[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 4308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1616]


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 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 17 / Wednesday, January 27, 2010 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 4308]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 293

RIN 3206-AL24


Personnel Records

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; withdrawal.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hereby withdraws a 
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Personnel Records, 
published in the Federal Register January 18, 2008. OPM has determined 
withdrawal of the NPRM is appropriate as it would be impractical to 
issue this rule without the existence of a Governmentwide employee 
identifier.

DATES: The proposed rule, published on January 18, 2008, in the Federal 
Register (73 FR 3410), is withdrawn as of January 27, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Goldberg, Human Resources 
Specialist, Office of Personnel Management, Office of the Chief 
Information Officer, Records Management, Room 7439, 1900 E Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20415. E-mail: [email protected]. Telephone: 
(202) 606-4054. Facsimile: (202) 606-1719.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On January 18, 2008, OPM issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
(NPRM) in the Federal Register (73 FR 3410) to achieve a consistent and 
effective policy for the restricted use of Social Security Numbers 
(SSN) by Federal agencies to combat fraud and identity theft.
    The comment period for the NPRM closed on March 18, 2008. OPM 
received and considered all 66 written comments in response to the 
NPRM. Comments were received from 6 Federal agencies, 1 agency 
component, 1 Federal commission, 6 Federal insurance carriers and 1 
labor union. The following is a discussion of the comments OPM received 
during the public comment period raised in connection with the merits 
of the proposed rule.
    Some agencies were applying the restricted use of the SSN imposed 
by these rules across all government functions. OPM received several 
comments suggesting the adaptation of changes to part 293 was useful in 
understanding various positions; however, the comments were not 
directly related to the subpart of these rules.
    Several agencies asked for clarification regarding the language 
used in various parts of the proposed rules.
    The primary concern from all categories of respondents was the 
necessity to put into place an alternate employee identifier prior to 
implementing the proposed rules. Comments centered on the numerous 
systems and business practices, both internal and external to 
government systems, which use the SSN as a primary identifier. Systems 
and processes cited included electronic recruitment systems, payment of 
various Federal benefits (health related, Social Security, Worker's 
Compensation, etc.), determinations for security clearances, taxpayer 
identification and union dues withholding through payroll deduction, 
among others.
    Accordingly, the proposed rule, published on January 18, 2008, in 
the Federal Register (73 FR 3410), is withdrawn as of January 27, 2010.

Office of Personnel Management.
John Berry,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-1616 Filed 1-26-10; 8:45 am]
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