i want to search a word in forms already submited

Source excerpt

# FEDERAL AGENCY FIELD ACTIVITIES (cont.) 2. In addition, as required by §1960.70, federal agencies must provide OFAP with a summary report of each fatal and catastrophic incident investigation. E. Federal Agency Recordkeeping Forms. 1. OSHA Forms. - Federal establishments are required to maintain the same injury and illness recordkeeping forms as the private sector, either by using the OSHA forms or equivalent forms. 2. Use of Equivalent Forms. a. As in the private sector, federal agencies are permitted to use an equivalent form, provided that the replacement form contains all the OSHA-required information. The substitute form must be readable and understandable, and completed using the same instructions as the OSHA form it replaces. b. Some federal agencies can elect to use the Office of Workers' Compensation (OWCP) claim forms in lieu of the OSHA-301 Incident Report. While this is permissible, in their standard format the OWCP claim forms do not contain all the OSHA-required information, and must be supplemented to include the questions contained on the right- hand side of the OSHA Form 301. Also, the OWCP claim forms usually contain information that is protected under the Privacy Act of 1974. V. Access to Federal Employee Occupational Safety and Health-Related Records. A. Access to Federal Employee Injury and Illness Records. 1. Access to the §1904 records by employees, former employees, personal representatives, or authorized employee representatives is the same in the federal sector as in the private sector as specified under §1904.35. 2. If a federal establishment chooses to use an OWCP claim form as a substitute for the OSHA-301 Incident Report, then any personal identifiers or other privacy-protected information must be redacted before providing the forms to employees or former employees other than the injured parties or their personal representatives. 3. Access to these records by authorized employee representatives is li…

Source excerpt

# Types of Fees: (cont.) b. Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular matters to be withheld; and c. If enacted after the date of enactment of the OPEN FOIA Act of 2009, specifically cites to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3). The Department of Justice maintains a list of judicially-approved Exemption 3 statutes at: http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/exemption3 1.pdf. The vast majority of OSHA inspection records do not contain information protected under Exemption 3. ## Exemption 4 and Executive Order [redacted postal code] - Confidential Business Information and Trade Secrets Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. $ 552(b)(4), protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential. This exemption is intended to protect two categories of information: Trade secrets: A trade secret is defined as a secret, commercially valuable plan, formula, process or device that is used in making, preparing, or processing a trade commodity (e.g., manufacturing descriptions, product formulations and schematics or drawings). Trade secrets are not commonly found in safety and health inspection records. Confidential Business Information (CBI): CBI is commercial or financial information obtained from a person that is privileged or confidential. Information is CBI if it is: (i) confidential business data submitted to the government, either because the submission is mandated or because the person voluntarily provided it, and (ii) the information would harm an identifiable private or governmental interest if disclosed (e.g., overhead costs, unit prices, copyrighted videos, proprietary manuals or software). CBI is often found in safety and health inspection records. ## Processing Exemption 4 Material To process CBI pursuant to Exemption 4 and E.O. [redacted postal code], first, identify which documents contain CBI and/or trade secrets. Second, after categorizing these documents or materia…

Source excerpt

# Chapter 16 # DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) I. Scope of Chapter and Information Requests - This chapter explains the process and legal requirements for responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. $ 552, (FOIA) for disclosure of records in OSHA's Safety and Health inspection files and other OSHA records, excluding requests for whistleblower inspection files. Requests for OSHA's whistleblower investigation files are subject to disclosure under OSHA's non-public disclosure policy, the Privacy Act, and FOIA and must be processed in accordance with Chapter 23, Responding To Disclosure Requests For Whistleblower Case File Materials: Non-Public Disclosure, Privacy Act, and FOIA Requests. See CPL-02-03-007, January 28, 2016, or as amended. - FOIA requests for Voluntary Protection Program files are coordinated through the Directorate of Cooperative and State Programs. - The disclosure of information in Safety and Health inspection files is governed by: (1) FOIA, the goal of which is to enable public access to government records; (2) the Department of Labor's FOIA implementing regulations found at 29 CFR Part 70; (3) Executive Order [redacted postal code], (52 FR [redacted postal code], 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 235); and (4) FOIA Case Law and accompanying Department of Justice Guidance. - ANY TIME YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW TO PROCESS A PARTICULAR RECORD OR FOIA REQUEST, PLEASE CONSULT WITH OSHA'S OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS (OOC), THE REGIONAL OSHA OFFICE, OR YOUR SERVICING OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR. A. This Chapter Applies to OSHA's Safety and Health Inspection Records The guidelines in this chapter apply to requests for all investigative records maintained by OSHA's safety and health inspection programs as well as requests for OSHA guidance documents, standards records, database records, and similar records. While this chapter emphasizes the processing of investigative materials, all requests for OSHA records are 1

Source excerpt

# DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) (cont.) Make a complete copy of all responsive records (including audio and video records) and place them in the FOIA file. This file must be maintained separately from the inspection file. Requesters familiar with OSHA inspection files often target specific documents in a file under FOIA. If a request is so targeted, only the targeted documents are responsive and only those documents must be copied into the FOIA file.⁷ Process the responsive records: If the enforcement action is open: In cases where OSHA is not making a Glomar response,⁸ review the case file for information that would impair the ongoing inspection or litigation. Withhold such information under Exemption 7(A). Process the remaining documents/information normally under the FOIA (i.e., redact/withhold documents/information under other applicable exemptions). If the enforcement action is closed, the processing and review of a closed file may be different depending upon who is the requester: If the FOIA request is from a complainant, injured party or their representative — Release all of the complainant's or injured party's documents and personally identifiable information (PII) to the complainant/injured party (or the complainant's/injured party's representative). Process the remaining documents normally under the FOIA (i.e., redact/withhold documents under applicable exemptions). If the FOIA request is from an employer or employer representative — Release all of the company's documents to the company (or the company's representative). Process the remaining documents normally under the FOIA (i.e., redact/withhold documents under applicable exemptions). If the FOIA request is from a third party requester - Process all documents normally under the FOIA (i.e., redact/withhold documents under applicable exemptions). 7 Questions about how to properly store records should be sent to OSHA's Records Officer in the Directorate of Administrative P…

Source excerpt

# DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) (cont.) treated similarly, except for whistleblower investigation files and other files covered by Privacy Act System of Records Notices. 1 Inspection records may include interviews, notes, work papers, memoranda, email, documents, pictures and audio or video recordings received or prepared by OSHA, concerning or relating to the performance of any inspection, or in the performance of any official duties related to an inspection. Such records are the property of the United States government and must be included in the case file. Under no circumstances is a government employee to destroy, retain, or use inspection notes and work papers for any private purpose. In addition, files must be maintained and destroyed in accordance with official agency schedules for retention and destruction of records. 2 When responding to a request, OSHA will ordinarily include only those records existing as of the date OSHA begins the search for them. If any other date is used by the agency, OSHA will inform the requester of the date. B. Determine Whether the Request Is a Perfected FOIA Request Only a perfected FOIA request must be answered under FOIA. Upon receipt of a request, the receiving office should make sure that the request is perfected. A perfected request is: 1. Properly Submitted: - The request is written and includes the name and mailing address (email address and/or a contact telephone number are not required, but are helpful if included) of the requester. - The request arrives through permissible means. Generally this means that the request must be submitted by mail, by fax, by hand delivery to the OSHA office, or to an email address dedicated to receipt of FOIA requests ([redacted email] is currently the only email address dedicated to receiving these requests). A FOIA request may not be submitted to an OSHA staff person's individual email address, although the requester may choose to copy individual OSHA…

Source excerpt

# Types of Fees: Search. The term search means the process of looking for material that is responsive to a FOIA request; including page-by-page or line-by-line identification of materials within documents or, when available, use of an existing computer program. Review. Review means the process of examining records, including audio-visual and electronic mail, located in response to a request to determine whether any portion of the located record is exempt from disclosure, and accordingly may be withheld. It also includes the act of preparing materials for disclosure, i.e., doing all that is necessary to redact them and otherwise prepare them for release. Review time includes time spent contacting any submitter, and considering and responding to any objections to disclosure made by a submitter, but does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. Reproduction. Reproduction means the process of making a copy of a record necessary to respond to a request. Such copy can take the form of paper, audio-visual materials or electronic records (e.g., compact disk/thumb drives). - III. Processing FOIA Requests A. Commonly Used FOIA Exemptions. - OSHA's policy is to disclose, to the extent possible, all documents in safety and health inspection files unless disclosure is prohibited by law or if disclosure would harm an interest protected by one of the statutory exemptions. This section discusses the most common FOIA exemptions that apply to documents in safety and health inspection files. If you believe another exemption applies, contact your Regional or National Office FOIA officer or SOL. - Exemption 3 - Nondisclosure Provisions in Other Federal Statutes Under Exemption 3, 5 U.S.C. $ 552(b)(3), an agency shall withhold matters which are specifically exempted from disclosure by another federal statute, when that statute either: a. Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner a…

Source excerpt

# Types of Fees: (cont.) ## Exemption 7. Law Enforcement Files. (cont.) basis and whether a witness has caused a waiver of his or her confidentiality must be considered. Once confidentiality is waived, then witness information and statements should no longer be withheld in full or in part under this exemption, but other exemptions (e.g., Exemptions 4 and 7(C)) might still apply. In some cases, a manager may confidentially disclose information to the CSHO without authorization from the employer. In such cases, the confidential information may be withheld under Exemption 7(D). In rare circumstances, a Glomar response may be appropriate if a more specific response to a narrowly targeted request would disclose whether or not an individual acted as a confidential witness. A Glomar response may also be used when disclosure would permit the linking of a witness to specific witness-provided information. 7(E) - Disclosure would reveal investigative techniques and procedures for law enforcement inspections or prosecutions if disclosure could result in circumvention of the law. Exemption 7(E) protects techniques that are not generally known to the public as well as law enforcement guides or manuals that are not available to the public, where disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law. ## Other FOIA Exemptions Several other exemptions not discussed in this section are also contained in the FOIA. These Exemptions 1 (national security), 2 (personnel files), 7(B) (law enforcement files that deprive a person of fair trial), 7(F) (law enforcement information that could endanger someone's life or safety), 8 (certain reports prepared by certain financial entities), and 9 (certain geological or geophysical information) should rarely, if ever, be invoked. Should an office wish to invoke any of these exemptions, you must contact SOL. These FOIA exemptions are briefly discussed in Appendix A. ## B. Denials under the FOIA In addition to the FOIA exemp…

Source excerpt

# Federal Register/Vol. 88, No. 139/ Friday, July 21, 2023/Rules and Regulations (cont.) ## a. Miscellaneous Comments (cont.) Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 139/ Friday, July 21, 2023/Rules and Regulations [redacted postal code] reasonable to anticipate that OSHA will have the technical capacity to collect the case-specific submissions. OSHA discusses the costs to build the data collection system in Section IV, Final Economic Analysis. As to data processing, the preamble to the 2019 rule does not specifically explain what is included in the "processing" of data; however, the discussion included a comment from NIOSH "offering to help with data analysis" and "not[ing] that it has already developed auto-coding methods for categorizing occupation and industry based on free text data and has successfully utilized similar free text data collected from workers' compensation claims" (84 FR 389, referencing Document ID 2003-A2). As explained in the NPRM for the current rulemaking, the agency preliminarily found that these concerns about "processing" costs were no longer compelling, due to technological developments in automated data coding for text-based fields that have made it easier and more cost-effective for OSHA to efficiently use electronically submitted, establishment-specific, case- specific injury and illness data. As discussed below, coding data is helpful for characterizing, analyzing, and making use of large amounts of text- based information. In the preamble to the proposed rule, OSHA declared an intention to use automated systems to assign standardized codes based on the information contained in the text fields (e.g., type of accident is "fall") to categorize and more efficiently use the data (87 FR [redacted postal code]). This standardized, automated coding of information from text fields in Forms 300 and 301 is already being done by BLS. As explained in the preamble to the proposed rule, in 2018, after the beginning of the previous rulemaking process,…

Source excerpt

# LEGAL ISSUES (cont.) 3. Examples of language for a routine Subpoena Duces Tecum are provided in this section. This language should be expanded when requesting additional or more detailed information for accident, catastrophe, referral, or fatality investigations. a. "Copies of any and all documents, including information stored electronically, which reflect training procedures for the lockout/tagout procedures and hazard communication program in effect at the [insert site name] in [insert city, state], during the period [insert month/day/year], to present." b. "Copies of the OSHA-300 and the OSHA-301 forms, for the entire site, during calendar years [insert year] and [insert year]." c. "Copies of any and all documents, including information stored electronically, such as safety and health program handbooks, minutes of safety and health meetings, training certification records, audits and reprimands for violations of safety and health rules by employees of the [insert site name] in [insert city, state], that show [insert employer's name] had and enforced safety rules relating to the use of trench boxes during the period [insert month/day/year], to present." NOTE: Where particular information is being sought, a subpoena's description should be narrow and specific in order to increase the likelihood of prompt compliance with the request. 4. Regional Administrators will ensure that Area Directors track all administrative subpoenas (including return of service) and maintain a copy in the casefile. F. Compliance with the Subpoena. - The person/entity served can comply with the subpoena by making the information or evidence available to the compliance officer immediately upon service, or at the time and place specified in the subpoena. 1. With respect to any record required to be made or kept pursuant to any statute or regulation, the subpoena shall normally allow three days from the date of service for production of the required information, although a…

Source excerpt

# DISCLOSURE UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) (cont.) In some instances, if the request is from a third party requester, a Glomar response is appropriate. A Glomar response can be used when the enforcement action is open or closed. In a Glomar response, OSHA will neither confirm nor deny the existence of responsive records. If a requester seeks an OSHA investigative file about a confidential complaint filed by Jane Doe, a Glomar response might be appropriate if processing the case file would be an admission that Jane Doe did, in fact, file the complaint that led to the investigation. A Glomar response is not appropriate if OSHA, the complainant/injured party, or the employer has publicized an inspection resulting from the complaint. Because the use of Glomar is rare, check with your Regional or National Office FOIA officer and/or SOL before using a Glomar response. Scan all relevant correspondence including: clarifications, amended requests, fees, tolling, processing delays, instructions from OSHA's Office of Communications, expedited processing denials, consultations with other government entities, E.O. [redacted postal code] processing, and final response letters to the FOIA request into the Tracking System and close out in the Tracking System database. Time Requirements. OSHA has 20 working days to determine whether to grant or deny in whole or in part a FOIA request (i.e. process the FOIA request) and to notify the requester. When OSHA cannot meet the 20 working-day statutory time limit because of "unusual circumstances," as defined in the FOIA, the directorate, regional, or area offices processing the request must notify the requester as soon as practicable in writing to advise the requester of the unusual circumstances and provide an estimated date by which OSHA expects to complete the processing of the request.⁹ When OSHA requires an extension of more than ten working days, OSHA must provide the requester with an opportunity either to modify the…