§ 1820.16 - Requirements for litigants seeking documents or testimony.

§ 1820.16 Service of requests or demands.

Requests or demands for official records or information or testimony under this subpart must be served by mail or hand delivery to the Office of General Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, 1730 M St. NW., Suite 213, Washington, DC 20036; or sent by fax to 202-254-3711.

Requirements for litigants seeking documents or testimony.

A litigant must comply with the following requirements when submitting a request for testimony or official records and information under this part. A request should be submitted before a demand is issued.

(a) The request must be in writing (email suffices) and must be submitted to the General Counsel.

(b) The written request must contain the following information:

(1) The caption of the legal or administrative proceeding, docket number, and name and address of the court or other administrative or regulatory authority involved;

(2) A copy of the complaint or equivalent document setting forth the assertions in the case and any other pleading or document necessary to show relevance;

(3) A list of categories of records sought, a detailed description of how the information sought is relevant to the issues in the legal or administrative proceeding, and a specific description of the substance of the testimony or records sought;

(4) A statement addressing the factors set out in § 1820.14;

(5) A statement indicating that the information sought is not available from another source;

(6) If testimony is requested, the intended use of the testimony, and a showing that no document could be provided and used in lieu of testimony;

(7) A description of all prior decisions, orders, or pending motions in the case that bear upon the relevance of the requested records or testimony;

(8) The name, address, and telephone number of counsel to each party in the case; and

(9) An estimate of the amount of time that the requestor and other parties will require of each OSC employee for time spent by the employee to prepare for testimony, in travel, and for attendance in the legal proceeding.

(c) OSC reserves the right to require additional information to complete the request where appropriate.

(d) The request should be submitted at least 14 days before the date that records or testimony is required.

(e) The General Counsel may deny a request for records or testimony based on a requestor's failure to cooperate in good faith to enable the General Counsel to make an informed decision.

(f) The request should state that the requestor will provide a copy of the OSC employee's testimony free of charge and that the requestor will permit OSC to have a representative present during the employee's testimony.