Direct costs
Direct costs refers to those expenses that EEOC actually incurs in searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial requesters, reviewing) records to respond to a request. Direct costs include, for example, the salary of the employee performing the work (the basic rate of pay for the employee plus 16 percent of that rate to cover benefits) and the cost of operating duplicating machinery. Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as costs of space and heating or lighting of the facility in which the records are stored.