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EEOC 2021 Chief FOIA Officer Report

Section 1:  Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness

The guiding principle underlying DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines is the presumption of openness.

Please answer the following questions in order to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied to all decisions involving the FOIA. You may also include any additional information that illustrates how your agency is working to apply the presumption of openness.

A.  FOIA Leadership

  1. The FOIA requires each agency to designate a Chief FOIA Officer who is a senior official at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level.  See 5 U.S.C. § 552(j)(1) (2018).  Is your agency’s Chief FOIA Officer at this level?

    No.

  2. Please provide the name and title of your agency’s Chief FOIA Officer.

    Carol R. Miaskoff, Associate Legal Counsel

B.  FOIA Training

  1. The FOIA directs agency Chief FOIA Officers to ensure that FOIA training is offered to agency personnel.  See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(j)(2)(F).  Please describe the efforts your agency has undertaken to ensure proper FOIA training is made available and used by agency personnel.

    Agency-wide FOIA training was provided to agency personnel.  Ad hoc training was provided to FOIA professionals and other agency staff as requested.

  2. Did your FOIA professionals or the personnel at your agency who have FOIA responsibilities attend substantive FOIA training during the reporting period such as that provided by the Department of Justice?

    Yes.

  3. If yes, please provide a brief description of the type of training attended or conducted and the topics covered.

    DOJ training: Annual FOIA Report Refresher Training; Chief FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training; Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act; FOIA Litigation Training; AI for FOIA Professionals; Virtual Procedural Requirements and Fees Workshop; Virtual Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Workshop; Virtual Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Workshop and FOIA for Attorneys and Access Professionals. ASAP Training-training regarding Exemption (b)(5) (based on case pending before SCOTUS.)

    EEOC also conducted training addressing Exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(5); fee waivers and provided a basic FOIA overview for agency staff.

  4. Please provide an estimate of the percentage of your FOIA professionals and staff with FOIA responsibilities who attended substantive FOIA training during this reporting period.

    90%

  5. OIP has directed agencies to “take steps to ensure that all of their FOIA professionals attend substantive FOIA training at least once throughout the year.” If your response to the previous question is that less than 80% of your FOIA professionals attended training, please explain your agency’s plan to ensure that all FOIA professionals receive or attend substantive FOIA training during the next reporting year.

    N/A

C. Outreach

  1. Did your FOIA professionals engage in any outreach or dialogue with the requester community or open government groups regarding your administration of the FOIA? Please describe any such outreach or dialogue, and, if applicable, any specific examples of how this dialogue has led to improvements in your agency’s FOIA administration.

    Although FOIA professionals did not personally do stakeholder outreach, they worked with EEOC outreach professionals in the agency’s program offices to provide FOIA outreach to federal and private sector individuals and entities about FOIA and the statutes EEOC enforces as part of training and outreach sessions. 

D. Other Initiatives

  1. Describe any efforts your agency has undertaken to inform non-FOIA professionals of their obligations under the FOIA.  In particular, please describe how often and in what formats your agency provides FOIA training or briefings to non-FOIA staff.

    New EEOC employees receive FOIA training as part of their overall “on boarding” process on joining the agency.  Managers and supervisors of offices that appear to be encountering issues are offered FOIA training tailored to their needs.  In addition, ad hoc training is provided on an as-requested basis.

  2. Optional -- If there are any other initiatives undertaken by your agency to ensure that the presumption of openness is being applied, please describe them here.

    N/A

Section II:  Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency Has an Effective System in Place for Responding to Requests

DOJ’s FOIA Guidelines emphasize that “[a]pplication of the proper disclosure standard is only one part of ensuring transparency.  Open government requires not just a presumption of disclosure, but also an effective system for responding to FOIA requests.” It is essential that agencies effectively manage their FOIA program.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to ensure that the management of your FOIA program is effective and efficient. You should also include any additional information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.

  1. For Fiscal Year 2020, what was the average number of days your agency reported for adjudicating requests for expedited processing?  Please see Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report.

    11.25 days

  2. If your agency's average number of days to adjudicate requests for expedited processing was above ten calendar days, according to Section VIII.A. of your agency's Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report, please describe the steps your agency will take to ensure that requests for expedited processing are adjudicated within ten calendar days or less.

    EEOC continues to work with all its FOIA professionals find new ways to support the conclusion of expedited requests within 10 days.

  3. During the reporting period, did your agency conduct a self-assessment of its FOIA program?  If so, please describe the methods used, such as reviewing Annual Report or raw data, using active workflows and track management, reviewing and updating processing procedures, etc.

    Yes, the Annual Report and raw data were reviewed.

Note: In September 2017, OIP released a FOIA Self-Assessment Toolkit as a resource for agencies conducting a self-assessment of their FOIA program. The Toolkit is available on OIP’s website for all agencies to use.

  1. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs):  Having SOPs can improve the consistency and quality of an agency’s FOIA process.  In addition, describing an agency’s standard practices for handling FOIA requests on agency FOIA websites can help requesters better understand how their request will be handled.
    • a)  Does your agency have SOPs that outline general processes for handling FOIA requests and appeals?

      Yes.

    •  b) If not, does your agency have plans to create FOIA SOPs?

      N/A

    • c) If yes, how often are they reviewed/updated to account for changes in law, best practices, and technology?

      The SOPS’s are reviewed and updated as necessary annually at a minimum and more frequently if changes in the law occur.

    • d) In addition to having SOPs, does your agency post or otherwise describe your standard processes for handling requests on your website?  

      Yes, the standard processes are posted on our website.

  2. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires additional notification to requesters about the services provided by the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison.  Please provide an estimate of the number of times requesters sought assistance from your agency’s FOIA Public Liaison during FY 2020 (please provide a total number or an estimate of the number).

    Requesters sought assistance from EEOC's FOIA Public Liaison approximately 619 times.

  3. Does your agency frequently receive common categories of first-party requests?  If so, please describe the types of requests and if your agency has explored establishing alternative means of access to these records outside of the FOIA process?

    Private sector charge file requests comprise the majority of EEOC’s first party FOIA requests. Section 83, an administratively created mechanism to obtain charge files, is an alternative means to obtain charge files.   EEOC is prohibited from posting the records online due to confidentiality provisions and/or privacy concerns. 

  4. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 required all agencies to update their FOIA regulations within 180 days.  Has your agency updated its FOIA regulations in accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016?  If not, what is your agency's plan to update your regulations?

    Yes.

  5. Please explain how your agency worked to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on FOIA processing.  Examples could include, but are not limited to: altering workflows, implementing new technology, providing notices and instructions or otherwise communicating directly with requesters.

    EEOC offices that have transitioned to all-electronic recordkeeping are able to continue processing all FOIA requests in the same way they did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. When all records are not retained electronically, requesters are advised in their determination letters that their FOIA request will be completed as soon as the paper records are digitized.  Given the limitations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work, EEOC is striving to provide these records ASAP.

  6. Optional -- Please describe:
    • Best practices used to ensure that your FOIA system operates efficiently and effectively
      • Clear communication from HQ management to managers in specific offices regarding expectations for processing FOIAs timely.
      • Bi-weekly HQ review of the FOIA docket in each EEOC office to identify best practices and particular challenges
      • Addition of FOIA goals to the SES performance plans of District Directors in the field
      • Expanded emphasis on electronic records’ importance and impact on the evaluation of all SES members at the agency 
    • Any challenges your agency faces in this area

      As noted above, records are, at least in part, still in paper format in some EEOC offices.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, this delayed FOIA processing because the files could not be entirely processed and completed electronically.  EEOC staff has identified these records and is working to digitize them and finalize FOIA review as fast as possible, given the constraints of physical office closures during the pandemic.

Section III:  Steps Taken to Increase Proactive Disclosures

The Department of Justice has long focused on the need for agencies to work proactively to post information online without waiting for individual requests to be received.

Please answer the following questions to describe the steps your agency has taken to increase the amount of material that is available on your agency websites.  In addition to the questions below, you should also describe any additional steps taken by your agency to make and improve proactive disclosures of information.

  1. Provide examples of any material that your agency has proactively disclosed during the past reporting year, including records that have been requested and released three or more times in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2)(D).  Please include links to these materials as well.

    N/A-EEOC did not receive more than three requests for any specific non-confidential records.

  2. Beyond posting new material, is your agency taking steps to make the posted information more useful to the public, especially to the community of individuals who regularly access your agency’s website?

    Yes.  EEOC’s entire public-facing website was redesigned and updated in 2020 to make it more user-friendly.  To increase the transparency of the Commission’s activities, the Chair instituted the practice of posting the Commission’s votes on this public website, so that all stakeholders can easily access the Commission’s actions and Commissioners’ voting records. EEOC also created a single, searchable, indexed database that provides links to all EEOC sub-regulatory and technical assistance documents currently in effect.   To provide additional information to all stakeholders, a detailed description of the Commissioner Charge and Directed Investigation processes was posted to EEOC’s website.

  3. If yes, please provide examples of such improvements.  In particular, please describe steps your agency is taking to post information in open, machine-readable, and machine-actionable formats, to the extent feasible.  If not posting in open formats, please explain why and note any challenges.

    In December 2020 EEOC launched a new “Data Tool Tracker to Track Employment Trends.”  The interactive tool allows users to search data by sex, race/ethnicity, location and industry sector.

  4. Optional -- Please describe:
    • Best practices used to improve proactive disclosures
    • Any challenges your agency faces in this area

Section IV:  Steps Taken to Greater Utilize Technology

A key component of FOIA administration is using technology to make information more accessible.  In addition to using the internet to make proactive disclosures, agencies should also be exploring ways to utilize technology in responding to requests.

Please answer the following questions to describe how your agency is utilizing technology to improve its FOIA administration and the public's access to information. You should also include any additional information that that describes your agency's efforts in this area.

  1. Please briefly describe the types of technology your agency uses to support your FOIA program.  In addition, please highlight if your agency is leveraging or exploring any new technology that you have not previously reported.  If so, please describe the type of technology. 

    EEOC is currently using FOIAXpress but is in the process of transitioning out of it. EEOC is now in the process of working with Armedia to individualize their ArkCase FOIA software to serve EEOC and its unique types of records.  The agency will transition to ArkCase FOIA software in February 2021.

  2. OIP issued guidance in 2017 encouraging agencies to regularly review their FOIA websites to ensure that they contain essential resources and are informative and user-friendly.  Has your agency reviewed its FOIA website(s) during the reporting period to ensure it addresses the elements noted in the guidance?

    Yes, the FOIA website was updated within the last year, as part of EEOC’s website update and modernization project.

  3. Did your agency successfully post all four quarterly reports for Fiscal Year 2020?

    Yes.

  4. If your agency did not successfully post all quarterly reports, with information appearing on FOIA.gov, please explain why and provide your agency’s plan for ensuring that such reporting is successful in Fiscal Year 2021.

    N/A

  5. The FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 requires all agencies to post the raw statistical data used to compile their Annual FOIA Reports.  Please provide the link to this posting for your agency’s Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report and, if available, for your agency’s Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report.

    The Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report:  https://www.eeoc.gov/foia/reports/fiscal-year-2019-report-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-its-administration.

    The Fiscal Year 2020 Annual FOIA Report link is not yet available: https://www.eeoc.gov/foia/reports/foia-reports

  6. Optional -- Please describe:
    • Best practices used in greater utilizing technology
    • Any challenges your agency faces in this area  

Section V:  Steps Taken to Improve Timeliness in Responding to Requests and Reducing Backlogs

The Department of Justice has emphasized the importance of improving timeliness in responding to requests.  This section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report addresses both time limits and backlog reduction.  Backlog reduction is measured both in terms of numbers of backlogged requests or appeals and by looking at whether agencies closed their ten oldest requests, appeals, and consultations.

For the figures required in this Section, please use the numbers contained in the specified sections of your agency’s FY 2019 and 2020 Annual FOIA Reports.

A. Simple Track

Section VII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "FOIA Requests – Response Time for All Processed Requests," includes figures that show your agency's average response times for processed requests. For agencies utilizing a multi-track system to process requests, there is a category for "simple" requests, which are those requests that are placed in the agency’s fastest (non-expedited) track, based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.

  1. Does your agency utilize a separate track for simple requests?

    Yes.

  2. If your agency uses a separate track for simple requests, according to Annual FOIA Report section VII.A, was the agency overall average number of days to process simple requests twenty working days or fewer in Fiscal Year 2020?

    Yes.

  3. Please provide the percentage of requests processed by your agency in Fiscal Year 2020 that were placed in your simple track.  Please use the following calculation based on the data from your Annual FOIA Report: (processed simple requests from Section VII.C.1) divided by (requests processed from Section V.A.) x 100.

    87.46%

  4. If your agency does not track simple requests separately, was the average number of days to process all non-expedited requests twenty working days or fewer?

    N/A

B. Backlogs

Section XII.A of your agency’s Annual FOIA Report, entitled "Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals" shows the numbers of any backlogged requests or appeals from the fiscal year. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2019 and Fiscal Year 2020 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

BACKLOGGED REQUESTS

  1. If your agency had a backlog of requests at the close of Fiscal Year 2020, according to Annual FOIA Report Section XII.A, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2019?

    No.

  2. If not, according to Annual FOIA Report Section V.A, did your agency process more requests during Fiscal Year 2020 than it did during Fiscal Year 2019?

    No.

  3. If your agency’s request backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2020, please explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog.  When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:
    • An increase in the number of incoming requests.
    • A loss of staff.
    • An increase in the complexity of the requests received.  If possible, please provide examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.
    • Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

      Several reasons contributed to the FOIA backlog:  loss of staff, increase in complexity of requests; and most prominently, the constraints resulting from EEOC being in 100% telework status since March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Some EEOC charge files are still in “paper” format. (FOIA requests for charge files make up the vast majority of EEOC’s FOIA requests.)  Due to EEOC being in 100% telework status, FOIA line staff did not go into the offices to locate paper files and upload the records for processing.   

  4. If you had a request backlog please report the percentage of requests that make up the backlog out of the total number of requests received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2020.  Please use the following calculation based on data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged requests from Section XII.A) divided by (requests received from Section V.A) x 100.   If your agency has no request backlog, please answer with “N/A.”

    5.5%

BACKLOGGED APPEALS

  1. If your agency had a backlog of appeals at the close of Fiscal Year 2020, according to Section XII.A of the Annual FOIA Report, did that backlog decrease as compared with the backlog reported at the end of Fiscal Year 2019?  

    No.

  2. If not, according to section VI.A of the Annual FOIA Report, did your agency process more appeals during Fiscal Year 2020 than it did during Fiscal Year 2019?

    No.

  3. If your agency’s appeal backlog increased during Fiscal Year 2020, please explain why and describe the causes that contributed to your agency not being able to reduce its backlog.  When doing so, please also indicate if any of the following were contributing factors:
    • An increase in the number of incoming appeals.
    • A loss of staff.
    • An increase in the complexity of the requests received.  If possible, please provide examples or briefly describe the types of complex requests contributing to your backlog increase.
    • Any other reasons – please briefly describe or provide examples when possible.

      An increase in the complexity of the appeals contributed to the backlog increase.

  4. If you had an appeal backlog please report the percentage of appeals that make up the backlog out of the total number of appeals received by your agency in Fiscal Year 2020.  Please use the following calculation based on data from your Annual FOIA Report: (backlogged appeals from Section XII.A) divided by (appeals received from Section VI.A) x 100.  If your agency did not receive any appeals in Fiscal Year 2020 and/or has no appeal backlog, please answer with "N/A."

    4.59%

C. Backlog Reduction Plans

  1. In the 2020 guidelines for Chief FOIA Officer Reports, any agency with a backlog of over 1000 requests in Fiscal Year 2019 was asked to provide a plan for achieving backlog reduction in the year ahead.  Did your agency implement a backlog reduction plan last year?  If so, describe your agency’s efforts in implementing this plan and note if your agency was able to achieve backlog reduction in Fiscal Year 2020?

    N/A

  2. If your agency had a backlog of more than 1,000 requests in Fiscal Year 2020, please explain your agency’s plan to reduce this backlog during Fiscal Year 2021.

    N/A

D. Status of Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations

Section VII.E, entitled "Pending Requests – Ten Oldest Pending Requests," Section VI.C.(5), entitled "Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals," and Section XII.C., entitled "Consultations on FOIA Requests – Ten Oldest Consultations Received from Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency," show the ten oldest pending requests, appeals, and consultations. You should refer to these numbers from your Annual FOIA Reports for both Fiscal Year 2019 and Fiscal Year 2020 when completing this section of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

OLDEST REQUESTS

  1. In Fiscal Year 2020, did your agency close the ten oldest pending perfected requests that were reported in Section VII.E. of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report?

    No.

  2. If no, please provide the number of these requests your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section VII.E of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report.  If you had fewer than ten total oldest requests to close, please indicate that.

    EEOC closed 8 of its oldest pending perfected requests.

  3. Beyond work on the ten oldest requests, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall age of your pending requests.

    Hiring and training additional staff.

TEN OLDEST APPEALS

  1. In Fiscal Year 2020, did your agency close the ten oldest appeals that were reported pending in Section VII.C.5. of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report?

    Yes.

  2. If no, please provide the number of these appeals your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section VII.C.(5) of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report.  If you had fewer than ten total oldest appeals to close, please indicate that.

    N/A

  3. Beyond work on the ten oldest appeals, please describe any steps your agency took to reduce the overall age of your pending appeals.

    Hired and trained additional staff.

TEN OLDEST CONSULTATIONS

  1. In Fiscal Year 2020, did your agency close the ten oldest consultations that were reported pending in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report?

    Yes.

  2. If no, please provide the number of these consultations your agency was able to close by the end of the fiscal year, as listed in Section XII.C. of your Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report.  If you had fewer than ten total oldest consultations to close, please indicate that.

    N/A

E. Additional Information on Ten Oldest Requests, Appeals, and Consultations & Plans

  1. Briefly explain any obstacles your agency faced in closing its ten oldest requests, appeals, and consultations from Fiscal Year 2019.

    Complex FOIA request with voluminous number of records.

  2. If your agency was unable to close any of its ten oldest requests because you were waiting to hear back from other agencies on consultations you sent, please provide the date the request was initially received by your agency, the date when your agency sent the consultation, and the date when you last contacted the agency where the consultation was pending.

    N/A

  3. If your agency did not close its ten oldest pending requests, appeals, or consultations, please provide a plan describing how your agency intends to close those “ten oldest” requests, appeals, and consultations during Fiscal Year 2021.

    Additional staff are processing the oldest pending request that EEOC was unable to close during Fiscal Year 2020.

F. Success Stories

Out of all the activities undertaken by your agency since March 2020 to increase transparency and improve FOIA administration, please briefly describe here at least one success story that you would like to highlight as emblematic of your agency’s efforts.  The success story can come from any one of the five key areas but should not be something that you have reported in a prior year.  As noted above, OIP will highlight these agency success stories during Sunshine Week.  To facilitate this process, all agencies should use bullets to describe their success story and limit their text to a half page. The success story is designed to be a quick summary of key achievements. A complete description of all your efforts will be contained in the body of your Chief FOIA Officer Report.

EEOC, despite the difficulties associated with telework necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and some offices still relying on “paper files,” EEOC processed over 15,000 FOIA requests and designed and implemented a plan to prioritize the scanning and uploading of “paper records” to complete disclosures.