U.S. DOT faces FOIA lawsuit seeking details about Secretary Buttigieg’s paternity leave
- June 13, 2022
Juliette Fairley, Legal Newsline
A federal watchdog has sued the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) alleging that it failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking details about Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave.
As of June 2, the day the lawsuit was filed, the FOIA request had been pending for more than 160 days, which is beyond the length of time federal agencies are allowed to make a determination about a FOIA request.
“In a large organization like this, or any organization, if someone makes the decision to step aside from their responsibilities for a certain period of time, there should be some contingency plan for the agency to continue to do the work they need to do especially when you’re looking at an organization with the budget the size of the DOT and how what they do has an impact on the everyday lives of the American public,” Chamberlain added.