[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 47 (Friday, March 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14110-14112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05102]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[FR ID: 17545]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC, Commission, or 
Agency) has modified an existing system of records, FCC/OMD-2, Labor 
Relations and Employee Performance Files, subject to the Privacy Act of 
1974, as amended. This action is necessary to meet the requirements of 
the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the 
existence and character of records maintained by the Agency. The 
records in this system contain information on Commission employees that 
the Human Resources Management (HRM) in the Office of Managing Director 
(OMD) uses for purposes such as litigation, law enforcement, 
congressional inquiries, labor organization inquiries, and government-
wide program oversight.

DATES: This system of records will become effective on March 12, 2021. 
Written comments on the routine uses are due by April 12, 2021. The 
routine uses will become effective on April 12, 2021, unless written 
comments are received that require a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Margaret Drake, at [email protected], or at 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 
20554 at (202) 418-1707.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Drake, (202) 418-1707, or 
[email protected] (and to obtain a copy of the Narrative Statement and 
the Supplementary Document, which includes details of the modifications 
to this system of records).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FCC/OMB-2 contains information on Commission 
employees that the Human Resources Management (HRM) in the Office of 
Managing Director (OMD) uses for purposes such as litigation, law 
enforcement, congressional inquiries, labor organization inquiries, and 
government-wide program oversight. This notice serves to modify FCC/
OMB-2 to reflect various necessary changes and updates, including 
format changes required by OMB Circular A-108 since its previous 
publication and the addition of two routine uses to address data 
breaches, as required by OMB Memorandum M-17-12. The substantive 
changes and modification to the previously published version of FCC/
OMB-2 system of records include:
    1. Updating the Security Classification to follow OMB and FCC 
guidance.
    2. Updating the System Location to show the FCC's new headquarters 
address.
    3. Modifying the Categories of Records to add employee grievances 
to the list that currently includes only employee responses or appeals.
    4. Adding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to the 
record sources for this system when an underlying action (e.g., 
suspension) is challenged before the EEOC, the EEO-related records may 
also be subject to the governmentwide EEOC SORN.
    5. Revising language in four Routine Uses: (1) Adjudication and 
Litigation, (2) Law Enforcement and Investigation, (3) Congressional 
Inquiries, and (4) Government-wide Program Management and Oversight.
    6. Deleting three existing Routine Uses: (5) Employment, 
Clearances, Licensing, Contract, Grant, or other Benefits Decisions by 
the agency, (6) Employment, Clearances, Licensing, Contract, Grant, or 
other Benefits Decisions by other than the agency, and (7) Labor 
Relations.
    7. Adding four new Routine Uses: (5) Breach Notification, to allow 
the FCC address information breaches at the Commission; (6) Assistance 
to Federal Agencies and Entities, to allow the FCC to provide 
assistance to other Federal agencies in their data breach situations; 
(7) For Non-Federal Personnel, to allow contractors performing or 
working on a contract for the Federal Government access to information 
in this system; and (8) Non-FCC Individuals and Organizations, to 
disclose information to individuals, including former FCC employees, 
and organizations, to obtain information pertinent to an investigation 
or proceeding. New Routine Uses (5) and (6) are required by OMB 
Memorandum M-17-12.
    8. Replacing the Disclosures to Consumer Reporting section with a 
new Reporting to a Consumer Reporting Agency section to address valid 
and overdue debts owed by individuals to the FCC under the Debt 
Collection Act, as recommended by OMB.
    9. Modifying the Policies and Practices for Retrieval of Records to 
add the employee name as a retrieval metric and, when applicable, 
examining case logs will disclose an employee's name associated with a 
case number.
    10. Updating the Records Retention and Disposal section with a new 
National Archives and Records (NARA) General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3 
(DAA-GRS-2018-0002).
    10. Adding a History section referencing the previous publication 
of this SORN in the Federal Register, as required by OMB Circular A-
108.
    The system of records is also updated to reflect various 
administrative changes related to the policy and practices for storage 
of the information; administrative, technical, and physical safeguards; 
and updated notification, records access, and procedures to contest 
records.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
FCC/OMD-2, Labor Relations and Employee Performance Files
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Human Resources Management (HRM), Office of Managing Director 
(OMD), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 45 L Street NE, 
Washington, DC, 20554.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Human Resources Management (HRM), Office of Managing Director 
(OMD), Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    5 U.S.C. 35, 43, 61, 63, 71, 73, 75, and 77.

PURPOSE(S):
    These records contain information on Commission employees for 
purposes such as litigation, law enforcement, congressional inquiries, 
labor organization inquiries, and government-wide program oversight.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Current and former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system contains a variety of records relating to formal and 
informal actions based on conduct or performance and also includes 
files dealing with grievances filed under the negotiated or 
administrative grievance procedures, requests for reconsideration, 
arbitrations, appeals, and miscellaneous inquiries and complaints. 
These records may include:
    1. Case number, employee name, Social Security Number, grade, job 
title, and employment history; and
    2. Copies of notices of proposed actions; materials relied on by 
the

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agency to support the proposed action; statements of witnesses; 
employee grievances, responses, or appeals; transcripts; and agency 
decisions.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    This system of records includes information provided by an 
individual on whom the record is maintained; testimony of witnesses, 
supervisors and managers, and union officials; and decisions by 
arbitrators and other third-parties, e.g., Department of Labor, Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Labor Relations Authority, 
and Merit System Protection Board.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USE:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed to authorized 
entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside the 
FCC as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows.
    1. Adjudication and Litigation--To disclose information to the 
Department of Justice (DOJ), or to other administrative or adjudicative 
bodies before which the FCC is authorized to appear, when: (a) The FCC 
or any component thereof; (b) any employee of the FCC in his or her 
official capacity; (c) any employee of the FCC in his or her individual 
capacity where the DOJ or the FCC have agreed to represent the 
employee; or (d) the United States is a party to litigation or has an 
interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the DOJ or 
the FCC is deemed by the FCC to be relevant and necessary to the 
litigation.
    2. Law Enforcement and Investigation--To disclose pertinent 
information to the appropriate Federal, State, local, or tribal agency 
responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing 
a statute, rule, regulation, or order, where the FCC becomes aware of 
an indication of a violation or potential violation of civil or 
criminal law or regulation.
    3. Congressional Inquiries--To provide information to a 
Congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an 
inquiry from that Congressional office made at the written request of 
that individual.
    4. Government-wide Program Management and Oversight--To disclose 
information to the U.S. Treasury to disburse payment determination 
information to pay a claimant once the compensation decision has been 
reached; to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain that department's 
advice regarding disclosure obligations under the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA); or to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
to obtain that office's advice regarding obligations under the Privacy 
Act.
    5. Breach Notification--To appropriate agencies, entities, and 
persons when: (a) The Commission suspects or has confirmed that there 
has been a breach of data maintained in the system of records; (b) the 
Commission has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, the Commission 
(including its information systems, programs, and operations), the 
Federal Government, or national security; and (c) the disclosure made 
to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to 
assist in connection with the Commission's efforts to respond to the 
suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such 
harm.
    6. Assistance to Federal Agencies and Entities--To another Federal 
agency or Federal entity, when the Commission determines that 
information from this system is reasonably necessary to assist the 
recipient agency or entity in: (a) Responding to a suspected or 
confirmed breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk 
of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its 
information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, 
or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
    7. For Non-Federal Personnel--To disclose information to non-
Federal personnel, i.e., contractors, performing or working on a 
contract in connection with human resources management and/or IT 
services for the Federal Government, who may require access to this 
system of records.
    8. Non-FCC Individuals and Organizations--To disclose information 
to individuals, including former FCC employees, and organizations, in 
the course of an investigation or proceeding to the extent necessary to 
obtain information pertinent to the investigation or proceeding.

REPORTING TO A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    In addition to the routine uses cited above, the Commission may 
share information from this system of records with a consumer reporting 
agency regarding an individual who has not paid a valid and overdue 
debt owed to the Commission, following the procedures set out in the 
Debt Collection Act, 31 U.S.C. 3711(e).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Information in this system includes both paper and electronic 
records. The paper records, documents, and files are maintained in file 
cabinets that are located in OMD. The electronic records, files, and 
data are stored in the FCC's computer network.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    These records are retrieved preliminarily by case number or 
employee name. Where applicable, an examination of case logs will 
disclose the name of an employee associated with a case number.

POLICIES AND PRACTIES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records in this system are subject to General Records Schedule 2.3 
(DAA-GRS-2018-0002). Disposal is by shredding or burning for paper 
files and deletion for electronic files.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    The electronic records, files, and data are stored within FCC 
accreditation boundaries and maintained in a database housed in the 
FCC's computer network databases. Access to the electronic files is 
restricted to authorized OMD employees and contractors; and to IT 
staff, contractors, and vendors who maintain the IT networks and 
services. Other FCC employees and contractors may be granted access on 
a need-to-know basis. The FCC's electronic files and records are 
protected by the FCC and third-party privacy safeguards, a 
comprehensive and dynamic set of IT safety and security protocols and 
features that are designed to meet all Federal IT privacy standards, 
including those required by the Federal Information Security 
Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 
Paper records are kept in file cabinets in non-public rooms in the OMD 
office suite. The file cabinets are locked at the end of the day, or 
when not in use. Access to these office suites is through card-coded 
doors. The access points to these offices are also monitored. Only 
authorized OMD supervisors and staff have access to these paper 
records.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to request access to and/or amendment of 
records about

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themselves should follow the Notification Procedure below.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to request access to and/or amendment of 
records about themselves should follow the Notification Procedure 
below.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals wishing to determine whether this system of records 
contains information about themselves may do so by writing 
[email protected]. Individuals requesting access must also comply with 
the FCC's Privacy Act regulations regarding verification of identity to 
gain access to records as required under 47 CFR part 0, subpart E.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    The FCC previously gave full notice of FCC/OMD-2, Labor Relations 
and Employee Performance Files, by publication in the Federal Register 
on April 5, 2006 (71 FR 17248).

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-05102 Filed 3-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P