The Postal Service is reminding employees and contractors of their responsibilities regarding official information they share with the public.
The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, is a law that grants citizens the right to access information from the federal government — unless an exemption applies.
Of the nine exemptions in the law, there are two that the Postal Service frequently uses.
The first — and by far the most common — reason to withhold or redact USPS records is to protect someone’s personal privacy rights. When responding to a FOIA request, remember to redact dates of birth, Social Security numbers, phone numbers and other protectable personally identifiable information.
The second exemption is unique to the Postal Service.
USPS can withhold or redact records to protect commercial information if it would not be good business practice to publicly disclose that information. This applies to information that originates within the organization or from outside entities.
Postal Service regulations include a list of commercial information that should be protected.
Examples include anything that can benefit USPS competitors, such as competitive product metrics, negotiated terms in contracts and leases, and the identities of parties in negotiated service agreements.
More information about responding to FOIA requests and applying exemptions can be found in Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management.
Employees with questions should email the USPS Privacy and Records Management Office or call 202-268-2608.
