§ 71.7 Appeals from denials of access.

(a) Appeals to the Solicitor of Labor. When a component denies in whole or in part a request for access to records, the requester may appeal the denial to the Solicitor of Labor within 90 days of his receipt of the notice denying his request. An appeal to the Solicitor of Labor shall be made in writing, addressed to the Solicitor of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. 20210–0002. Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be clearly marked: “Privacy Act Appeal.” An appeal not so addressed and marked shall be forwarded to the Office of the Solicitor as soon as it is identified as an appeal under the Privacy Act. An appeal that is improperly addressed shall be deemed not to have been received by the Department until the Office of the Solicitor receives the appeal.

(b) Form of action on appeal. The disposition of an appeal shall be in writing. A written decision affirming in whole or in part the denial of a request for access shall include a brief statement of the reason or reasons for the affirmation, including each Privacy Act and FOIA exemption relied upon and its relation to each record withheld, and a statement that judicial review of the denial is available in the U.S. District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides or has his principal place of business, the judicial district in which the requested records are located, or the District of Columbia. If the denial of a request for access is reversed on appeal, the requester shall be so notified and the request shall be processed promptly in accordance with the decision on appeal.

(c) Delegation of Authority by the Solicitor of Labor. The Solicitor of Labor is authorized to delegate his authority to decide appeals from any and all denials of access to other senior attorneys within the Office of the Solicitor.