GovernmentExecutive.com

Agencies need not grant the public access to information included in confidential correspondence with congressional committees, a federal appeals court ruled recently.

In 1997, the Joint Committee on Taxation, made up of five Senate Finance Committee members and five lawmakers from the House Ways and Means Committee, asked the Internal Revenue Service to assist in an investigation of whether the agency's choices of which tax-exempt organizations to audit were politically motivated. The congressional committee sent a letter to IRS officials asking for a variety of documents to assist in the investigation.

At the end of the letter, the committee stated: "This document is a congressional record and is entrusted to the Internal Revenue Service for your use only. This document may not be disclosed without prior approval of the Joint Committee."

The IRS complied with the committee's request, supplying the lawmakers with lists of organizations audited. In addition, the IRS supplied the names of agents involved and descriptions of allegations of inappropriate behavior on the part of the agents.

Three years later, United We Stand America, a grass-roots political group founded by Ross Perot, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request asking the IRS to disclose "any and all documents" referring to the group. IRS officials sent Perot's organization more than 500 pages of documents, but would not share the agency's full response to the congressional committee.

United We Stand America filed suit in the U.S. District Court for D.C., asking the judges to force the agency to disclose the information. The IRS argued that information compiled at the request of Congress is not subject to FOIA. District court judges sided with the agency, ruling that since the IRS had not used the records for any purpose other than responding to the committee request, the documents were exempt from FOIA.

Perot's group appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. On March 5, the court ruled that while the Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to disclose records to the public upon request, it does not compel agencies to share documents compiled in response to congressional inquiries.

If lawmakers request documents and clearly indicate they intend to retain control over them, then agencies need not divulge the records to the public under FOIA, the court ruled. In the IRS case, the joint committee specified only that its letter requesting the information remain private, the court decided.

Therefore, the IRS must supply United We Stand America with all documents related to the investigation, except for the letter requesting the records and any pages revealing information about that request, the appeals court ruled.

United We Stand America Inc. v. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (02-5266), March 5, 2004

Who's an 'Applicant'?

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued proposed changes to standards governing when federal agencies and other employers have to keep records of individuals who apply for jobs through electronic means, such as the Internet.

Under proposed rules published March 4 in the Federal Register, agencies must keep records of applicants who use electronic technologies when three conditions apply: an employer has acted to fill a particular position; the individual has followed the employer's standard procedures for submitting applications; and the individual has indicated an interest in the particular position.

"With the daily online transmission of hundreds of thousands of resumes, there is a critical need to provide supplemental guidance that is aimed at protecting the right of applicants, while relieving employers of onerous record-keeping requirements," said EEOC Chairwoman Cari Dominguez.

The guidance was developed by EEOC, the Office of Personnel Management and the Labor and Justice departments to address the magnitude of rapidly expanding Internet recruitment. The rule adds to record-keeping guidance set forth under the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.

The guidance applies exclusively to the Internet and related technologies, such as Internet resume banks and job boards, as well as employer Web sites, resume databases and online job listings. Technologies include e-mail, third-party job or resume banks, employment Web pages, electronic scanning technology, applicant tracking systems and internal databases of job seekers.

Existing UGESP guidelines continue to apply to traditional nonelectronic recruitment, such as the submission of hard-copy resumes.

Post a Comment

To post a comment, you must provide a name and a valid e-mail address. Messages must be limited to 400 words. By using this Service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable. Although Government Executive does not monitor comments posted to this site (and has no obligation to), it reserves the right to delete, edit, or move any material that it deems to be in violation of this rule.