[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 176 (Friday, September 11, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48717-48720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24455]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Privacy Act of 1974; Amendment to an Existing System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to amend and clarify an existing Privacy Act 
System of Records and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11), the 
Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing notice of our intent to revise 
and amend the system of records entitled ``DOE-13, Payroll and Leave 
Records,'' including the modification and deletion of some existing 
routine uses and the establishment of new routine uses. The proposed 
routine disclosures are required by the Personal Responsibility and 
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA, Pub. L. 104-193). The 
routine uses of this system will also be renumbered and, therefore, the 
listing will reflect all the routine uses established for the system 
after the deletion and addition of new routine uses. We invite public 
comment on this publication.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted on or before October 13, 
1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be directed to Abel Lopez, Acting 
Director, Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Division, U.S. 
Department of Energy, HR-73, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, 
DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abel Lopez, Acting Director, Freedom 
of Information Act and Privacy Act Division, HR-73, U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
5955; Phil Pegnato, Director, Payroll Division, CR-55, U.S. Department 
of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 29874, (301) 903-4934; 
or Susan Beard, Office of General Counsel, U. S. Department of Energy, 
GC-80, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20485, (202) 586-
8618.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, 
the DOE will revise routine use numbers 2, 3, and 9, which permit 
disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service, State and Local 
Governments, and Financial Institutions, respectively. Each of these 
routine uses describes to whom the records will be disclosed and the 
purpose of the disclosure. However, the routine uses have been 
clarified to further describe and define the purpose of the disclosure 
to the permitted entities. The revised routine uses are compatible with 
the purposes for which the Department of Energy collects the 
information.
    This notice also will reflect the deletion of four routine uses. 
The routine uses to be deleted, as they currently appear in the 
pertinent system of records, are:
    20. A physician or mental health professional of any individual 
submitting a request for access to the record under the Privacy Act of 
1974 and DOE's Privacy Act regulations if, in accordance with the 
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(3) and applicable DOE regulations and in 
its sole judgement and good faith, DOE believes that disclosure of the 
medical and/or psychological information directly to the individual who 
is the subject of the record could have an adverse effect upon that 
individual;
    22. Contractors, grantees, participants in cooperative agreements, 
collaborating researchers, or their employees, in performance of health 
studies or related health or environmental duties pursuant to their 
contracts, grants, and cooperating or collaborating research agreements 
may disclose a record to Federal, State and local health and medical 
agencies or authorities; to subcontractors--To determine a subject's 
vital status or cause of death;

[[Page 48718]]

to health care providers--To verify a diagnosis or cause of death; or 
to obtain current addresses for participants in health-related studies, 
surveys and surveillances. All recipients of such records are required 
to comply with the Privacy Act, to follow prescribed measures to 
protect personal privacy, and to disclose or use personally 
identifiable information only for the above described research 
purposes;
    23. Members of DOE advisory committees, the Department of Health 
and Human Services Advisory Committee on Projects Related to Department 
of Energy Facilities, and to authorized employees of Federal, State, or 
local government or government-sponsored entities--To provide advice to 
the Department concerning health, safety, or environmental issues, as 
these uses are not in accordance with the purposes of this system; and
    24. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to 
facilitate health hazard evaluations, epidemiological studies, or 
public health activities required by law performed by personnel, 
contractor personnel, grantees, and cooperative agreement holders of 
components of the Department of Health and Human Services, including 
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the 
national Center for Environmental Health, of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease 
Registry pursuant to Memoranda of Understanding between the Department 
and the Department of Health and Human Services or its components.
    It has been determined that these routine uses are not in 
accordance with the purposes for this system.
    Pursuant to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1995 (Pub. L.104-193), the DOE will establish new 
routine uses that will permit disclosure of data from ``DOE-13 Payroll 
and Leave Records'' to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, 
Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and 
Human Services, for use in its Federal Parent Locator System (FPLS) and 
Federal Tax Offset System, DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074. A description of 
the FPLS may be found at 62 FR 51663 (October 2, 1997).
    The FPLS is a computerized network through which States may request 
location information from Federal and State agencies to find non-
custodial parents and/or their employers for purposes of establishing 
paternity and securing support. On October 1, 1997, the FPLS was 
expanded to include the National Directory of New Hires, a database 
containing information on employees commencing employment, quarterly 
wage data on private and public sector employees, and information on 
unemployment compensation benefits. On October 1, 1998, the FPLS will 
be expanded 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 of the 
participant's current employer. State requests to the FPLS for location 
information also will continue to be processed after October 1, 1998. 
When individuals are hired by the DOE, the Department may disclose to 
the FPLS their names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of 
birth, dates of hire, and information identifying DOE as the employer. 
The DOE also may disclose, within one month of the end of the quarterly 
reporting period, to FLPS the names, social security numbers, and 
quarterly earnings of each DOE employee.
    In addition, names and social security numbers submitted by DOE 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 
DOE to the FLPS also will 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.
    The Department proposes to establish the routine uses in accordance 
with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3)). The Privacy Act permits the 
disclosure of information about individuals without their consent as a 
routine use where the information will be used for a purpose that is 
compatible with the purpose for which the information was originally 
collected. The Office of Management and Budget has indicated that a 
``compatible'' use is a use which is necessary and proper. See OMB 
Guidelines, 51 FR 1892, 18985 (1986). Since the proposed uses of the 
data are required by Pub. L. 104-193, they are clearly necessary and 
proper uses, and therefore ``compatible'' uses which meet Privacy Act 
requirements.
    The DOE will disclose information under the proposed routine uses 
only as required by Pub. L. 104-193 and as permitted by the Privacy 
Act.
    Access to this system of records is limited to authorized personnel 
only. Access to magnetic tapes and disc files is controlled through 
established DOE computer center procedures (personnel screening and 
physical security). Paper records are maintained in locked cabinets and 
desks. Access to any record is on a need-to-know basis. The on-line 
database is protected by a password(s) known only to the system manager 
and those whose duties require access to the records.
    This proposed amendment has no relationship to other branches of 
the Federal Government or to State and local governments. There has 
been no prior request for OMB clearance of information collection 
relating to this altered system of records.
    The text is set forth below.

    Issued in Washington, DC this 3rd day of September, 1998.
Thomas T. Tamura,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration.
DOE-13

System Name:
    Payroll and Leave Records.

SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
U.S. Department of Energy, Headquarters, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, 
Washington, DC 20585;
U.S. Department of Energy, Alaska Power Administration, 2770 Sherwood 
Lane, Juneau, AK 99801-8545;
U.S. Department of Energy, Albuquerque Operations Office, PO Box 5400, 
Albuquerque, NM 87185-5400;
U.S. Department of Energy, Atlanta Regional Support Office, 730 
Peachtree, NE, Suite 876, Atlanta, GA 30308;
U.S. Department of Energy, Bartlesville Project Office, 220 North 
Virginia Avenue, Bartlesville, OK 74003;
U.S. Department of Energy, Boston Regional Support Office, One Congress 
Street, Room 1101, Boston, MA 021144-2021;
U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, PO Box 
3621, Portland, OR 97208;
U.S. Department of Energy, Chicago Operations Office, 9800 South Cass 
Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439;

[[Page 48719]]

U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, PO Box 
880, Morgantown, WV 26507-0880;
U.S. Department of Energy, Golden Field Office, 1617 Cole Boulevard, 
Golden, CO 80401;
U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 785 DOE Place, 
Idaho Falls, ID 83401;
U.S. Department of Energy, Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves in 
Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, 907 N. Poplar, Suite 150, Casper, WY 8260;
U.S. Department of Energy, Naval Petroleum Reserves in California, 
28590 Highway 119, PO Box 11, Tupman, CA 93276;
U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, PO Box 98518, Las 
Vegas, NV 89193-8518;
U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations Office, PO Box 2001, 
Oak Ridge, TN 37831;
U.S. Department of Energy, Oakland Operations Office, 1301 Clay Street, 
Oakland, CA 94612-5208;
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Scientific & Technical 
Information, PO Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831;
U.S. Department of Energy, Ohio Field Office, 1 Mound Road, Miamisburg, 
OH 45342;
U.S. Department of Energy, Philadelphia Regional Support Office, 1880 
John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 501, Philadelphia, PA 19103-7483;
U.S. Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Energy Technology Center, 626 
Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940;
U.S. Department of Energy, Pittsburgh Naval Reactors Office, PO Box 
109, West Mifflin, PA 15122-0109;
U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, PO Box 550, 
Richland, WA 99352;
U.S. Department of Energy, Rocky Flats Field Office, PO Box 928, 
Golden, CO 80402-0928;
U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, PO A, 
Aiken, SC 29801;
U.S. Department of Energy, Seattle Regional Support Office, 800 Fifth 
Avenue, Suite 3950, Seattle, WA 98104;
U.S. Department of Energy, Schenectady Naval Reactors Office, PO Box 
1069, Schenectady, NY 12301;
U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Power Administration, Samuel 
Elbert Building, Elberton, GA 30635;
U.S. Department of Energy, Southwestern Power Administration, PO Box 
1619, Tulsa, OK 74101;
U.S. Department of Energy, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Project Office, 
900 Commerce Road East, New Orleans, LA 70123;
U.S. Department of Energy, Western Area Power Administration, PO Box 
3402, Golden, CO 80401.

Categories Of Individuals Covered By The System:
    DOE personnel and consultants, including personnel and consultants 
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Categories Of Records In The System:
    Time and attendance records, earning records, payroll actions, 
deduction information requests, authorizations for overtime and night 
differential, and Office of Personnel Management retirement records.

Authority For Maintenance Of The System:
    5 U.S.C. 301; Department of Energy Organization Act, Pub. L. 95-91 
(42 U.S.C. 7341); Executive Order 12091; Privacy Act of 1974, Pub. L. 
93-579 (5 U.S.C. 552a); General Accounting Office Policy and Procedures 
Manual; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 
Act, Pub. L. 104-193.

PURPOSE(s):
    To maintain historical documentation on employee wages, deductions, 
retirement benefits, and leave.

ROUTINE USES MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS 
AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Treasury Department--To collect withheld taxes, process payroll 
payments and issue savings bonds.
    2. Internal Revenue Service--To process Federal income tax payments 
and tax levies.
    3. State and Local Governments -To process State and local income 
tax deductions and court ordered child support or alimony payments.
    4. Office of Personnel Management--To establish and maintain 
retirement records and benefits.
    5. Thrift Savings Board--To update Section 401K type records and 
benefits.
    6. Social Security Administration--To establish Social Security 
records and benefits.
    7. Department of Labor--To process workmen's compensation claims.
    8. Department of Defense--To adjust military retirement.
    9. Financial Institutions--To credit net check deposits, savings 
allotments, and discretionary allotments.
    10. Employee unions--To credit accounts for employees with union 
dues deductions.
    11. Health insurance carriers--To process insurance claims.
    12. General Accounting Office--To verify accuracy and legality of 
disbursement.
    13. Department of Veterans Affairs--To evaluate veteran's benefits 
to which the individual may be entitled.
    14. States' departments of employment security--To determine 
entitlement to unemployment compensation or other State benefits.
    15. Federal, State, local or foreign agencies--To investigate or 
prosecute violations or potential violations of law, whether civil, 
criminal, or regulatory in nature, and to enforce or implement 
statutes, rules, regulations or orders.
    16. Federal, State or local agencies--To maintain civil, criminal, 
or other enforcement information relevant to hiring or retention of an 
employee, issuance of a security clearance, letting of a contract or 
issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit.
    17. Office of Management and Budget--To review private relief 
legislation, as set forth in OMB Circular No. A-19, at any stage of the 
legislative coordination and clearance process.
    18. DOE contractors in performance of their contracts and their 
officers and employees who have a need for the record--To perform their 
duties and subject to the same limitations applicable to DOE officers 
and employees under the Privacy Act.
    19. A member of Congress submitting a request involving an 
individual when the individual is a constituent--To provide the 
information that pertains to a constituent that has been requested.
    20. United States Enrichment Corporation and its contractors in 
performance of their contracts, and their officers and employees who 
have a need for the record in the performance of their duties, subject 
to the same limitations applicable to DOE officers and employees under 
the Privacy Act.
    21. The Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal 
Parent Locator system (FPLS) and Federal Tax Offset System--To locate 
individuals and identify their income sources to establish paternity, 
establish and modify orders of support, and for enforcement action.
    22. The Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal 
Parent Locator system (FPLS) and Federal Tax Offset System, for release 
to the Social Security Administration--To verify social security 
numbers in connection with the operation of the FPLS by the Office of 
Child Support Enforcement.
    23. To the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for 
Children and Families, Department of

[[Page 48720]]

Health and Human Services, Federal Parent Locator system (FPLS) and 
Federal Tax Offset System, for release to the Department of Treasury--
To administer the Earned Income Tax Credit Program (Section 32, 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986) and verify a claim with respect to 
employment in a tax return.

Policies and Practices For Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records In The System:
Storage:
    Paper records, on-line database, magnetic tape and disc, and 
microfiche.

Retrievability:
    By name, social security number, and payroll number.

Safeguards:
    Access to magnetic tapes and disc files is controlled through 
established DOE computer center procedures (personnel screening and 
physical security). Paper records are maintained in locked cabinets and 
desks. Access to any record is on a need-to-know basis. The on-line 
database is protected by password(s) known only to the system manager 
and those whose duties require access to the records.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Retention and disposal of these records is covered by DOE 1324.5B.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    Headquarters: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Chief Financial 
Officer, CR-1, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585.
    Field Offices: The managers and directors of field locations are 
the system managers for their respective portions of this system.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    a. Requests by an individual to determine if a system of records 
contains information about him/her should be directed to the Director, 
FOIA and Privacy Act Division, Department of Energy (Headquarters), or 
the Privacy Act Officer at the appropriate field location in accordance 
with DOE's Privacy Act regulations (10 CFR part 1008, 45 FR 61576, 
September 16, 1980).
    b. Requests should include: Complete name, social security number, 
the location(s) of employment, and time period of employment.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Same as Notification procedures above. Records generally are kept 
at locations where work is performed. The Privacy Act Officer may 
require proper identification, in accordance with DOE's Privacy Act 
regulations (10 CFR part 1008, 45 FR 61576, September 16, 1980).

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Same as Notification procedures above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    The subject individual, supervisors, timekeepers, official 
personnel records, and the Internal Revenue Service.

SYSTEM EXEMPT FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    None.

[FR Doc. 98-24455 Filed 9-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P