[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1204.11]

[Page 62-63]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
               CHAPTER II--MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD
 
PART 1204_AVAILABILITY OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
    Subpart B_Procedures for Obtaining Records Under the Freedom of 
                             Information Act
 
Sec.  1204.11  Request for access to Board records.


    (a) Sending a request. A person may request a Board record under 
this part by writing to the office that has the record. If the requester 
believes that the records are located in a regional or field office, the 
request must be sent to that office. A list of the addresses of the 
Board's regional and field offices are in appendix II of part 1201 of 
this chapter and on the Board's World Wide Web site at http://
www.mspb.gov. Other requests must be sent to the Clerk of the Board, 
1615 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 20419-0001. Requests sent under this 
part must be clearly marked ``Freedom of Information Act Request'' on 
both the envelope and the request.
    (b) Description. A request must describe the records wanted in 
enough detail for Board employees to locate the records with no more 
than a reasonable effort. Wherever possible, a request must include 
specific information about each record, such as the date, title or name, 
author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. In addition, if the 
request asks for records on cases decided by the Board, it must show the 
title of the case, the MSPB docket number, and the date of the decision.
    (c) Time limits and decisions. If a request is not properly labeled 
or is sent to the wrong office, the time for processing the request will 
begin when the proper office receives it. Requests to the Board's 
headquarters will be decided by the Clerk of the Board. Requests to one 
of the regional or field offices will be decided by the Regional 
Director or Chief Administrative Judge. The Board will decide a request 
within 20 workdays after the appropriate office receives it, except 
under the conditions that follow.
    (1) Extension of time. If ``unusual circumstances'' exist, the Board 
may extend the time for deciding the request by no more than 10 
additional workdays. An example of unusual circumstances could be the 
need to find and retrieve records from regional or field offices or from 
federal records centers or the need to search, collect and or examine a 
large number of records which are demanded in a single request, or the 
need to talk to another agency with a substantial interest in the 
determination of the request. When the Board extends the time to decide 
the request, it will inform the requester in writing and describe the 
``unusual circumstances'', and it will state a date on which a decision 
on the request will be made. If the ``unusual circumstances'' are such 
that the Board cannot comply with the request within the time limit, the 
Board will offer the requester an opportunity:
    (i) To limit the request so that it may be processed within the time 
limit, or
    (ii) To arrange with the Board a different time frame for processing 
the request or a changed request.
    (2) Expedited processing. Where a requester shows a ``compelling 
need'' and in other cases determined by the Board, a decision whether to 
provide expedited processing of a request and notification of that 
decision to the requester will be made within 10 workdays of the date of 
the request. An example of a compelling need could be that a failure to 
obtain the records expeditiously could reasonably be expected to be a 
threat to the life or physical safety of a person or that there is 
urgency to inform the public about actual or alleged Federal Government 
activity by a person primarily engaged in distributing information. 
Where the Board approves expeditious processing, the Board will process 
the request within 5 workdays from the date of the decision to grant the 
expeditious processing. If, in order to fully satisfy the request, the 
Board requires the standard or additional processing time, or if it 
decides that good cause for expedited processing has not been made, it 
will provide written notice of

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its decision to the requester and will inform the requester of the right 
to administrative and court review of the decision. A showing of a 
compelling need must be made by a statement certified to be true to the 
best of the requester's knowledge and belief.

[64 FR 51039, Sept. 21, 1999, as amended at 65 FR 48886, Aug. 10, 2000]