Is a lawsuit finally forcing transparency at the Department of Labor?

After stonewalling several attempts at transparency, a lawsuit and a some much-deserved public shaming may finally be spurring the Department of Labor to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests. Last week, I noted that the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation had filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court because the Department of Labor had been totally unresponsive to their FOIA attempts to get information about any legal and financial relationships, as well as communications Obama administration labor appointees might have had with union groups. Following that post, a well-placed source just passed on this email:

According to some friends of mine in the Department, the lawsuit over the FOIA request has caused DOL to go nuts. OLMS [Office of Labor-Management Standards] handed the materials to OASAM [Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management] in May, and followed up with them in September. Yesterday and today, this was the subject of their daily huddle. The Executive offices are in a tizzy and freaking out.

Apparently, there are thousands of pages of documents that they are sorting through. Also, they apparently didn't think that there was any value to responding until it hit the courts and the media.

Just thought you'd like to know what I have been hearing.

Well, guess what! The FOIA request has hit the courts and the media. They'd better get cracking on that FOIA request. The taxpayers have a right to know whether the Department of Labor is in the pocket of Big Unions.

Beltway Confidential US