[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 91 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31766-31768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11774]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. 020502107-2107-01]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department's proposal for a new 
system of records.
    The system is entitled ``Commerce/Census-9, Longitudinal Employer-
Household Dynamics System.'' The Census Bureau will use these data to 
undertake studies intended to improve the quality of its core 
demographic and economic censuses and surveys and conduct policy-
relevant research. By using administrative record data from other 
agencies, the Census Bureau will be able to improve the quality and 
usefulness of its data, while reducing costs and respondent burden. 
This notice is submitted in accordance with the requirements of the 
Privacy Act, Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 552a, and 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, Appendix I, 
``Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About 
Individuals.'' We invite public comment on the system announced in this 
publication.

DATES: Effective Date: The system will become effective without further 
notice on June 10, 2002, unless the Census Bureau receives comments 
that require a contrary determination.
    Comment Date: To be considered, written comments must be submitted 
on or before June 10, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Please address comments to: Gerald W. Gates, Privacy Act 
Officer, Policy Office, Room 2430 FB 3, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, 
DC 20233-3700. Comments received will be available for public 
inspection at this same address from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday 
through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eloise Parker, Administrative Records 
Coordinator, Policy Office, Room 2430 FB 3, U.S. Census Bureau, 
Washington, DC 20233-3700; telephone: (301) 457-2520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is to announce the establishment 
of the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics System and to request 
public comment. As required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(o) of the Privacy Act, the 
Commerce Department submitted reports on this new system to both Houses 
of Congress on May 10, 2002. The establishment of this system of 
records will be effective June 10, 2002, unless Commerce receives 
comments that would result in a contrary determination.
    The purpose of the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics System 
of records is to enable the Census Bureau to undertake studies intended 
to improve the quality of its core demographic and economic censuses 
and surveys and conduct policy-relevant research. By using 
administrative record data from other agencies, the Census Bureau will 
be able to improve the quality and usefulness of its data, while 
reducing costs and respondent burden.
    This system will contain personally identifiable information from 
administrative record systems from two national-level files: Social 
Security's Numident and Master Earnings Files; and one state-level 
program: Unemployment Insurance Contribution and Employment Reporting 
System. Information from these administrative record systems will be 
combined with selected Census Bureau demographic and economic census 
and survey data, with the combined data used for census and survey 
planning and evaluation, and policy-relevant research. All personal 
identifiers from these files will be removed and replaced with Census 
Bureau-generated unique identifiers and maintained within a secured, 
restricted environment, with access limited to a select number of 
persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data. No 
public disclosure of these data will be made. All authorized uses of 
the data will be for statistical purposes only. An in-house 
Administrative Records Project Review Board will oversee all such 
Census Bureau uses of these data to ensure that they are used only for 
authorized purposes.
COMMERCE/CENSUS-9

System Name:
    Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics System, COMMERCE/CENSUS--
9.

System Location:
    Bowie Computer Center, U.S. Census Bureau, 17101 Melford Boulevard, 
Bowie, MD 20715.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System:
    The population of the United States. In order to approximate 
coverage of the entire U.S. population, the Census Bureau will combine 
administrative record files from the Internal Revenue Service, the 
Social Security Administration, selected Census Bureau economic and 
demographic censuses and surveys, and comparable data from selected 
state agencies.

Categories of Records in the System:
    Personal identifiers--e.g., name and social security number (this 
information will be replaced by Census Bureau-generated unique 
identifiers, which will be provided on statistical data files); 
Demographic information--e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, education, 
marital status, tribal affiliation, veterans status; Geographic 
information--e.g., address; Economic information--e.g., income, job 
information, total assets; and

[[Page 31767]]

Processing information--e.g., processing codes and quality indicators.

Authorities for Maintenance of the System:
    Title 13, U.S.C.

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics System 
of records is to enable the Census Bureau to undertake studies intended 
to improve the quality of its core demographic and economic censuses 
and surveys and conduct policy-relevant research. By using 
administrative record data from other agencies, the Census Bureau will 
be able to improve the quality and usefulness of its data, while 
reducing costs and respondent burden.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories 
of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses:
    These data will be used by the Census Bureau to evaluate and 
enhance selected survey data and to produce new data products and 
conduct analyses of the social and economic characteristics of the 
population. The administrative record files will be used both alone and 
in conjunction with Census Bureau census or survey data for these 
purposes. The data will not be used to identify specific individuals, 
but will be used to produce statistical extracts with information from 
one or more of the source files. These records are being maintained and 
used by the Census Bureau solely for statistical purposes and are 
confidential under Title 13, U.S.C., Section 9. Only persons sworn to 
uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information and who have a 
need to know will have access to the data. Publications will not 
contain data that could identify any individual or establishment. No 
determinations affecting individual respondents will be made as a 
result of this routine use.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, 
and Disposing of Records in the System:
Storage:
    Records will be stored in a secure computerized system and on 
magnetic tape; output data will be either electronic or paper copy. All 
identifiable data will be maintained in a secure environment, and 
access to identifiable information will be restricted to only a small 
number of persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau 
data that have a need to know.

Retrievability:
    Records are maintained within a secure, restricted access 
environment and can be retrieved by unique serial identification 
numbers internal to the Census Bureau by only a limited number of 
persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data and 
who have a need to know. It should be noted that the purpose of these 
identifiers is not to facilitate retrieval of information concerning 
specific individuals, but only to develop matched data sets for 
subsequent statistical extracts.

Safeguards:
    Only a limited number of persons sworn to uphold the 
confidentiality of Census Bureau data and who have a need to access 
these data will have access to them in identifiable form in order to 
construct the linked data sets and produce statistical extracts. The 
data will not be used to identify specific individuals, but will be 
used to create extracts containing information from one or more of the 
source files. Extract files will be released only to designated persons 
sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data and who have 
a need to know. The microdata will not be made publicly available. Any 
publications resulting from these data will be cleared for release 
under the direction of the Census Bureau's Disclosure Review Board, 
which will confirm that the data do not directly or indirectly disclose 
information that would identify any individual or establishment. All 
persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data are 
subject to the restrictions, penalties, and prohibitions of Title 13, 
U.S.C., Sections 9 and 214; the PrivacyAct of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a(b)(4)); Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1905; Title 26, U.S.C., Section 
7213; and Title 42, U.S.C., Section 1306. When confidentiality or 
penalty provisions differ, the most stringent provisions apply to 
protect the data. Persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census 
Bureau data are regularly advised of the regulations issued pursuant to 
Title 13, U.S.C., and other relevant statutes governing confidentiality 
of the data. The restricted access environment has been established to 
limit the number of persons having direct access to identifiable 
microdata from this system. While all persons with access to this 
system are sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau data, 
this restricted access environment further protects the confidentiality 
of the data and prevents unauthorized use of or access to it. These 
safeguards provide a level and scope of security that is not less than 
the level and scope of security established by the Office of Management 
and Budget in OMB Circular No. A-130, Appendix III, Security of Federal 
Automated Information Systems. Furthermore, the use of unsecured 
telecommunications to transmit individually identifiable or deducible 
information derived from the administrative record files is prohibited.

Retention and Disposal:
    Retention and disposal practices are in accordance with the General 
Records Schedule and Census Bureau records control schedules that are 
approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. Each of 
the agreements between the Census Bureau and the administrative record 
source agencies contain specific language pertaining to retention and 
disposal. Retention is not to exceed 10 years, unless, by agreement 
with the source agency, it is determined that a longer period is 
necessary for statistical purposes. At the end of the retention period 
or upon demand, all original files, extracts, and paper copies from 
each agency will be returned to the source agency or destroyed as 
stated in the respective interagency agreement.

System Manager(s) and Address:
    Associate Director for Demographic Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, 
FOB 3, Washington, DC 20233.

Custodian:
    Director, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program, 
Demographic Surveys Division, Demographic Programs Directorate, U.S. 
Census Bureau, FOB 3, Washington, DC 20233.

Record Source Categories:
    Selected state and federal administrative record systems and Census 
Bureau censuses and surveys.

Exemptions Claimed for this System:
    Pursuant to Title 5, U.S.C., Section 552a(k)(4), this system of 
records is exempted from the notification, access, and contest 
requirements of the agency procedures (under Title 5, U.S.C., Section 
552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f)). This 
exemption is applicable, as the data are maintained by the Census 
Bureau solely as statistical records, as required under Title 13, 
U.S.C., and are not used in whole or in part in making any 
determination about an identifiable individual or establishment. This 
exemption is made in accordance with agency rules published in the 
rules section of the Federal Register.


[[Page 31768]]


    Dated: May 7, 2002.
Brenda S. Dolan,
Department of Commerce, Freedom of Information/Privacy Act Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-11774 Filed 5-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P