[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 4]
[Revised as of July 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1208.2]

[Page 20-22]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
                   CHAPTER X--NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD
 
PART 1208_AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  1208.2  Production or disclosure of material or information.

    (a) Requests for identifiable records and copies. (1) All requests 
for National Mediation Board records shall be filed in writing by 
mailing, faxing, or delivering the request to the Chief of Staff, 
National Mediation Board, Washington, DC 20572.
    (2) The request shall reasonably describe the records being sought 
in a manner which permits identification and location of the records.
    (i) If the description is insufficient to locate the records, the 
National Mediation Board will so notify the person making the request 
and indicate the additional information needed to identify the records 
requested.
    (ii) Every reasonable effort shall be made by the Board to assist in 
the identification and location of the records sought.
    (3) Upon receipt of a request for the records the Chief of Staff 
shall maintain records in reference thereto which shall include the date 
and time received, the name and address of the requester, the nature of 
the records requested, the action taken, the date the determination 
letter is sent to the requester, appeals and action thereon, the date 
any records are subsequently furnished the number of staff hours and 
grade levels of persons who spent time responding to the request, and 
the payment requested and received.
    (4) All time limitations established pursuant to this section with 
respect to processing initial requests and appeals shall commence at the 
time a written request for records is received at the Board's offices in 
Washington, DC.
    (i) An oral request for records shall not begin any time 
requirement.
    (ii) [Reserved]
    (b) Processing the initial request--(1) Time limitations. Within 20 
working days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and working holidays) after 
a request for records is received, the Chief of Staff shall determine 
and inform the requester by letter whether or the extent to which the 
request will be complied with, unless an extension is taken under 
paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
    (2) Such reply letter shall include:
    (i) A reference to the specific exemption or exemptions under the 
Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) authorizing the withholding of 
the record, a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the 
record withheld.

[[Page 21]]

    (ii) The name or names and positions of the person or persons, other 
than the Chief of Staff, responsible for the denial.
    (iii) A statement that the denial may be appealed within thirty days 
by writing to the Chairman, National Mediation Board, Washington, D. C. 
20572, and that judicial review will thereafter be available in the 
district in which the requester resides, or has his principal place of 
business, or the district in which the agency records are situated, or 
the District of Columbia.
    (3) Extension of time. In unusual circumstances as specified in this 
paragraph, the Chief of Staff may extend the time for initial 
determination on requests up to a total of ten days (excluding 
Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays). Extensions shall be 
granted in increments of five days or less and shall be made by written 
notice to the requester which sets forth the reason for the extension 
and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. As 
used in this paragraph ``unusual circumstances'' means, but only to the 
extent necessary to the proper processing of the request:
    (i) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the 
office processing the request;
    (ii) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a 
voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in 
a single request; or
    (iii) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all 
practicable speed, with another agency or another division having 
substantial interest in the determination of the request, or the need 
for consultation among two or more components of the agency having 
substantial subject matter interest therein.
    (4) Treatment of delay as a denial. If no determination has been 
dispatched at the end of the ten-day period, or the last extension 
thereof, the requester may deem his request denied, and exercise a right 
of appeal, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section. When no 
determination can be dispatched within the applicable time limit, the 
responsible official shall nevertheless continue to process the request; 
on expiration of the time limit he shall inform the requester of the 
reason for the delay, of the date on which a determination may be 
expected to be dispatched, and of his right to treat the delay as a 
denial and to appeal to the Chairman of the Board in accordance with 
paragraph (c) of this section and he may ask the requester to forego 
appeal until a determination is made.
    (c) Appeals to the Chairman of the Board. (1) When a request for 
records has been denied in whole or in part by the Chief of Staff or 
other person authorized to deny requests, the requester may, within 
thirty days of its receipt, appeal the denial to the Chairman of the 
Board. Appeals to the Chairman shall be in writing, addressed to the 
Chairman, National Mediation Board, Washington, DC 20572.
    (2) The Chairman of the Board will act upon the appeal within twenty 
working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) of 
its receipt unless an extension is made under paragraph (c)(3) of this 
section.
    (3) In unusual circumstances as specified in this paragraph (c)(3), 
the time for action on an appeal may be extended up to ten days 
(excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) minus any 
extension granted at the initial request level pursuant to paragraph 
(b)(3) of this section. Such extension shall be made written notice to 
the requester which sets forth the reason for the extension and the date 
on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. As used in this 
paragraph (c)(3) ``unusual circumstances'' means, but only to the extent 
necessary to the proper processing of the appeal:
    (i) The need to search for and collect the requested records from 
field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the 
office processing the request;
    (ii) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a 
voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in 
a single request; or
    (iii) The need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all 
practicable

[[Page 22]]

speed, with another agency or another division having substantial 
interest in the determination of the request or the need for 
consultation among components of the agency having substantial subject 
matter interest therein.
    (4) Treatment of delay as a denial. If no determination on the 
appeal has been dispatched at the end of the twenty-day period or the 
last extension thereof, the requester is deemed to have exhausted his 
administrative remedies, giving rise to a right of review in a district 
court of the United States, as specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4). When no 
determination can be dispatched within the applicable time limit, the 
appeal will nevertheless continue to be processed; on expiration of the 
time limit the requester shall be informed of the reason for the delay, 
of the date on which a determination may be expected to be dispatched, 
and of his right to seek judicial review in the United States district 
court in the district in which he resides or has his principal place of 
business, the district in which the Board records are situated or the 
District of Columbia. The requester may be asked to forego judicial 
review until determination of the appeal.
    (d) Indexes of certain records. The National Mediation Board at its 
office in Washington, DC will maintain, make available for public 
inspection and copying, and publish quarterly (unless the Board 
determines by order published in the Federal Register that such 
publication would be unnecessary or impracticable) a current index of 
the materials available at the Board offices which are required to be 
indexed by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2).
    (1) A copy of such index shall be available at cost from the 
National Mediation Board, Washington, DC 20572.
    (2) [Reserved]

[63 FR 44394, Aug. 19, 1998]