[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17586-17588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8057]


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PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of an Altered System of Records--PBGC-12, Personnel 
Security Investigation Records--PBGC.

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SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is proposing to alter 
a system of records maintained pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as 
amended, entitled ``PBGC-12, Personnel Security Investigation Records--
PBGC.'' The revised system will include records about individuals who 
work, or who are being considered for work, for the PBGC as contractors 
or as employees of contractors.

DATES: Comments on changes must be received by May 2, 2001. The changes 
will become effective May 17, 2001, without further notice, unless 
comments result in a contrary determination and a notice is published 
to that effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to the Office of the General Counsel, 
Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026, or delivered to that address between 9:00 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on business days. Comments also may be sent by 
Internet e-mail to [email protected]. Comments will be available 
for public inspection at the PBGC's Communications and Public Affairs 
Department, Suite 240 at the same address, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 
p.m. on business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Bruce Campbell, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, Suite 340, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 
1200 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026; 202-326-4020 (extension 
3672). (For TTY/TDD users, call the federal relay service toll-free at 
1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 202-326-4020 (extension 
3672).)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The PBGC conducts background investigations 
and reinvestigations to establish that applicants for employment and 
employees are reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and 
loyal to the United States. The PBGC maintains records about these 
investigations in a system of records subject to the Privacy Act of 
1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a) (``Privacy Act''), entitled ``PBGC-12, 
Personnel Security Investigation Records--PBGC.'' The PBGC's 
regulations implementing

[[Page 17587]]

the Privacy Act exempt under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5) certain records 
maintained in PBGC-12 from the access, contest, and certain other 
provisions of the Privacy Act (29 CFR 4902.9).
    The PBGC is expanding its use of background investigations and 
reinvestigations to cover individuals who work, or who are being 
considered for work, for the PBGC as contractors or as employees of 
contractors. To reflect the change, the PBGC is proposing to alter 
PBGC-12 by revising the description of the categories of individuals 
covered by PBGC-12 and the purpose(s) for which information is 
collected, amending the authority for maintaining the system, and 
adding a new system manager for background investigation records 
pertaining to contractors. A proposed rule amending 29 CFR 4902.9 to 
make conforming changes appears elsewhere in today's Federal Register. 
The amendment would protect the identity of a source who furnishes 
information in confidence to PBGC about an individual who works, or who 
is being considered for work, for the PBGC as a contractor or as an 
employee of a contractor.
    The PBGC is also making other clarifying changes to PBGC-12 by 
updating the citations to its regulations and revising the description 
of how records are stored and safeguarded to make them more specific. 
The PBGC is clarifying the description of the categories of records in 
the system to more accurately differentiate between records on 
background investigations maintained by the PBGC and records on 
background investigations on PBGC employees and applicants conducted 
and maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. For the 
convenience of the public, PBGC-12, as amended, is published in full 
below with the changes italicized.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 28th day of March, 2001.
John Seal,
Acting Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
PBGC-12

System name:
    Personnel Security Investigation Records--PBGC.

Security classification:
    Not applicable.

System location:
    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20005-4026.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Employees and applicants for employment with the PBGC. Individuals 
who work, or who are being considered for work, for the PBGC as 
contractors or as employees of contractors.

Categories of records in the system:
    Investigatory material regarding an individual's character, 
conduct, and behavior, including: records of arrests and convictions 
for violations of law; reports of interviews with the subject of the 
investigation and with persons such as present and former supervisors, 
neighbors, co-workers, associates, and educators who may have 
information about the subject of the investigation; reports about the 
qualifications of an individual for a specific position; reports of 
inquiries to law enforcement agencies, employers, and educational 
institutions; reports of action after an Office of Personnel Management 
(``OPM'') or Federal Bureau of Investigation field investigation; and 
other information or correspondence relating to or developed from the 
above.
    This system of records is distinct from the OPM's Privacy Act 
system of records, OPM/Central-9 (Personnel Investigation Records), 
which covers records of personnel security investigations conducted by 
the OPM with respect to employees or applicants for employment with the 
PBGC.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    29 U.S.C. 1302; 5 CFR 5.2(c) and (d); 5 CFR parts 731 and 736; and 
OMB Circular No. A-130--Revised, Appendix III, 61 FR 6428.

Purpose(s):
    This system of records is maintained to document investigations of 
individuals' character, conduct, and behavior. Records are used, in 
accordance with Federal personnel regulations, in making determinations 
relating to an individual's suitability and fitness for PBGC employment 
or work for the PBGC as a contractor or as an employee of a contractor, 
access to information, and security clearance.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    1. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to any 
source from which information is requested in the course of an 
investigation, to the extent necessary to identify the individual, 
inform the source of the nature and purpose of the investigation, or 
identify the type of information requested.
    2. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to the 
OPM, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority, or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to carry out 
its authorized functions (under 5 U.S.C. 1103, 1204, and 7105, and 42 
U.S.C. 2000e-4, in that order).
    General Routine Uses G1 through G8 (see Prefatory Statement of 
General Routine Uses) apply to this system of records.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records are maintained in paper and electronic form.

Retrievability:
    Records are indexed by name.

Safeguards:
    Paper records are kept in file cabinets in areas of restricted 
access that are locked after office hours. Electronic records are 
stored on computer networks and protected by assigning user 
identification numbers to individuals needing access to the records and 
by passwords set by authorized users that must be changed periodically.

Retention and disposal:
    Records in cases in which favorable determinations are made are 
destroyed promptly after the determination. Records of cases in which 
unfavorable determinations are made are destroyed 1 year after issuance 
if litigation has not been initiated and otherwise upon completion of 
litigation.

System manager(s) and address:
    For employees and applicants for employment with PBGC: Director, 
Human Resources Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 
K Street NW., Washington, DC 20005-4026. For individuals who work, or 
who are being considered for work, for the PBGC as contractors or as 
employees of contractors: Director, Facilities and Services Department, 
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, 1200 K Street NW., Washington, DC 
20005-4026.

Notification procedure:
    Procedures are detailed in PBGC regulations: 29 CFR Part 4902.

Record access procedures:
    Same as notification procedure.

[[Page 17588]]

Contesting record procedures:
    Same as notification procedure.

Record source categories:
    Information contained in this system of records is obtained from 
the following: (a) Applications and other personnel and security forms; 
(b) personal interviews with the individual that is the subject of the 
investigation and with persons such as employers, references, 
neighbors, and associates who may have information about the subject of 
the investigation; (c) investigative records and notices of personnel 
actions furnished by other federal agencies; (d) sources such as 
educational institutions, police departments, credit bureaus, probation 
officials, prison officials, and doctors; and (e) public records such 
as court filings and publications such as newspapers, magazines, and 
periodicals.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    This system of records is exempt from the access and contest and 
certain other provisions of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), 
(e)(1), (e)(4)(G) through (I), and (f)) to the extent that disclosure 
would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the 
PBGC under an express promise of confidentiality or, prior to September 
27, 1975, under an implied promise of confidentiality (5 U.S.C. 
552a(k)(5)).

[FR Doc. 01-8057 Filed 3-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7708-01-P