By: Evan Szarenski and Joanna Colosimo
Tomorrow, October 29, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is scheduled to publish a Notice in the Federal Register regarding two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for 2021 Type 2 Consolidated Employer Information Reports (EEO-1 Reports) filed by federal contractors. The requests were made by the University of Utah and a non-profit organization named "As You Sow."
OFCCP believes the requested information may be protected under FOIA Exemption 4, which covers confidential commercial information, but has not yet made a determination.
The notice informs federal contractors who filed these reports in 2021 that they have 40 days from the publication date of the Notice to submit objections to the disclosure of their information.
Contractors must provide detailed reasons why the information should be considered confidential. This should include an answer to the following questions:
- What specific information from the 2021 EEO-1 Report does the contractor consider to be a trade secret or commercial or financial information?
- What facts support the contractor’s belief that this information is commercial or financial in nature?
- Does the contractor customarily keep the requested information private or closely held? What steps have been taken to protect confidentiality of the requested data, and to whom has it been disclosed?
- Does the contractor contend that the government provided an express or implied assurance of confidentiality? If not, were there express or implied indications at the time the information was submitted that the government would publicly disclose the information?
- How would disclosure of the EEO-1 Type 2 Report harm the interest of the contractor protected by Exemption 4 of FOIA?
Contractors can submit the response through a web form (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/submitter-notice-response-portal), through email (OFCCPSubmitterResponse@dol.gov), or mail. If no objections are received within the specified time, OFCCP will assume that the contractor has no objection to the disclosure, and the EEO-1 Type 2 reports will be released to the FOIA requestors.
DCI will continue to monitor this and provide updates as they occur.
