[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63413-63416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24892]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7046-N-07]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Chief Human Capital Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as 
amended, the Department of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 
Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) is issuing a public 
notice of its intent to establish a Privacy Act system of records 
titled ``HR Case Management Solution,'' HUD/OCHCO 01.
    The purpose of this system of records is to allow HUD to collect 
and maintain records on individuals requesting or receiving reasonable 
accommodations and religious/medical exception requests.

DATES: This notice shall be applicable immediately, which will become 
effective December 16, 2021.
    Comments will be accepted on or before December 16, 2021. This 
proposed action will be effective on the date following the end of the 
comment period unless comments are received which result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number HUD-
2021-Docket Number not yet identified.
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions provided on that site to submit comments electronically.
    Fax: 202-619-8365.
    Email: [email protected].
    Mail: Attention: Privacy Office; LaDonne White, Chief Privacy 
Officer; The Executive Secretariat; 451 Seventh Street SW, Room 10139, 
Washington, DC 20410-0001.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments received will be 
posted without change to http://

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www.regulations.gov. including any personal information provided.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received go to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ladonne White, Departmental Privacy 
Officer, 451 Seventh Street SW, Room 10139, Washington, DC 20410-0001, 
telephone number 202-402-3559 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposes to 
establish a new system of records titled, ``HR Case Management 
Solution.'' This system of records covers HUD's collection and 
maintenance of records on applicants for employment, employees, and 
other individuals who participate in HUD programs or activities who 
request or receive reasonable accommodations or other appropriate 
modifications from HUD for medical and religious reasons.
    Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits 
discrimination in services and employment based on disability, and 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1974 prohibits discrimination, 
including on the basis of religion. These prohibitions on 
discrimination require Federal agencies to provide reasonable 
accommodations to individuals with disabilities and those with 
sincerely held religious beliefs unless doing so would impose an undue 
hardship. In some instances, individuals may request modifications to 
their workspace, schedule, duties, or other requirements for documented 
medical reasons that may not qualify as a disability but may 
necessitate an appropriate modification to workplace policies and 
practices.
    The Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), processes 
requests for reasonable accommodations from employees and applicants 
for employment, respectively, who require an accommodation due to a 
medical or religious reason; OCHCO also processes requests based on 
documented medical reasons that may not qualify as a disability but 
that necessitate an appropriate modification to workplace policies and 
practices. The request, documentation provided in support of the 
request, any evaluation conducted internally, or by a third party under 
contract to HUD, the decision regarding whether to grant or deny a 
request, and the details and conditions of the reasonable accommodation 
and exception requests are all included in this system of records.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Human Resource (HR) Case Management Solution, HUD/OCHCO-01.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    United States Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Headquarters location, 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Director, Human Capital Information System Division (HCISD), Office 
of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), 451 Seventh Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20410-0001.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The collection and maintenance of accommodation records is 
authorized by the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 791, and Title VII of 
the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, as well as Executive Orders 
13164 and 14043, and 29 CFR 1605 and 1614.

PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system is to allow HUD to collect and maintain 
records on individuals (including employees and applicants for 
employment) requesting or receiving reasonable accommodations and 
religious and medical exception requests. Another purpose of this 
system is to monitor, process, track and report the processing of 
reasonable accommodation and exception requests while ensuring 
compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including 
confidentiality requirements protecting information individuals submit 
in support of accommodation requests and exception.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Current, former HUD employees and applicants for employment who 
request or receive reasonable accommodations or exceptions.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Name, home address, email address(es), home telephone number(s), 
work telephone number(s), work address, protected health information, 
religion, vehicle license plate, legal documents and records, 
evidentiary records, requesters, attorneys or representatives' names, 
fax number, office information, employment status, history or 
information, employee identification number, education records, case 
identifier and HUD ID, medical/religious exception requests, records, 
forms, documentation, reasonable accommodations applications, 
supporting documentation, and related data fields.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is obtained from the individuals or the representatives 
who request and/or receive a reasonable accommodation or medical and 
religious exceptions from HUD, directly or indirectly from an 
individual's medical provider or another medical professional who 
evaluates the request, directly or indirectly from an individual's 
religious or spiritual advisors or institutions, and HUD personnel who 
participate in the receipt, evaluation, review, decision and 
implementation of reasonable accommodation and exception requests, such 
as hiring officials, human resource officials, supervisors and 
managers, reasonable accommodation officials, attorneys, and deciding 
officials.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    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 outside HUD as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. 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.
    B. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, Federal 
agencies, and non-Federal entities, including, but not limited to, 
State and local governments and other research institutions or their 
parties, and entities and their agents with whom HUD has a contract, 
service agreement, grant, or cooperative agreement, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function, related to a system of records, for the 
purposes of statistical analysis and research in support of program 
operations, management, performance monitoring, evaluation, risk 
management, and policy development, or to otherwise support the 
Department's mission.
    C. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants and their agents, 
or others performing or working under a contract, service, grant, or 
cooperative agreement with HUD or under contract to another agency when 
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to a system of 
records. Disclosure requirements are limited to only those data 
elements considered relevant to accomplishing an agency function. 
Individuals provided information under these routine use

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conditions are subject to Privacy Act requirements and disclosure 
limitations imposed on the Department.
    D. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (1) HUD 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (2) HUD has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, HUD, the 
Federal Government, or national security; and (3) The disclosure made 
to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to 
assist in connection with HUD's efforts to respond to the suspected or 
confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    E. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when HUD determines 
that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to 
assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to suspected or 
confirmed breach, or (2) 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.
    F. To appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or governmental 
agencies or multilateral governmental organizations responsible for 
investigating or prosecuting the violations of, or for enforcing or 
implementing, a statute, rule, regulation, order, or license, where HUD 
determines that the information would assist in the enforcement of 
civil or criminal laws and when such records, either alone or in 
conjunction with other information, indicate a violation or potential 
violation of law.
    G. To a court, magistrate, administrative tribunal, or arbitrator 
while presenting evidence, including disclosures to opposing counsel or 
witnesses in the course of civil discovery, litigation, mediation, or 
settlement negotiations; or in connection with criminal law 
proceedings; or in response to a subpoena or to a prosecution request 
when such records to be released are specifically approved by a court 
provided order. Disclosures made pursuant to this routine use are 
limited to when HUD determines that use of such records is relevant and 
necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, HUD 
determines that the disclosure of the records is a use of the 
information contained in the records that is compatible with the 
purpose for which the records were collected.
    H. To the Department of Justice when (a) the agency, or any 
component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in his or her 
official capacity; or (c) any employee of the agency in his or her 
individual capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to 
represent the employee; or (d) the United States, where the agency 
determines that litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its 
components, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such 
litigation, and the use of such records by the Department of Justice is 
deemed by the agency to be relevant and necessary to the litigation, 
provided, however, that in each case, the agency determines 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 the records were collected.''
    I. To officials of labor organizations recognized under the Civil 
Service Reform Act when relevant and necessary to their duties of 
exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, practices, and 
matters affecting work conditions.
    K. To the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems 
Protection Board (and its office of the Special Counsel), the Federal 
Labor Relations Authority (and its General Counsel), or the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission when requested in performance of 
their authorized duties of exclusive representation concerning 
personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting work conditions.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Electronic Records are maintained and stored in a secured network 
environment. Paper copies records are stored and locked in cabinets.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Paper and electronic records are retrieved by the name, case 
number, HUD Identification number associated with the individual.

POLICIES AND PRACTICIES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Destroy 3 years after employee separation from the agency or all 
appeals are concluded whichever is later, but longer retention is 
authorized if required for business use.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Electronic Records are maintained and stored in an electronic 
encryption database system. These records can only be access based off 
the user's rights and privileges to the system. A multifactor 
identification method is required which consists of the several layers 
of security to access the records, such as a valid common access card, 
access to HUD's network, a valid User ID and password, and a 
Personalized Identification Number (PIN).

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking to determine whether this System of Records 
contains information on themselves should address written inquiries to 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Chief 
Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-
0001. For verification purposes, individuals should provide full name, 
current address, and telephone number. In addition, the requester must 
provide either a notarized statement or an unsworn declaration made in 
accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746, in the following format:
    If executed outside the United States: ``I declare (or certify, 
verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United 
States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
(Date). (Signature).''
    If executed within the United States, its territories, possessions, 
or commonwealths: ``I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under 
penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
(Date). (Signature).''

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The HUD rule for accessing, contesting, and appealing agency 
determinations by the individual concerned are published in 24 CFR part 
16.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking to determine whether information about 
themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries 
to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Chief 
Human Capital Officer (OCHCO), 451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410-
0001. For verification purposes, individuals should provide full name, 
office or organization where currently assigned, if applicable, and 
current address and telephone number. In addition, the requester must 
provide either a notarized statement or an unsworn declaration made in 
accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746, in the following format:
    If executed outside the United States: ``I declare (or certify, 
verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United 
States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
(Date). (Signature).''

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    If executed within the United States, its territories, possessions, 
or commonwealths: ``I declare (or certify, verify, or state) under 
penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
(Date). (Signature).''

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    N/A.

Ladonne L. White,
Departmental Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-24892 Filed 11-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P