[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 181 (Wednesday, September 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53622-53625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18464]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act Of 1974

AGENCY: Department of Veteran Affairs.

ACTION: Notice of Establishment of New System of Records.

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SUMMARY: The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552(e)(4)) requires that all 
agencies publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence and 
character of their systems of records. Notice is hereby given that the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is establishing a new system of 
records entitled ``General Counsel Legal Automation Workload System 
(GCLAWS)-VA'' (144VA026).

DATES: Comments on the establishment of this new system of records must 
be received no later than October 19, 2007. If no public comment is 
received, the new system will become effective October 19, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through http://www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to the Director, 
Regulations Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave., NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026. Copies of comments received will be available for public 
inspection in the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, Room 
1063B, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday 
(except holidays). Please call (202) 273-9515 for an appointment. In 
addition, during the comment period, comments may be viewed online 
through the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Sokoll, Privacy Officer, (202) 
273-6558, Office of the General Counsel (026C), Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Description of the Proposed System of Records

    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is proposing to establish a 
system of records to perform legal workload management and 
administration activities associated with the operation of the Office 
of General Counsel (OGC). This system will be used for case management, 
correspondence control, and statistical analysis. Cases are generated 
from matters brought to OGC for consideration, review, response, 
analysis, and/or comment. This system of records will contain case 
tracking for time and personnel, as well as pertinent documents and 
case facts, which may include data privileged under the attorney-client 
relationship. These case records will be used to provide statistical 
and other information in response to legitimate and reasonable 
requests.

II. Proposed Routine Use Disclosures of Data in the System

    VA is proposing to establish the following routine use disclosures 
of the information that will be maintained in the system.
    1. VA may disclose information to Congressional offices in order to 
respond to inquiries from those offices on behalf of constituents who 
seek information from the Agency.
    VA must be able to respond to inquiries directed to it from 
Congressional staff offices on behalf of constituents. The fact that 
the constituents have asked for assistance from their Representative or 
Senator indicates that they wish the agency to respond to these 
inquiries. The routine use provides disclosure authority to disclose 
only the information necessary to respond to the Congressional inquiry 
on behalf of the record subject.
    2. VA may disclose information to the National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) as required to comply with statutory requirements 
to disclose information to NARA for it to perform its statutory records 
management activities.
    The VA must promulgate this routine use to satisfy the requirements 
of the Privacy Act for disclosure of information to these agencies 
without the prior written authorizations of the record subjects for the 
agencies to perform their duties.
    3. VA may disclose information to entities or individuals with 
which or with whom VA has an agreement or

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contract to perform services for the agency for which the recipient 
entity or individual needs the information in order to perform the 
specified service.
    This routine use is consistent with OMB guidance that agencies 
promulgate routine uses to address disclosure of Privacy Act-protected 
information to contractors in order to perform contracts for the 
agency. OMB Circular A-130, App. I, paragraph 5.a.(1)(b). VA also 
enters into agreements that are not contracts as defined under Federal 
procurement law. Consequently, the routine use is drafted to cover 
those entities also.
    4. At VA's initiative, VA may disclose relevant information to law 
enforcement entities for those entities to investigate, prosecute or 
otherwise enforce laws, rules, regulations and orders.
    This disclosure authority does not apply to disclosures in response 
to a qualifying request from a law enforcement entity. In those cases, 
the requesting entity must submit a qualifying law enforcement request 
for the records under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(7).
    5. VA may provide Department of Justice (DoJ) with information 
needed to represent the United States in litigation. VA may also 
disclose the information for this purpose in proceedings in which DoJ 
is not representing the Agency.
    In determining whether to disclose records under this routine use, 
VA will comply with the guidance promulgated by the Office of 
Management and Budget in a May 24, 1985, memorandum entitled ``Privacy 
Act Guidance--Update'', currently posted at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/guidance1985.pdf.
    6. VA may disclose information when necessary to respond to, and if 
necessary, mitigate damages that might arise from a data breach 
involving data covered by this system of records. This routine use is 
necessary for VA to comply with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. 5724, 
enacted in section 902 of Public Law 109-461, 120 Stat. 3403 (December 
22, 2006).
    7. VA is promulgating a routine use to disclose information to 
labor unions when requested by the union under 5 U.S.C. 7114(b) in 
order to perform the activities listed in section 7114(b). The routine 
use does not provide any greater access to Privacy-Act-protected 
information in this system of records under section 7114(b) then the 
unions would have to the information if it was not protected by the 
Privacy Act. The routine use simply removes the Privacy Act as a bar to 
the disclosure of the information at the Agency's discretion.
    8. VA is promulgating a trio of routine uses set forth under 
``Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including 
Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses'' (routine uses 8-10) 
that permit the VA to disclose the information to officials at the 
Merit Systems Protection Board, the Office of Special Counsel, the 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority, where officials of those agencies determine, or VA 
determines, that disclosure is necessary to perform duties imposed by 
the enabling statutes and regulations of those agencies.

III. Compatibility of the Proposed Routine Uses

    The Privacy Act permits VA to disclose information about 
individuals without their consent for a routine use when the 
information will be used for a purpose that is compatible with the 
purpose for which we collected the information. In all of the routine 
use disclosures described above, the recipient of the information will 
use the information in connection with a matter relating to one of VA's 
programs, will use the information to provide a benefit to VA, or will 
use the information where disclosure is required by law.
    The report of intent to publish and an advance copy of the system 
notice have been sent to the appropriate Congressional committees and 
to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as 
required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r) (Privacy Act) and guidelines issued by OMB 
(65 FR 77677), December 12, 2000.

    Approved: September 4, 2007.
Gordon H. Mansfield,
Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
144VA026

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM NAME:
    General Counsel Legal Automation Workload System (GCLAWS)-VA

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    The system of records is located in the Office of the General 
Counsel, Professional Staff Group VI (026), U.S. Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA), 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420 and in the 
22 Regional Counsel offices (Regions and addresses are listed at 38 
Code of Federal Regulations Sec.  14.501(f)). Records for all Regions 
and Washington, DC are stored on a secured server computer at the VA 
Capitol Regional Data Center in Falling Waters, West Virginia.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Veterans and their beneficiaries, current and former employees, 
current contractors employed by Department of Veterans Affairs, medical 
service providers, veterans' claims representatives, and veterans' 
service organizations.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records include the name of an individual or business entity, and 
may contain Social Security Number, partial address (city, state, and 
zip code), date of birth, veterans' claim number, financial records, 
and/or medical records.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    38 U.S.C. Section 501; and Title 38, United States Code, Section 
311.

PURPOSE(S):
    Case management, correspondence control, and statistical analysis. 
This system of records contains case tracking for time and OGC 
personnel, and may contain embedded documents which may be data 
privileged under the attorney-client relationship. The system will be 
used to provide statistical and other information in response to 
legitimate and reasonable requests.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEMS, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. VA may disclose any information in this system of records to a 
Congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an 
inquiry from the Congressional office made at the request of that 
individual.
    2. VA may disclose any record in this system of records to NARA 
(National Archives and Records Administration), the GSA (General 
Services Administration), or both, for which either agency says that it 
needs the records in order to perform records management activities 
under authority of 44 U.S.C.
    3. VA may disclose information in this system of records to 
individuals, organizations, private or public agencies, or other 
entities or individuals with whom VA has a contract or agreement to 
perform such services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of 
laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor, subcontractor, 
public or private agency, or other entity or individual with whom VA 
has an agreement or contract to perform the services of the contract or 
agreement. This routine use includes disclosures by the individual or 
entity performing the service for VA to any secondary entity or 
individual to

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perform an activity that is necessary for individuals, organizations, 
private or public agencies, or other entities or individuals with whom 
VA has a contract or agreement to provide the service to VA.
    4. VA may disclose on its own initiative any information in this 
system which is relevant to a suspected or reasonably imminent 
violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature and 
whether arising by general or program statute or by regulation, rule or 
order issued pursuant thereto, to a Federal, State, local, tribal, or 
foreign agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or 
prosecuting such violation, or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, regulation, rule or order.
    5. VA may disclose information in this system of records to the 
Department of Justice (DoJ), either on VA's initiative or in response 
to DoJ's request for the information, after either VA or DoJ determines 
that such information is relevant to DoJ's representation of the United 
States or any of its components in legal proceedings before a court or 
adjudicative body, provided that, in each case, the agency also 
determines prior to disclosure that disclosure of the records to the 
Department of Justice is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records. VA, on its own initiative, may disclose records in this system 
of records in legal proceedings before a court or administrative body 
after determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or 
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records.
    6. VA may disclose any information in this system of records to 
appropriate agencies, entities, and persons under the following 
circumstances: When (1) it is suspected or confirmed that the security 
or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised; (2) the Department has determined that as a result of the 
suspected or confirmed compromise there is a risk of embarrassment or 
harm to the reputations of the record subjects, harm to economic or 
property interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by the Department or another agency or entity) that rely 
upon the compromised information; and (3) the disclosure is made to 
such agencies, entities, and persons reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or 
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    7. The Department may disclose the information listed in 5 U.S.C. 
7114(b)(4) to officials of labor organizations recognized under 5 
U.S.C. Chapter 71 when relevant and necessary to their duties of 
exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, practices, and 
matters affecting working conditions.
    8. The Department may disclose information to officials of the 
Merit Systems Protection Board, or the Office of the Special Counsel, 
when requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the civil 
service and other merit systems, review of rules and regulations, 
investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices, 
and such other functions, promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as 
may be authorized by law.
    9. The Department may disclose information to the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission when requested in connection with investigations 
of alleged or possible discriminatory practices, examination of Federal 
affirmative employment programs, or other functions of the Commission 
as authorized by law or regulation.
    10. The Department may disclose to the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority (including its General Counsel) information related to the 
establishment of jurisdiction, the investigation and resolution of 
allegations of unfair labor practices, or information in connection 
with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration awards when a question 
of material fact is raised; to disclose information in matters properly 
before the Federal Services Impasses Panel, and to investigate 
representation petitions and conduct or supervise representation 
elections.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    The system of records is stored on a secured server computer 
protected in accordance with current, applicable physical, technical 
and administrative requirements.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Individually-identified information is retrieved by the name of the 
record subject.

SAFEGUARDS:
    This list of safeguards furnished in this System of Record is not 
an exclusive list of measures that has been, or will be, taken to 
protect individually-identifiable information.
    OGC will maintain the data in compliance with applicable VA 
security policy directives that specify the standards that will be 
applied to protect sensitive personal information. Further, only 
authorized individuals may have access to the data and only when needed 
to perform their duties. They are required to take annual VA mandatory 
data privacy and security training.
    Access to data storage areas is restricted to authorized VA 
employee or contract staff who has been cleared to work by the VA 
Office of Security and Law Enforcement. File areas are locked after 
normal duty hours. VA facilities are protected from outside access by 
the Federal Protective Service and/or other security personnel.
    Security complies with applicable Federal Information Processing 
Standards (FIPS) issued by the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST).
    Contractors and their subcontractors who access the data are 
required to maintain the same level of security as VA staff.
    Access to electronic files is controlled by using an individually 
unique password entered in combination with an individually unique user 
identification code.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    Records will be maintained and disposed of in accordance with 
records disposition authority approved by the Archivist of the United 
States.
    At the current time, OGC has records disposition authority for 
certain categories of these records under Records Control Schedule N1-
15-06-2 which was approved by the Archivist of the United States on 
March 7, 2007. The System Manager will initiate action to seek and 
obtain additional disposition authority for the disposition of the non-
covered records in accordance with VA Handbook 6300.1, Records 
Management Procedures. The non-covered records will not be destroyed 
until VA obtains a NARA-approved records disposition authority. Once VA 
has obtained NARA-approved records disposition authority, VA OGC will 
amend this notice to reflect that authority, and any destruction of 
electronic records will occur in accordance with the disposition 
authority.

[[Page 53625]]

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
    Assistant General Counsel, Professional Staff Group VI (026), 
Office of General Counsel, United States Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    An individual who wishes to determine whether a record is being 
maintained in this system under his or her name or other personal 
identifier, or wants to determine the contents of such record, should 
submit a written request to the Assistant General Counsel, Professional 
Staff Group VI (026), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420. Such 
requests must contain a reasonable description of the records 
requested. All inquiries must reasonably identify the information 
involved and should include the individual's full name, social security 
number, telephone number and return address.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking information regarding access to and contesting 
of VA information maintained by the Office of General Counsel may send 
a request by mail to the Assistant General Counsel, Professional Staff 
Group VI (026), Office of the General Counsel, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20420.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:
    (See Notification Procedure above.)

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individuals, businesses, and organizations that are covered by the 
system notice.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

 [FR Doc. E7-18464 Filed 9-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8320-01-P