[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 91 (Thursday, May 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26245-26248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10046]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

[Docket No. SSA-2021-0004]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act, we are issuing public 
notice of our intent to modify an existing system of records entitled, 
Mass Emergency Notification System (MENS) (60-0386), last published on 
April 15, 2019. This notice publishes details of the modified system as 
set forth below under the caption, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

DATES: The system of records notice (SORN) is applicable upon its 
publication in today's Federal Register, with the exception of the new 
routine use, which is effective June 14, 2021. We invite public comment 
on the routine use or other aspects of this SORN. In accordance with 
the Privacy Act of 1974, the public is given a 30-day period in which 
to submit comments.

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Therefore, please submit any comments by June 14, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The public, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and 
Congress may comment on this publication by writing to the Executive 
Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the General 
Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, 
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, or through the Federal e-Rulemaking 
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Please reference docket number 
SSA-2021-0004. All comments we receive will be available for public 
inspection at the above address and we will post them to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elisa Vasta, Government Information 
Specialist, Privacy Implementation Division, Office of Privacy and 
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High 
Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, 
telephone: (410) 966-5855, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are updating the system number and 
modifying the system manager to clarify contact information in MENS. We 
are updating the legal authority for maintenance of this system. We are 
also modifying the records source categories to clarify the 
individuals, entities, and systems from where information in this 
system may originate.
    We are adding one new routine use to permit disclosures to the 
Federal Labor Relations Authority, its General Counsel, the Federal 
Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Federal Service Impasses Panel, 
or an arbitrator for investigations of allegations of unfair practices 
and matters before an arbitrator of the Federal Service Impasses Panel. 
We are also modifying the policies and practices for the storage of 
records. In addition, we are modifying the policies and practices for 
the retrieval of records, as well as modifying the policies and 
practices for the retention and disposal of records.
    Lastly, we are modifying the notice throughout to correct 
miscellaneous stylistic formatting and typographical errors of the 
previously published notice, and to ensure the language reads 
consistently across multiple systems. We are republishing the entire 
notice for ease of reference.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), we have provided a report to 
OMB and Congress on this modified system of records.

Matthew Ramsey,
Executive Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the 
General Counsel.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Mass Emergency Notification System (MENS), 60-0386.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Social Security Administration, Office of Budget, Finance, and 
Management, Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness, 6401 
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401.
    Everbridge, Inc., 25 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 
01803.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner for the Office 
of Budget, Finance, and Management, Office of Security and Emergency 
Preparedness, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 
966-5855.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5; Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration Act of 1970; Presidential Policy Directive 40; 
and Federal Continuity Directive 1.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    We will use the information in this system:
     To collect and store personal contact information; and
     to notify Social Security Administration (SSA) employees, 
contractors, and any others who may be affected by emergency or urgent 
situations at an SSA site or property.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Current SSA employees, contractors, and any others who may be 
affected by emergency or urgent situations at an SSA site or property 
(e.g., non-employee parents of children at an SSA childcare facility).

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system maintains contact information and other information 
necessary to provide notice through MENS including, but not limited to, 
the individual's name, personal telephone number, personal email 
address, business phone number, business email address, and business 
location.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    We obtain information in this system of records from individuals 
who register for MENS and existing SSA systems of records such as the 
Identity Management System (IDMS), 60-0361; Personnel Records in 
Operating Offices, 60-0239; and OPM/GOVT-1, General Personnel Records. 
In addition, we may obtain information from entities located on SSA 
sites or properties whose personnel or visitors could be affected by 
emergency or urgent situations at an SSA site or property, such as 
third party childcare facilities operated at SSA sites.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    We will disclose records pursuant to the following routine uses; 
however, we will not disclose any information defined as ``return or 
return information'' under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code 
(IRC), unless authorized by a statute, the Internal Revenue Service 
(IRS), or IRS regulations.
    1. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that 
office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of the 
record or a third party acting on the subject's behalf.
    2. To the Office of the President, in response to an inquiry 
received from that office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the 
subject of record or a third party acting on the subject's behalf.
    3. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under 
44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    4. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    (a) SSA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of 
the system of records;
    (b) SSA has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, SSA (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 SSA's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    5. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when we determine 
that information from this system of records 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

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entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), 
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a 
suspected or confirmed breach.
    6. To disclose information 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.
    7. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a court or other tribunal, 
or another party before such a court or tribunal, when:
    (a) SSA, or any component thereof; or
    (b) any SSA employee in his or her official capacity; or
    (c) any SSA employee in his or her individual capacity where DOJ 
(or SSA, where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the 
employee; or
    (d) the United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines 
the litigation is likely to affect SSA or any of its components, is a 
party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and SSA 
determines that the use of such records by DOJ, a court or other 
tribunal, or another party before the tribunal, is relevant and 
necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the 
agency determines that disclosure of the records to DOJ, court or other 
tribunal, or another party is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were 
collected.
    8. To Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and private 
security contractors, as appropriate, information necessary:
    (a) To enable them to protect the safety of SSA employees and 
customers, the security of the SSA workplace, the operation of SSA 
facilities, or
    (b) to assist investigations or prosecutions with respect to 
activities that affect such safety and security or activities that 
disrupt the operations of SSA facilities.
    9. To the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) when 
requested in connection with investigations into alleged or possible 
discriminatory practices in the Federal sector, examination of Federal 
affirmative employment programs, compliance by Federal agencies with 
the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, or other 
functions vested in the Commission.
    10. To the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems 
Protection Board, or the Office of Special Counsel in connection with 
appeals, special studies of the civil service and other merit systems, 
review of rules and regulations, investigations of alleged or possible 
prohibited practices, and other such functions promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 
Chapter 12, or as may be required by law.
    11. To contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for 
the purpose of assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its 
programs. We will disclose information under this routine use only in 
situations in which SSA may enter into a contractual or similar 
agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency 
function relating to this system of records.
    12. To student volunteers, individuals working under a personal 
services contract, and other workers who technically do not have the 
status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for SSA, as 
authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable 
information (PII) in SSA records in order to perform their assigned 
agency functions.
    13. To the Federal Labor Relations Authority, its General Counsel, 
the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Federal Service 
Impasses Panel, or an arbitrator when information is requested in 
connection with investigations of allegations of unfair practices, 
matters before an arbitrator or the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    We will maintain records in this system in electronic form.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    We will retrieve records in this system by the individual's name 
and email address.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    In accordance with NARA rules codified at 36 CFR 1225.16, we 
maintain records in accordance with the approved NARA General Records 
Schedules (GRS) 5.3, Continuity and Emergency Planning Records, item 
020 (DAA-GRS-2016-0004-0002) and GRS 5.5, Mail, Printing, and 
Telecommunication Service Management Records, item 020 (DAA-GRS-2016-
0012-0002).

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    We retain electronic files containing personal identifiers in 
secure storage areas accessible only by our authorized employees and 
contractors who have a need for the information when performing their 
official duties. Security measures include, but are not limited to, the 
use of codes and profiles, personal identification numbers and 
passwords, and personal identification verification cards. We annually 
provide our employees and contractors with appropriate security 
awareness training that includes reminders about the need to protect 
PII and the criminal penalties that apply to unauthorized access to, or 
disclosure of, PII (5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(1)). Furthermore, employees and 
contractors with access to databases maintaining PII must sign a 
sanctions document annually that acknowledge their accountability for 
inappropriately accessing or disclosing such information.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals may submit requests for information about whether this 
system contains a record about them by submitting written requests to 
the system manager at the above address, which include their name, 
Social Security number (SSN), or other information that may be in this 
system of records that will identify them. Individuals requesting 
notification of, or access to, a record by mail must include: (1) A 
notarized statement to us to verify their identity; or (2) must certify 
in the request that they are the individual they claim to be and that 
they understand that the knowing and willful request for, or 
acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false 
pretenses is a criminal offense.
    Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, records in 
person must provide their name, SSN, or other information that may be 
in this system of records that will identify them, as well as provide 
an identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a driver's 
license. Individuals lacking identification documents sufficient to 
establish their identity must certify in writing that they are the 
individual they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing 
and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to 
another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
    These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 
401.40 and 401.45.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Same as record access procedures. Individuals should also 
reasonably identify the record, specify the information they are 
contesting, and state the corrective action sought and the reasons for 
the correction with supporting justification showing how the record is 
incomplete, untimely, inaccurate, or irrelevant. These

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procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.65(a).

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Same as records access procedures. These procedures are in 
accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.40 and 401.45.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    84 FR 15275, Mass Emergency Notification System (MENS).

[FR Doc. 2021-10046 Filed 5-12-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P