[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20717-20718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-10127]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Customs Service


Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; System of Records

AGENCY: Customs Service, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of proposed Privacy Act systems of records.

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SUMMARY: The Treasury Department, Customs Service, gives notice of a 
proposed addition to their systems of records which are subject to the 
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, (5 U.S.C. 552a). The U.S. Customs 
Office of Human Resources (HRM) is implementing an electronic job 
application system. This computerized employment application processing 
system is designed to dramatically reduce the time spent in placing 
applicants into vacant positions.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than May 24, 2001. This new 
system of records will be effective June 4, 2001, unless comments are 
received which result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Comments (preferably in triplicate) may be submitted to the 
Office of Regulations and Rulings, Disclosure Law Branch, U.S. Customs 
Service, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20229. Comments 
will be available for inspection and copying at the Disclosure Law 
Branch, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Assistant Commissioner, Office of 
Human Resources, U.S. Customs Service, (202) 927-2900.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, Human Resources Management (HRM) 
uses a combination of manual and automated systems for this purpose. 
However, the automated system (provided by the U.S. Office of Personnel 
Management) was developed to meet a set of generic government-wide 
requirements and does not offer sufficient flexibility to meet the 
changing needs of the Customs Service. These manual systems are 
extremely labor-intensive. HRM also requires an improved method of 
producing reports on information submitted by applicants in order to 
monitor the status and better evaluate the success of recruitment and 
selection efforts. The proposed system will accept applications through 
the Internet, in addition to hard copy application forms. The system 
will input, organize, rank and track thousands of applications, as well 
as store resume information for retrieval at a later date.
    The new system of records report, as required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) 
of the Privacy Act, has been submitted to the Committee on Government 
Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Office of Management and 
Budget, pursuant to Appendix I to OMB Circular A-130, Federal Agency 
Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals, dated 
February 8, 1996.
    The system notice is published in its entirety below.

    Dated: April 16, 2001.
W. Earl Wright, Jr.,
Chief Management and Administrative Programs Officer.
Treasury/Customs .286

System Name:
    Electronic Job Application Processing System-Treasury/Customs.

System Location:
    Located in U.S. Customs Headquarters Offices, 1300 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20229 and at contractor's premises (contact 
the system administrator for the contractor address).

Categories of Individuals Covered in the System:
    Individuals applying for job vacancies within the United States 
Customs Service.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Vacancy announcements, applications, applicant resumes, 
certificates of eligibles, rating information, test data, interview 
results and answers to Knowledge, Skill and Ability questions. 
Applicant data includes but is not limited to, name, address, social 
security number (SSN) and date of birth (DOB).

Authority for Maintenance of the System:
    5 U.S.C. 301; Treasury Department Order No. 165, Revised, as 
amended.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this electronic system of records is to more 
efficiently acquire, process, rate and rank job applicants for 
positions with the U.S. Customs Service. This system should result in 
positions being filled more quickly with the most qualified applicant.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users, and the Purpose of Such Uses:
    These records may be used to:
    (1) Disclose pertinent information to appropriate Federal, State, 
local, or foreign agencies responsible for investigating or prosecuting 
the violations of, or for enforcing or implementing, a statute, rule, 
regulation, order, or license, where the disclosing agency becomes 
aware of an indication of a violation of civil or criminal law or 
regulation;
    (2) Disclose information to a Federal, State, or local agency 
maintaining civil, criminal or other relevant enforcement information 
or other pertinent information relevant to the requesting agency's or 
the Customs Service's hiring or retention of an individual, or issuance 
of a security clearance, license, contract, grant or other benefit;
    (3) Disclose information to a court, magistrate, or administrative 
tribunal in the course of presenting evidence, including disclosures to 
opposing counsel or witnesses in the course of civil discovery, 
litigation, or settlement negotiations, in response to a subpoena where 
relevant or potentially relevant to a proceeding, or in connection with 
criminal law proceedings;
    (4) Provide information to third parties during the course of an 
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent 
to an investigation;
    (5) Disclose information to an agency contractor for the purpose of 
compiling, organizing, analyzing, programming, utilizing or otherwise 
refining records subject to the same limitations applicable to officers 
and employees of the U.S. Customs Service under the Privacy Act;
    (6) Provide information to the National Archives and Records 
Administration for use in records management inspections conducted 
under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2908;

[[Page 20718]]

    (7) Disclose information to officials of the Merit Systems 
Protection Board, the Office of the Special Counsel, the Federal Labor 
Relations Authority, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or 
the Office of Personnel Management when requested in performance of 
their authorized duties;
    (8) Disclose information to a Congressional office in response to 
an inquiry made at the request of the individual to whom the record 
pertains, and
    (9) Provide information to officials of labor organizations 
recognized under the Civil Service Reform Act when relevant and 
necessary to their duties of exclusive representation concerning 
personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting work conditions.

Policies And Practices For Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
Disposing of Records in The System:
Storage:
    Magnetic media.

Retrievability:
    Records are indexed by name and Social Security Number.

Safeguards:
    Records are accessed through Internet firewalls by authorized 
Customs employees through IRE Virtual Private Network (VRN) and a 
secure connection. The host servers are protected by controlled access 
procedures, which includes card key entry control and cipher locks.

Retention and Disposal:
    Merit promotion case files are maintained for two years after the 
closing date of the announcement, or the final disposition of appeals, 
whichever is later in accordance with National Archives and Records 
Administration GRS-1.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Director, Staffing Policy, Office of Human Resources, U.S. Customs 
Service, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20229.

Notification Procedure:
    See Customs Appendix A.

Record Access Procedure:
    See Customs Appendix A.

Contesting Record Procedures:
    See Customs Appendix A.

Record Source Categories:
    Job applicants, and present and past employers, and other federal 
agencies.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:
    None.
[FR Doc. 01-10127 Filed 4-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4820-02-P