[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6022-6026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03183]
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POSTAL SERVICE
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the United States
Postal Service[supreg] (Postal Service) is revising the notice for
Privacy Act System of Records USPS 100.000, General Personnel Records,
and USPS 100.400, Personnel Compensation and Payroll Records.
DATES: These revisions will become effective without further notice on
March 27, 2019 unless comments received on or before that date result
in a contrary determination.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed or delivered to the Privacy and
Records Management Office, United States Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant
Plaza SW, Room 1P830, Washington, DC 20260-1101. Copies of all written
comments will be available at this address for public inspection and
photocopying between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janine Castorina, Chief Privacy and
Records Management Officer, Privacy and Records Management Office, 202-
268-3069 or [email protected].
[[Page 6023]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is in accordance with the
Privacy Act requirement that agencies publish their systems of records
in the Federal Register when there is a revision, change, or addition,
or when the agency establishes a new system of records. As detailed
below, the Postal Service has determined that USPS 100.000 General
Personnel Records and USPS 100.400 Personnel Compensation and Payroll
Records should be revised to modify Routine Uses of Records Maintained
in the System, Including Categories of Users and Purposes of Such Uses.
The changes are being made to permit disclosure of current and former
postal employee records to credit bureaus and prospective employers.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11), interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, or arguments on this proposal. A report of
the proposed revisions has been sent to Congress and to the Office of
Management and Budget for their evaluations. The Postal Service does
not expect these amended systems of records to have any adverse effect
on individual privacy rights. The notices for USPS 100.000 General
Personnel Records and USPS 100.400 Personnel Compensation and Payroll
Records, provided below in their entirety, are as follows:
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER
USPS 100.000, General Personnel Records
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
All USPS facilities and personnel offices; Integrated Business
Solutions Services Centers; National Personnel Records Center; Human
Resources Information Systems; Human Resources Shared Services Center;
Headquarters; Computer Operations Service Centers; and contractor
sites.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Director, Human Resources, USPS OIG, 1735 N Lynn Street, Arlington,
VA 22209-2020, (703) 248-2197.
Vice President, Employee Resource Management, United States Postal
Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-4200; (202) 268-
3783.
Vice President, Labor Relations, United States Postal Service, 475
L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-4100; (202) 268-7447.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
39 U.S.C. 401, 410, 1001, 1005, and 1206.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
1. To perform routine personnel functions.
2. To maintain a source of readily available information on
employees for administrative purposes.
3. To administer the grievance and appeal procedure for
nonbargaining unit employees.
4. To match a vacant position to the most qualified candidate in
bids for preferred assignment.
5. To provide public relations information on USPS management
personnel.
6. To provide federal benefit information to retired employees.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Current and former USPS employees, their family members, and former
spouses who apply and qualify for federal employee benefits under
public law.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
1. Employee, former employee, and family member information:
Name(s), Social Security Number(s), Employee Identification Number,
date(s) of birth, place(s) of birth, marital status, postal assignment
information, work contact information, home address(es) and phone
number(s), personal email address, finance number(s), duty location,
and pay location.
2. Official Personnel Folder (OPF) or eOPF (electronic version):
Records related to appointment support, prior federal civilian
employment, postal employment, personnel actions, anniversary dates,
retirement, benefits, and compensation.
3. Automated employee information: Records generated, approved, and
stored by electronic means such as Notification of Personnel Actions,
health benefit elections, tax withholding changes, and address changes.
4. Reference copies of all discipline or adverse actions: Letters
of warning; notices of removal, suspension and/or reduction in grade or
pay; letters of decisions; and documents relating to these actions.
These are used only to refute inaccurate statements by witnesses before
a judicial or administrative body. They may not be maintained in the
employee's OPF or eOPF but must be maintained in a separate file by
Labor Relations.
5. Nonbargaining unit employee discipline, grievance, and appeals
records.
6. Job bidding records: Records related to the employee's bid for a
preferred assignment.
7. Biographical summaries: Records and photographs used for public
relations purposes.
8. Level 2 supervisors' notes: Records of discussions, letters of
warning, and any other relevant official records being maintained at
the supervisor's discretion for the purpose of enabling effective
management of personnel. (A level 2 supervisor directly supervises
bargaining unit employees.)
9. Email Addresses: personal email address(es) for retired
employees are retained in a separate database and file from other
current and former employee information.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Employees; employees' supervisors; USPS customers; law enforcement
agencies; individuals who are personal references; former employers,
including other federal agencies; and other systems of records.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
Standard routine uses 1. through 9. apply. In addition:
a. Job bidding records may be disclosed on official bulletin boards
in Postal Service facilities and to supervisory and other managerial
organizations recognized by USPS.
b. Records pertaining to financial institutions and to nonfederal
insurance carriers and benefits providers elected by an employee may be
disclosed for the purposes of salary payment or allotments, eligibility
determination, claims, and payment of benefits.
c. Records may be disclosed to the National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) in response to its request for investigative purposes, to the
extent that the requested information is relevant and necessary.
d. Disclosure of the employee name and past or present grade, duty
station, dates of employment, job title, and salary information may be
made to a credit bureau or other commercial firm from which a current
or former postal employee is seeking credit.
e. Disclosure of a current or former postal employee's name and
past or present grade, duty station, dates of employment, job title,
salary information, date and reason for separation may be made to a
prospective employer upon request. With respect to former employees,
the reason for separation must be limited to one of the following
terms: Retired, resigned, or separated.
[[Page 6024]]
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Automated database, computer storage media, digital files, and
paper files. Duplicates of records in the OPF or eOPF and automated
employee data may be maintained for localized employee administration
or supervision. Records may be filed at offices other than where OPF or
eOPF is located, or may be duplicated at a site closer to where the
employee works.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
By name, Social Security Number, Employee Identification Number, or
duty or pay location.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
1. Permanent OPF or eOPF records are permanently retained.
Temporary OPF or eOPF records are generally retained 2 years and are
purged upon the employee's separation from USPS.
2. Except as otherwise provided by a collective bargaining
agreement, original or copies of discipline or adverse actions are
maintained up to 2 years; or, if an additional or more recent
disciplinary action has been taken, for a longer period. After 2 years,
or lesser time specified in the decision, the employee may request the
disciplinary record be purged from the OPF or eOPF provided no
subsequent discipline was issued. Records that support a PS Form 50,
Notification of Personnel Action, e.g., the separation of an employee
for cause or the resignation of an employee pending charges, are
considered permanent records and may not be purged at the request of an
employee.
3. Reference copies of discipline or adverse actions. These records
are kept for historical purposes and are not to be used for decisions
about the employee. The retention of these records may not exceed 10
years beyond the employee's separation date. The records are maintained
longer if the employee is rehired during the 10-year period. They may
not be maintained in the employee's OPF or eOPF, but must be maintained
in a separate file by Labor Relations.
4. Grievance and appeal records of nonbargaining unit employees are
retained 7 years.
5. Job bidding records are retained 2 years.
6. Biographical summaries are retained for the duration of
employment.
7. Records to provide federal benefit information to retired
employees are retained for 10 years. Records may be purged at the
request of the retired employee.
Records existing on paper are destroyed by burning, pulping, or
shredding. Records existing on computer storage media are destroyed
according to the applicable USPS media sanitization practice.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Paper records, computers, and computer storage media are located in
controlled-access areas under supervision of program personnel. Access
to these areas is limited to authorized personnel, who must be
identified with a badge. Nonbargaining unit employee discipline,
grievance, and appeals records maintained outside the OPF (hard or soft
copy) are kept in locked filing cabinets or secured record storage
rooms; and related automated records are protected with password
security. Computers are protected by mechanical locks, card key
systems, or other physical access control methods. The use of computer
systems is regulated with installed security software, computer logon
identifications, and operating system controls including access
controls, terminal and transaction logging, and file management
software.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Requests for access must be made in accordance with the
Notification Procedure above and USPS Privacy Act regulations regarding
access to records and verification of identity under 39 CFR 266.6.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
See Notification Procedures below and Record Access Procedures
above.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals wanting to know if information about them is maintained
in this system must address inquiries to the facility head where
currently or last employed. Headquarters employees must submit
inquiries to Corporate Personnel Management, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW,
Washington, DC 20260. Inquiries must include full name, Social Security
Number or Employee Identification Number, name and address of facility
where last employed, and the dates of USPS employment.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
Records in this system that have been compiled in reasonable
anticipation of a civil action or proceeding are exempt from individual
access as permitted by 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(5). The USPS has also claimed
exemption from certain provisions of the Act for several of its other
systems of records at 39 CFR 266.9. To the extent that copies of
exempted records from those other systems are incorporated into this
system, the exemptions applicable to the original primary system
continue to apply to the incorporated records.
HISTORY:
January 26, 2018, 83 FR 3777; July 19, 2013, 78 FR 43247; February
22, 2013, 78 FR 12368; June 17, 2011, 76 FR 35483; April 29, 2005, 70
FR 22516; December 16, 2002, 67 FR 77086.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER
USPS 100.400, Personnel Compensation and Payroll Records
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
USPS Area and District Human Resources offices, the Human Resources
Shared Services Center, Integrated Business Solutions Services Centers,
Computer Operations Services Centers, Accounting Services Centers,
other area and district facilities, Headquarters, contractor sites, and
all organizational units.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Chief Human Resource Officer and Executive Vice President, United
States Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-
4000; (202) 268-2828.
Vice President, Employee Resource Management, United States Postal
Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-4200; (202) 268-
3783.
Vice President, Controller, United States Postal Service, 475
L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260-5200; (202) 268-5521.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
39 U.S.C. 401, 409, 410, 1001, 1003, 1004, 1005, and 1206; and 29
U.S.C. 2601 et seq.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
1. To support all necessary compensation and payroll activities and
related management functions.
2. To generate lists of employee information for home mailings,
dues membership, and other personnel support functions.
3. To generate retirement eligibility information and analysis of
employees in various salary ranges.
4. To administer the purchase of uniforms.
5. To administer monetary awards programs and employee contests.
6. To detect improper payment related to injury compensation
claims.
[[Page 6025]]
7. To adjudicate employee claims for loss or damage to their
personal property in connection with or incident to their postal
duties.
8. To process garnishment of employee wages.
9. To support statistical research and reporting.
10. To generate W-2 and 1095-C information for use with external
third party tax preparation services at the request of the individual
employee.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
1. Current and former USPS employees and postmaster relief/leave
replacement employees.
2. Current and former employees' family members, beneficiaries, and
former spouses who apply and qualify for benefits.
3. An agent or survivor of an employee who makes a claim for loss
or damage to personal property.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
1. Employee and family member information: Name(s), Social Security
Number(s), Employee Identification Number, ACE ID, date(s) of birth,
postal assignment information, work contact information, home
address(es) and phone number(s), finance number(s), occupation code;
occupation title; duty location, and pay location.
2. Compensation and payroll information: Records related to
payroll, annual salary, hourly rate, Rate Schedule Code (RSC) or pay
type, payments, deductions, compensation, and benefits; uniform items
purchased; proposals and decisions under monetary awards; suggestion
programs and contests; injury compensation; monetary claims for
personal property loss or damage; and garnishment of wages.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Employees; employees' supervisor or manager; other systems of
records; claimants or their survivors or agents who make monetary
claims; witnesses; investigative sources; courts; and insurance
companies.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
Standard routine uses 1. through 9. apply. In addition:
a. Records pertaining to financial institutions and to nonfederal
insurance carriers and benefits providers elected by an employee may be
disclosed for the purposes of salary payment or allotments, eligibility
determination, claims, and payment of benefits.
b. Records pertaining to supervisors and postmasters may be
disclosed to supervisory and other managerial organizations recognized
by USPS.
c. Records pertaining to recipients of monetary awards may be
disclosed to the news media when the information is of news interest
and consistent with the public's right to know.
d. Disclosure of records about current or former Postal Service
employees may be made to requesting states under an approved computer
matching program to determine employee participation in, and
eligibility under, unemployment insurance programs administered by the
states (and by those states to local governments), to improve program
integrity, and to collect debts and overpayments owed to those
governments and their components.
e. Disclosure of records about current or former Postal Service
employees may be made to requesting federal agencies or nonfederal
entities under approved computer matching programs to make a
determination of employee participation in, and eligibility under,
particular benefit programs administered by those agencies or entities
or by USPS; to improve program integrity; to collect debts and
overpayments owed under those programs and to provide employees with
due process rights prior to initiating any salary offset; and to
identify those employees who are absent parents owing child support
obligations and to collect debts owed as a result.
f. Disclosure of records about current or former Postal Service
employees may be made, upon request, to the Department of Defense (DoD)
under approved computer matching programs to identify Postal Service
employees who are ready reservists for the purposes of updating DoD's
listings of ready reservists and to report reserve status information
to USPS and the Congress; and to identify retired military employees
who are subject to restrictions under the Dual Compensation Act and to
take subsequent actions to reduce military retired pay or collect debts
and overpayments.
g. Disclosure of records may be made to the Internal Revenue
Service under approved computer matching programs to identify current
or former Postal Service employees who owe delinquent federal taxes or
returns and to collect the unpaid taxes by levy on the salary of those
individuals pursuant to Internal Revenue Code; and to make a
determination as to the proper reporting of income tax purposes of an
employee's wages, expenses, compensation, reimbursement, and taxes
withheld and to take corrective action as warranted.
h. Disclosure of the records about current or recently terminated
Postal Service employees may be made to the Department of
Transportation (DOT) under an approved computer matching program to
identify individuals who appear in DOT's National Driver Register
Problem Driver Pointer System. The matching results are used only to
determine as a general matter whether commercial license suspension
information within the pointer system would be beneficial in making
selections of USPS motor vehicle and tractor-trailer operator personnel
and will not be used for actual selection decisions.
i. Disclosure of records about current or former Postal Service
employees may be made to the Department of Health and Human Services
under an approved computer matching program for further release to
state child support enforcement agencies when needed to locate
noncustodial parents, to establish and/or enforce child support
obligations, and to locate parents who may be involved in parental
kidnapping or child custody cases.
j. Disclosure of records about current or former Postal Service
employees may be made to the Department of the Treasury under Treasury
Offset Program computer matching to establish the identity of the
employee as an individual owing a delinquent debt to another federal
agency and to offset the salary of the employee to repay that debt.
k. Disclosure of employment and wage data records about current
Postal Service employees may be made to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
for use in their Occupational Employment Statistics program for the
purpose of developing estimates of the number of jobs in certain
occupations, and estimates of the wages paid to them.
l. Disclosure of W-2 and 1095-C tax information records to external
third party tax preparation services.
m. Disclosure of the employee name and past or present grade, duty
station, dates of employment, job title, and salary information may be
made to a credit bureau or other commercial firm from which a current
or former postal employee is seeking credit.
n. Disclosure of a current or former postal employee's name and
past or present grade, duty station, dates of employment, job title,
salary information, date and reason for separation may be made to a
prospective employer upon request. With respect to former employees,
the reason for separation must be limited to one of the following
terms: Retired, resigned, or separated.
[[Page 6026]]
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Automated database, computer storage media, digital files, and
paper files.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
By employee name, Social Security Number, Employee Identification
Number, occupation code, occupation title, or duty or pay location.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
1. Leave application and unauthorized overtime records are retained
3 years. Time and attendance records (other than payroll) and local
payroll records are retained 3 years. Automated payroll records are
retained 10 years.
2. Uniform allowance case files are retained 3 years; and automated
records are retained 6 years.
3. Records of monetary awards with a status that they have been
processed, processing failed, cancelled, and reported (Service Award
Pins, Retirement Service Awards, Posthumous Service Awards) are
retained 7 years, as payroll records would have been affected/
processed. Records of award submissions with the status approved,
deleted, and/or draft are retained 31 days, as payroll records would
not have been affected/processed.
4. Records of employee submitted ideas are maintained for 90 days
after being closed.
5. Injury compensation records are retained 5 years. Records
resulting in affirmative identifications become part of a research case
file, which if research determines applicability, become either part of
an investigative case record or a remuneration case record that is
retained 2 years beyond the determination.
6. Monetary claims records are retained 3 years.
7. Automated records of garnishment cases are retained 6 months.
Records located at a Post Office are retained 3 years.
8. Overtime administrative records are retained for 7 years.
9. Tax preparation records are limited to an employee's previous
year's wages, tax documentation and health insurance coverage as
required by the Affordable Care Act
Records existing on paper are destroyed by burning, pulping, or
shredding. Records existing on computer storage media are destroyed
according to the applicable USPS media sanitization practice.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Paper records, computers, and computer storage media are located in
controlled-access areas under supervision of program personnel. Access
to these areas is limited to authorized personnel, who must be
identified with a badge. Access to records is limited to individuals
whose official duties require such access. Contractors and licensees
are subject to contract controls and unannounced on-site audits and
inspections. Computers are protected by mechanical locks, card key
systems, or other physical access control methods. The use of computer
systems is regulated with installed security software, computer logon
identifications, and operating system controls including access
controls, terminal and transaction logging, and file management
software.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Requests for access must be made in accordance with the
Notification Procedure above and USPS Privacy Act regulations regarding
access to records and verification of identity under 39 CFR 266.6.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
See Notification Procedures below and Record Access Procedures
above.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals wanting to know if information about them is maintained
in this system must address inquiries to the facility head where
currently or last employed. Headquarters employees must submit
inquiries to Corporate Personnel Management, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW,
Washington, DC 20260. Inquiries must include full name, Social Security
Number or Employee Identification Number, name and address of facility
where last employed, and dates of USPS employment.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
Records in this system relating to injury compensation that have
been compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or
proceeding are exempt from individual access as permitted by 5 U.S.C.
552a(d)(5). The USPS has also claimed exemption from certain provisions
of the Act for several of its other systems of records at 39 CFR 266.9.
To the extent that copies of exempted records from those other systems
are incorporated into this system, the exemptions applicable to the
original primary system continue to apply to the incorporated records.
HISTORY:
February 23, 2017, 82 FR 11489; March 2, 2015, 80 FR 11241; June
17, 2011, 76 FR 35483; April 29, 2005, 70 FR 22516.
* * * * *
Brittany M. Johnson,
Attorney, Federal Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-03183 Filed 2-22-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P