For the purpose of this part, the term record and any other term used in reference to information includes any information that would be a Board record subject to the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552 when maintained by the Board in any format including an electronic format. All written requests for information that are not processed under part 1205 of this chapter will be processed under this part. The Board may continue, without complying with this part, to furnish the public with the information it has furnished in the regular course of performing its official duties, unless furnishing the information would violate the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, or another law.

When the subject of the record, or the subject's representative, requests a record from a Privacy Act system of records, as that term is defined by 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(5), and the Board retrieves the record by the subject's name or other personal identifier, the Board will handle the request under the procedures and fees shown in part 1205 of this chapter. When a third party requests access to those records, without the written consent of the subject of the record, the Board will handle the request under this part.

When a party to an appeal requests a copy of a tape recording, video tape, or transcript (if one has been prepared) of a hearing that the Board or a judge held under part 1201 or part 1209 of this chapter, the Board will handle the request under § 1201.53 of this chapter. When someone other than a party to the appeal makes this request, the Board will handle the request under this part.

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2), the Board's final opinions and orders (including concurring and dissenting opinions), those statements of policy and interpretations adopted by the Board and that are not published in the Federal Register, administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public, and agency records processed and disclosed in response to a FOIA request that the Board determines have been or are likely to become the subject of additional requests for basically the same records and a general index of those records, are available for public review and copying in the Board's Headquarters' Library, 1615 M Street, NW., Washington, DC 20419-0001, and on the Board's World Wide Web site at http://www.mspb.gov.