[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14637-14639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04829]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7077-N-04]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Administration, 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 ``Hardship Reassignment''. The purpose of this system of records 
is to allow HUD to collect and maintain records on individuals 
requesting a reassignment due to a hardship.

DATES: Comments will be accepted on or before April 10, 2023. This 
proposed action will be effective immediately upon publication. Routine 
uses will become 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 or by 
one of the following method--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://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; 451 Seventh Street SW, 
Room 10139; Washington, DC 20410-0001; telephone number 202-708-3054 
(this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to 
receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well 
as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more 
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The new system of records titled, ``Hardship 
Reassignment Program.'' This system of records covers HUD's collection 
and maintenance of records on individuals who request and/or receive a 
reassignment, due to a hardship; in accordance with 5 CFR 335.102, 5 
CFR 302.102(a), and 5 CFR 210.102(b)(12) and HUD's Hardship 
Reassignment Policy and Procedures Handbook (560.1). These procedures 
are intended to accommodate, if possible, an employee's request to 
permanently relocate due to family difficulties. These procedures do 
not impede the program office's ability to make employee assignments. 
Additionally, this policy does not require program offices (or 
selecting officials) to place employees in vacant positions solely 
based on a hardship. The filling of vacant positions is always at 
management's discretion.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Hardship Reassignment Program, HUD/OCHCO-04.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are maintained at the following locations: U.S. Department 
of Housing and Urban Development Headquarters location, 451 7th Street 
SW, Washington, DC 20410-0001.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Sophia Spadacino, Acting Branch Chief, Office of the Chief Human 
Capital Officer (OCHCO), Employee Health and Wellness Division (EHWD), 
Reasonable Accommodation Branch (RAB), 451 Seventh Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20410-0001.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The following legal authority (statute section, Executive Order, 
etc.) authorizes the maintenance of the records in the system: 5 CFR 
335.102, 5 CFR 302.102(a), and 5 CFR 210.102(b)(12) and HUD's Hardship 
Reassignment Policy and Procedures Handbook (650.1).

PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system is to allow HUD to collect and maintain 
records on employees requesting or receiving a relocation due to a 
hardship, while documenting such determinations to otherwise comply 
with mandates and Executive Orders. Other purposes for the use of this 
system are to monitor, process, track and report the processing of 
approved requests; to locate individuals for personnel research, and to 
document security violations and supervisory actions taken. 
Additionally, these records may be used to help streamline and make 
more efficient the investigations and adjudications processes, while 
ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including 
confidentiality requirements protecting the information individuals 
submit in support of their hardship reassignment request.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    HUD employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Name, home address, email address, home telephone numbers, office 
telephone numbers, work address, employment status, history, salary 
employee location, grade preference, family information such as medical 
records to include disability information.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    HUD Employees.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    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 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 (including 
its information systems, program and operations), 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.
    C. 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)

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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.
    D. To appropriate Federal, State, local, tribal, or other 
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.
    E. To any component of the Department of Justice or other Federal 
agency conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court, 
adjudicative, or administrative body, when HUD determines that the use 
of such records is relevant and necessary to the litigation and when 
any of the following is a party to the litigation or have an interest 
in such litigation: (1) HUD, or any component thereof; or (2) any HUD 
employee in his or her official capacity; or (3) any HUD employee in 
his or her individual capacity where the Department of Justice or 
agency conducting the litigation has agreed to represent the employee; 
or (4) the United States, or any agency thereof, where HUD determines 
that litigation is likely to affect HUD or any of its components.
    F. 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.
    G. 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 and Paper records.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrievable by Full name.

POLICIES AND PRACTICIES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Destroy upon verification of successful creation of the final 
document or file, or when no longer needed for business use, whichever 
is later. NARA records schedule citation: DAA-GSR-2017-0003-0002

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    For Paper Records: Comprehensive paper records are kept in locked 
metal file cabinets in locked rooms in HUD Headquarters, in the 
Reasonable Accommodations Branch, which is the office responsible for 
the Hardship Reassignment. Access to these records is limited to only 
those persons who have a need for them in the performance of their 
official duties. All physical access to the building where the system 
of records is maintained is controlled and monitored by security 
personnel who perform security checks on a routine basis.
    For Electronic Records: Comprehensive electronic records are 
maintained and stored in an electronic encryption database system. 
These records can only be accessed based off the user's rights and 
privileges to the system. Electronic records are stored on the Shared 
Drive under P209 HUD LAN File Server environment, which runs on the 
Department's network. This environment complies with the security and 
privacy controls and procedures as described in the Federal Information 
Security Management Act (FISMA), National Institute of Standards and 
Technology (NIST) Special Publications, and Federal; Information 
Processing Standards (FIPS). A valid HSPD-12 ID Credential, access to 
HUD's LAN, a valid UserID and Password and a Personalized 
Identification Number (PIN) is required to access the Hardship 
Reassignment Program. These records are restricted to only those 
persons with a role in the Reasonable Accommodations Branch, having a 
need to access them in the performance of their official duties.
    For Electronic Records (cloud based): Comprehensive electronic 
records are secured and maintained on a cloud-based software server and 
operating system that resides in Federal Risk and Authorization 
Management Program (FedRAMP) and Federal Information Security 
Management Act (FISMA) Moderate dedicated hosting environment. All data 
located in the cloud-based server is firewalled and encrypted at rest 
and in transit. The security mechanisms for handing data at rest and in 
transit are in accordance with HUD encryption standards.

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 Urban and Development, 451 7th Street SW, 
Washington, DC. For verification, 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 
under 24 CFR 16.4 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).'' More information 
regarding HUD's procedures for accessing records in accordance with the 
Privacy Act can be found at 24 CFR 16.4, ``Protection of Privacy and 
Access to Individual Records Under the Privacy Act of 1974.''

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The HUD rule for accessing, contesting, and appealing agency 
determinations by the individual concerned are published in 24 CFR part 
16.8 or may be obtained from the system manager.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking to determine whether information about 
themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries 
to the Department of Housing Urban Development Office of the Chief 
Human Capital Officer, 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 24 CFR part 16, 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:
    N/A.

HISTORY:
    N/A.

LaDonne White,
Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-04829 Filed 3-8-23; 8:45 am]
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