6209.13,0 Code Page 1 of 4 FSH 6209.13 - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT/PRIVACY ACT HANDBOOK WO AMENDMENT 6209.13-94-1 EFFECTIVE 12/8/94 ZERO CODE 01 - AUTHORITY. (FSM 6270.1). 02 - OBJECTIVE. To provide guidelines for Forest Service personnel in administering the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act of 1974 (PA). 03 - POLICY. All employees who administer the FOIA/PA shall comply with this handbook. 04 - RESPONSIBILITY. (FSM 6270.4). 05 - DEFINITIONS. Attorney Work Product. Documents prepared in anticipation of litigation by an attorney or under an attorney's direction in connection with civil or criminal cases. Incident investigation documents are examples of attorney work products. Computer Matching Programs. Procedure in which a computer is used to compare two or more automated systems of records or a system of records with a set of non-Federal records to locate individuals who are common to more than one system or set. Confidential. One of the official categories ("Confidential," "Secret," and "Top Secret") used to classify documents for national defense purposes (FSM 6271.2, para. 1). Confidential Source. An individual who provides information to a law enforcement official under the assurance of confidentiality. Such information is not classified "confidential" unless it qualifies for national defense purposes. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) restricts use of confidentiality and permits public access to certain investigative records; see information on exemptions 4 and 7 in chapter 10. Officials may promise a source only, "The government will protect the confidentiality of your statements to the maximum extent permitted by law." Disclosure. Transfer of, or access to, a record. Document Classifications. Enforcement Proceedings. Term includes (1) criminal, civil, and administrative proceedings, and (2) investigations preliminary to a proceeding. Exemptions. a. The Freedom of Information Act makes Federal records available to the public while exempting certain material from release (sec. 11 and FSM 6271.2). b. The Privacy Act of 1974 (PA) provides individuals access to records the Government maintains on them and safeguards the privacy of these records. Exemptions to the PA cover records to which individuals may be denied access (sec. 22 and FSM 6272.1). Homogeneous Class of Personnel. A group of employees of like rank, grade, pay or position. Heterogeneous Class of Personnel. A group of employees of unlike rank, grade, pay, or position. Incident Investigation Documents. a. Factual Report. A report that contains strictly factual information; for example, sequence of events, measurements, weather reports, statistical information. Factual reports are free of conjecture, conclusions, opinions, recommendations, evidential documents, subsequent remedial actions, disciplinary actions, and emotionally charged wording. b. Letter of Transmittal. A document that submits a report to the next level of review. This letter may provide peripheral information for consideration or further exploration. c. Action Plan by Board of Review. A report that identifies subsequent remedial actions, based on the board's evaluation of all the facts revealed by the investigation team. d. Supporting Documents. Any documents generated and/or compiled to produce the final investigation package; for example, witness statements, photographs, special analysis, and local authority reports. Law Enforcement Records. Records of criminal, civil, and regulatory proceedings, including records for a. Prevention, detection, and punishment of law violators, and b. Security purposes. Personal Data. Records about an individual of a private nature, such as age, birth date, home address, physical features, marital status, photographs, medical history, and other identifying information. Personal data may include partnerships and sole proprietorships identified by an individual's name. Record. Records are retained on a variety of media (such as paper, microfilm, tape, and computer). The records covered differ under the FOIA and PA: a. The Freedom of Information Act covers official records of Federal agencies, which are public records that belong to the office rather than an individual. They include books, papers, maps, photographs, computerized data, and other documents made or received by the Forest Service in conducting public business. Correspondence related to public business but designated by a non-Government source as "Personal," "Proprietary," "Private," and so on, still may be an official record. b. The Privacy Act covers records maintained on individuals, that are retrieved by name or personal identifier, including single descriptive items or a collection of information in a file, such as education, financial transactions, medical history, criminal history, and employment history. The record contains the individual's name, number, or other identifying characteristic. Review Services (Clerical or Supervisory/Professional). Time spent examining records in response to a commercial use request to determine whether portions of documents located are permitted to be withheld. Includes all that is necessary to excise exempt portions. Time spent resolving general legal or policy issues is not a review service. Routine Use. Use of a record according to the purpose for which it was collected. Search Services (Clerical or Supervisory/Professional Salary Level). Time spent trying to find and examine records within the scope of the request. Also includes services to transport personnel to places of records storage or to transport records to the office for the purpose of conducting a search. Statistical Record. System of records maintained for statistical research or reporting purposes only and not used in making determinations about an identifiable individual. Substantial Harm. Loss of sales for a product or the inability of a business to compete for any portion of an existing or future market. System of Records. Term used under the Privacy Act for records containing personal information about individuals. Systems of records in the Forest Service that meet the following three criteria must be maintained in accordance with the Privacy Act: a. Consist of records, b. Are under the Agency's control, and c. Consist of records retrievable by name or another personal identifier, such as Social Security number. System Manager. Official with administrative responsibility for a system of records under the Privacy Act. Trade Secret. A commercially valuable plan, formula, process, or device resulting from innovation or substantial effort and used in making, preparing, compounding, or processing trade commodities. Working Days. Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and legal Federal holidays. Vaughn Index. Itemized index, correlating each withheld document (or portion) with a specific FOIA exemption and the relevant part of the agency's nondisclosure justification. The Vaughn Index is only required to be prepared during litigation.