[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34214-34215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16589]


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UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: United States Information Agency.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11)), the 
United States Information Agency (USIA) is issuing notice of our intent 
to amend the system of records entitled the Employee Payroll and 
Retirement System, USIA-20, to include a new routine use. The 
disclosure is required by the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA, Pub. L. 104-193). We invite 
public comment on this publication.

DATE: Persons wishing to comment on the proposed routine use must do so 
by July 23, 1998.

EFFECTIVE DATES: The proposed routine use will become effective as 
proposed without further notice on [insert date 30 days from date of 
publication] unless comments dictate otherwise.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals may comment on this publication by 
writing to Lola L. Secora, FOIA/PA Officer, USIA, 301 4th 
Street, SW, Room M-29, Washington, DC 20547; fax number (202) 205-0374; 
or email address: [email protected]. All comments received will be 
available for public inspection at that address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lola L. Secora, FOIA/PA Officer, USIA, 
301 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20547; telephone (202) 
619-5499; fax number (202) 205-0374; or email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Pub. L. 104-193, the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the 
United States Information Agency will disclose data from its Employee 
Payroll and Retirement System of records to the Office of Child Support 
Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, Department of 
Health and Human Services for use in the National Database of New 
Hires, part of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) and Federal 
Tax Offset System, DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074. A description of the 
Federal Parent Locator Service may be found at 62 FR 51663 (October 2, 
1997).
    FPLS is a computerized network through which States may request 
location information from Federal and State agencies to find non-
custodial parents and their employers for purposes of establishing 
paternity and security support. On October 1, 1997, the FPLS was 
expanded to include the National Directory of New Hires, a database 
containing employment information on employees recently hired, 
quarterly wage data on private and public sector employees, and 
information on unemployment compensation benefits. On October 1, 1998, 
the FPLS will be expanded further to include a Federal Case Registry. 
The Federal Case Registry will contain abstracts on all participants 
involved in child support enforcement cases. When the Federal Case 
Registry is instituted, its files will be matched on an ongoing basis 
against the files in the National Directory of New Hires to determine 
if an employee is a participant in a child support case anywhere in the 
country. If the FPLS identifies a person as being a participant in a 
State child support case, that State will be notified. State requests 
to the FPLS for location information will also continue to be processed 
after October 1, 1998.
    When individuals are hired by the United States Information Agency, 
we may disclose to the FPLS their names, social security numbers, home 
addresses, dates of birth, dates of hire, and information identifying 
us as the employer. We also may disclose to FPLS names, social security 
numbers, and quarterly earnings of each United States Information 
Agency employee, within one month of the end of the quarterly reporting 
period.
    Information submitted by the United States Information Agency to 
the FPLS will be disclosed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement 
to the Social Security Administration for verification to ensure that 
the social security number provided is correct. The data disclosed by 
the United States Information Agency to the FPLS will also be disclosed 
by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Secretary of the 
Treasury for use in verifying claims for the advance payment of the 
earned income tax credit or to verify a claim of employment on a tax 
return. We are also making other changes required to update the 
Agency's system of records. From page 10659, FR Vol. 62, No. 45, 
Friday, March 7, 1997, Notices, change USIA-34 to read: USIA-41, System 
Name: Office of Civil Rights Complaint Files--OCR. Accordingly, the 
USIA-20. Employee Payroll and Retirement System--M/CF, originally 
published in the FR's Privacy Act Issuances, 1995 Compilation, and most 
recently amended at FR, Vol. 62, No. 45, March 7, 1997 is further 
amended by addition of the following routine use:

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
* * * * *
    The names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, 
dates of hire, quarterly earnings, employer

[[Page 34215]]

identifying information, and State of hire of employees may be 
disclosed as a routine use to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, 
Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and 
Human Services for the purpose of locating individuals to establish 
paternity, establishing and modifying orders of child support, 
identifying sources of income, and for other child support enforcement 
actions as required by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act (Welfare Reform law, Pub. L. 104-193).

    Dated: June 17, 1998.
Les Jin,
General Counsel.

Narrative Statement

    The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
(PRWORA) of 1996 requires Federal agencies and instrumentalities to 
transmit information about employees newly hired and quarterly earnings 
to a National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) at the Department of Health 
and Human Services (DHHS). Pub. L. 104-193, SS316(f), codified at 42 
U.S.C. 653.
    Agencies must publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing 
that a new ``routine use'' will be added to the agency's Privacy Act 
system of records covering payroll information.

[FR Doc. 98-16589 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8230-01-?