough to justify the invasion of individual privacy.
Documents which must be kept private because of other laws. Examples are income tax returns or individual census forms.
Some of the kinds of records you might ask for include:
Letters sent or received by the agency. You could ask an agency for any correspondence it had with a company during a certain period of time, or for any correspondence between the agency and members of Congress which mentions that company.
Notes from phone conversations or meetings. You could ask for all records or notes of conversations between officials of a company and a particular agency during a certain period.
Computer records. Many agencies keep computer records of inspections, surveys, contracts, or other activities. That means they can do a lot of inexpensive research for you.
Freedom of Information logs. Agencies are required to keep logs or indexes of all requests for records they receive under the FOIA. Try asking for a list of requests the agency has received from a company or its industry association. By finding out what they are interested in, you may turn up something you should have known about.
If you can find out ahead of time the exact name and date of the document you need, ask for it specifically. The more you narrow it down, the faster the agency will have to respond.
However, don't be afraid to "go fishing" --to make requests designed to turn up documents you didn't even know existed. Imagine what information, statistics, or records of government contracts with a company you would like to have, and ask if there is such a thing. If there is, the agency must tell you and provide it.
Try directing your requests to the agency's regional and area offices as well as the national office. Often, it is the field staff who are directly handling important information about your company, and they may have different policies on releasing information than the national office.
A written request does not have to be in any special form. Click here for a sample letter demonstrating some of the tips described below:
Be as specific as you can. The agency may try to delay by claiming it doesn't know exactly what you want.
The law says you don't have to tell why you want the records. If you reveal that you plan to use the records in a way which would embarrass the agency, it may not respond as quickly.
Let the agency know that you know you have the right to appeal and that agency managers may be punished for "arbitrarily and capriciously" withholding information.
Insist that even if a few words or paragraphs cannot be released, the remainder of the document be given to you without delay.
Find out ahead of time if there will be fees and, if so, how much.
Some agencies only charge fees for copying more than, say, 50 pages. Find out about such rules first. You may want to break up your request into several smaller requests, each of which would involve few enough pages that there would still be no fee.
If you know a record has already been published or given to a reporter or someone else, point this out in your letter. It may weaken an agency's arguments for not giving it to you.
Include your phone number so the agency can ask you questions about exactly what you want. This may reduce possible delays.
If the record or document you want is available at a government office near you, ask to look at it first. After you see it, you can decide whether to pay to have it copied.
In order to discourage you, some agencies may answer by saying they are "considering your request" and will get back in touch with you. Unless you keep calling or writing them, you may not hear from them again for months.
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