To Redact Or Not To Redact

Emails tend to contain information on more than one subject. When responding to a Freedom of Information Act request for email records on a specific topic, you can withhold emails within an email chain that have nothing to do with the request. You can also redact a paragraph within an email on a different topic. That also goes for all other types of records.

The Postal Service’s FOIA regulations define a record as a “grouping of information” that “pertains to a specific topic.”  When information in emails and documents don’t respond to the specific topic of a request, redacting can protect USPS sensitive information.

And that’s smart business.

Contact the Federal Compliance team for guidance.