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e-CFR Data is current as of November 20, 2009

Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 5—FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REGULATIONS

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Subpart E—Records Available for Public Inspection

§ 5.51   Records available.

(a) Records of general interest. We will make the following records of general interest available for your inspection and copying. Before releasing them, however, we may delete the names of people, or information that would identify them, if release would invade their personal privacy to a clearly unwarranted degree. (See §5.67 of this part.)

(1) Orders and final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions in adjudications, such as Letters of Finding issued by the Office for Civil Rights in civil rights complaints, and Social Security Rulings. (See §5.66 of this part for availability of internal memoranda, including attorney opinions and advice.)

(2) Statements of policy and interpretations that we have adopted but have not published in theFederal Register.

(3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect the public. (We will not make available, however, manuals or instructions that reveal investigative or audit procedures as described in §§5.63 and 5.68 of this part.)

(b) Other records. In addition to such records as those described in paragraph (a) of this section, we will make available to any person a copy of all other agency records, unless we determine that such records should be withheld from disclosure under subsection (b) of the Act and Subpart F of this regulation.

§ 5.52   Indexes of records.

(a) Inspection and copying. We will maintain and provide for your inspection and copying current indexes of the records described in §5.51(a). We will also publish and distribute copies of the indexes unless we announce in theFederal Registerthat it is unnecessary or impracticable to do so. For assistance in locating indexes maintained in the Department, you may contact the HHS Freedom of Information Officer at the address and telephone number in §5.31(c).

(b) Record citation as precedent. We will not use or cite any record described in §5.51(a) as a precedent for an action against a person unless we have indexed the record and published it or made it available, or unless the person has timely notice of the record.

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Section 508 / Accessibility