News & Analysis as of September 22, 2024

Exemptions

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The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal agency records and enforce that right in a court of law. However, not all agency records can be requested; there are nine exempt categories of information. In addition to the federal law, many states have passed their own freedom of information acts. These acts are often similar but not always identical to the federal version. less -

OFCCP Sued to Compel Release of EEO-1 Data

Littler on 11/23/2022

Readers will recall that in August 2022, OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register advising employers that it was the subject of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking EEO-1 data from all federal...more

FOIA Request May Disgorge Thousands of Federal Contractor EEO-1 Reports – Deadline to Object Is September 19, 2022

Epstein Becker & Green on 8/25/2022

On August 18, the US Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) announced that it had received a Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request from the Center for Investigative Reporting...more

OFCCP Plans to Disclose Confidential Employer EEO-1 Data: Can Employers Protect Their Information?

Littler on 8/22/2022

On August 19, 2022, OFCCP published a notice in the Federal Register for the stated purpose of advising employers that in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, it is planning to produce confidential...more

OFCCP Issues 30-Day FOIA Notice to Contractors and Subcontractors

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 8/19/2022

On August 18, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued unpublished notice of a broad Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that impacts the federal contracting community. An investigative...more

[Webinar] Protecting Your Confidential Information: FOIA Exemption 4 for Government Contractors - September 15th, 2:00 pm - 3:00...

PilieroMazza PLLC on 7/15/2022

The Freedom of Information Act allows government agencies to release any record in their possession unless one of nine exemptions applies. Exemption #4—the focus of this webinar—protects information considered “trade secrets...more

Is Your Trade Secret Safe Under FOIA?

Fenwick & West LLP on 1/28/2020

In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Food Marketing Institute. v. Argus Leader Media. The case marked the Court’s first chance to address an important question: When can (or cannot) the federal government withhold...more

SEC Staff Issues CF Disclosure Guidance on Confidential Treatment Requests

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 1/17/2020

In December 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued new "CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 7" (Guidance) regarding confidential treatment requests pursuant to...more

SEC Issues Streamlined Guidance for Confidential Treatment Requests

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP on 1/3/2020

On Dec. 19, 2019, the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC updated its guidance with respect to the SEC’s procedures for confidential treatment applications (CTAs). In April 2019, the SEC adopted a streamlined procedure...more

Supreme Court Expands Trade Secrets Exemption from FOIA

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP on 12/20/2019

Businesses often worry that the information they provide to the government will be disclosed, and with good reason – such information is presumptively available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act...more

Department of Justice Issues New Guidance on Definition of "Confidential" under FOIA Exemption 4

Holland & Hart LLP on 10/24/2019

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently issued guidance defining the types of information that qualify as “confidential” under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). This guidance follows the Supreme...more

Protecting Government Contractors’ Confidential Information Just Got Easier

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on 7/25/2019

At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) decision that decreases the burden on contractors seeking to protect confidential information. As most contractors are aware,...more

Is the U.S. Supreme Court’s FOIA Decision a Game Changer for Companies Seeking to Prevent Disclosure of Proprietary Information?

Perkins Coie on 7/24/2019

In its recent decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media d/b/a Argus Leader, No. 18-481, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a decades-old legal standard for companies that wish to shield their business...more

EPA Revises its FOIA Regulations

Perkins Coie on 7/22/2019

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more

Employers with Federal Contracts Should Take Affirmative Steps to Maintain Confidentiality of Pay Data Submitted via EEO-1 Survey

Poyner Spruill LLP on 7/19/2019

As discussed in our prior alert, employers are now required to submit additional information to supplement EEO-1 reports. The deadline to submit this new information – which will include employee pay data (referred to by the...more

Protecting Confidential Business Information

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 7/19/2019

Supreme Court Upends Half-Century Standard for Handling Confidential Commercial Information Under the Freedom of Information Act - Businesses that provide sensitive commercial or financial information to the federal...more

The Supreme Court Expands Contractor FOIA Protection - with a Caveat

Holland & Knight LLP on 7/17/2019

Contractors have struggled to prevent the release of confidential information such as proposals incorporated into contracts and unit pricing requested by competitors and others under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)....more

Supreme Court Issues Decision Significantly Expanding the Scope of FOIA’s Confidentiality Exemption

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 7/11/2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold...more

Supreme Court Rules on FOIA and the Protection of Sensitive Company Information

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 7/9/2019

A recent Supreme Court case determined that private commercial and financial information that is transmitted to the federal government under an assurance of privacy is considered “confidential” and not subject to disclosure...more

The Supreme Court Expands the Meaning of “Confidential” Information under FOIA Exemption 4

Blank Rome LLP on 7/8/2019

The Supreme Court in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, No. 18-481 (U.S. June 24, 2019) recently relaxed the standard for withholding confidential information under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act...more

Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media (2019)

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP on 7/5/2019

Although patentees generally do not have great concerns about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's secrecy requirements, they may lose control over their information under...more

Government Contract–Specific Impact of Recent Supreme Court FOIA Decision

Morgan Lewis on 7/3/2019

In Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the US Supreme Court held that private sector commercial information in the federal government’s possession may be withheld from public release without a showing that the...more

Supreme Court Provides Greater FOIA Protections for Utilities Commercial Information

Morgan Lewis on 7/3/2019

On June 24, the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, expanding the scope of information protected under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA establishes...more

U.S. Supreme Court Reduces Category of Third-Party “Confidential” Records Subject to Disclosure Under the Freedom of Information...

BCLP on 7/3/2019

Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, 2019 WL 2570624, 588 U.S. - - - (June 24, 2019) (“FMI”), it made confidential commercial and financial information provided to the U.S. government by private parties subject to...more

U.S. Supreme Court Increases Protection For Confidential Business Information Shared With The Federal Government

Beveridge & Diamond PC on 7/3/2019

Many companies that have submitted confidential business information to the federal government have learned the hard way that the Courts and federal agencies have not interpreted the word “confidential” under the Freedom of...more

Supreme Court Issues Decision Significantly Expanding the Scope of FOIA’s Confidentiality Exemption

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 7/3/2019

On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold information from a...more

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Freedom of Information Act › Confidential Information › Exemptions

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