Jeffrey M. Louis, Dpm v. U.S. Department of Labor, an Executive Department of the United States

Plaintiff Jeffrey Louis appeals from the district court’s grant of summary judgment on his claims for disclosure of documents by the Department of Labor (“Department”) under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 . Louis contends a system of records from which he sought information about himself was improperly exempted by the Department pursuant to subsection (k)(2) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(k)(2), because the Department did not comply with the rulemaking procedures of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”) in exempting the system. Louis further contends that the Department’s belated reliance on subsection (d)(5) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d)(5), which exempts from disclosure “any information compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or proceeding,” is improper “post-hoc rationalization” for the Department’s decision to withhold information because it did not assert this exemption during the administrative proceedings.

We hold that the Department failed to follow the APA’s rulemaking procedures for designating its system of records as exempt, and therefore cannot rely on this exemption to…