[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 192 (Thursday, October 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69184-69186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22168]


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OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS


Privacy Act of 1974; System Records

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE).

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) proposes to revise one 
of its existing internal systems of records pursuant to the provisions 
of the Privacy Act of 1974. This system of records currently contains 
personally identifiable information (PII) collected from Federal 
employees and/or members of the public who register to attend or 
otherwise participate in OGE meetings and events. The system is

[[Page 69185]]

currently designated OGE/INTERNAL-6, Online Registration for OGE-Hosted 
Meetings and Events. OGE proposes to revise the system of records to 
contain additional records associated with OGE professional development 
offerings, including ongoing educational and certification programs, as 
well as the one-time events currently covered. OGE also proposes to 
change the name to reflect these changes.

DATES: The revisions will be effective on October 5, 2023, subject to a 
30-day period in which to comment on the new routine uses, described 
below. Please submit any comments by November 6, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted to OGE, by any of the following 
methods:
    Email: [email protected] (Include reference to ``OGE/INTERNAL-6 
comment'' in the subject line of the message.)
    Mail, Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of Government Ethics, 1201 New 
York Avenue NW, Suite 500, Attention: Jennifer Matis, Associate 
Counsel, Washington, DC 20005-3917.
    Instructions: Comments may be posted on OGE's website, https://www.oge.gov. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or 
Social Security numbers, should not be included. Comments generally 
will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Matis at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics; telephone: 202-482-9229; TTY: 800-877-8339; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is 
revising one of its existing internal systems of records pursuant to 
the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974. This system of records 
currently contains personally identifiable information (PII) collected 
from Federal employees and/or members of the public who register to 
attend or otherwise participate in OGE-hosted meetings and events. The 
system is currently designated OGE/INTERNAL-6, Online Registration for 
OGE-Hosted Meetings and Events.
    OGE proposes to revise the system of records to contain additional 
records associated with OGE professional development offerings, 
including ongoing educational, training, and certification programs as 
well as the one-time events currently covered. Since OGE/INTERNAL-6 was 
first created, OGE has expanded its professional development offerings 
to incorporate additional formats beyond classroom-style training 
sessions and the National Government Ethics Summit. These expanded 
programs, as well as governmentwide equity and customer service 
initiatives, necessitate that OGE collect and maintain PII beyond what 
was previously required. By expanding the purpose of the system and the 
categories of records in the system, OGE will be able to ensure that it 
can continue to carry out its statutory duty to provide professional 
development in support of the executive branch ethics program, and do 
so in compliance with the Privacy Act.
    OGE also proposes to change the name of the system to reflect these 
changes, add three routine uses to address the planned uses of the 
information collected, update a citation to the Ethics in Government 
Act, and update its street address.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    OGE/INTERNAL-6, Registration and Administration Records for OGE-
Hosted Meetings, Events, Educational and Training Programs, and 
Professional Development Offerings.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Office of Government Ethics, 1201 New York Avenue NW, Suite 500, 
Washington, DC 20005-3917. After February 1, 2024, OGE's street address 
will be Office of Government Ethics, Suite 750, 250 E Street SW, 
Washington, DC 20024.
    Records may be kept in commercial third-party applications, 
including Pay.gov, located at the Department of the Treasury, Bureau of 
the Fiscal Service, 401 14th Street SW, Washington, DC 20227.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Nicole Stein, Chief, Agency Assistance Branch, Office of Government 
Ethics. See the System Location section for street address.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    5 U.S.C. 13122 (Ethics in Government Act of 1978); 44 U.S.C. 3101.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose is to collect and maintain information necessary to 
plan and administer OGE meetings, events, educational and training 
programs, and professional development offerings. This includes 
information on participants who apply for, register for, or agree to 
present at an in-person or online meeting, event, educational and 
training program, or professional development offering. It also 
includes information on the collection of registration fees, 
information used to create printed materials such as nametags, tent 
cards, event programs and directories, and completion certifications, 
and demographic and other information used to improve OGE's offerings. 
The information collected will also be used for the purpose of 
improving the effectiveness of OGE's offerings, in order to inform 
future decisions and resource allocation, and comply with executive 
branch-wide evaluation and reporting requirements.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Federal employees in the executive branch, and/or members of the 
public who apply for, register to attend, or otherwise participate in 
OGE-hosted meetings, events, educational and training programs, or 
professional development offerings.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    This system of records contains personally identifiable information 
(PII) collected from individuals registering to attend or otherwise 
participate in OGE meetings, events, educational and training programs, 
and professional development offerings. The PII collected includes 
name, agency/organization, position title, grade level, address, 
telephone number, email address, state, city or town, country, number 
of years worked in the field of ethics, percentage of time spent 
performing ethics duties, special accommodations requests, previous 
professional development completed, demographic information (e.g., 
whether a participant identifies as a member of an underserved 
community), and application information such as letters of 
recommendation for acceptance into a program, applicants' level of 
expertise in particular areas of government ethics work, and 
applicants' resumes.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information in this system of records is provided by the individual 
on whom the record is maintained, or by the individual's organization 
if the organization is registering an individual on their behalf.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    These records and the information contained therein may be used:
    a. To disclose information to all event participants for the 
purposes of displaying names and other personal information on event 
materials such as name badges, tent cards, or event programs or 
directories.

[[Page 69186]]

    b. To share participants' biographical and/or contact information 
with other participants for the purpose of facilitating networking, 
mentoring relationships, and/or other cooperative professional 
development opportunities.
    c. To disclose information to vendors, venues, or other Federal 
agencies for the purposes of event planning and/or venue security.
    d. To provide confirmation or certification of completion and/or 
evaluations to the individuals registered for OGE meetings, events, 
educational and training programs, and professional development 
offerings.
    e. To provide confirmation or certification of completion and/or 
evaluations for executive branch ethics officials registered for OGE 
meetings, events, educational and training programs, and professional 
development offerings to any individuals responsible for reviewing, 
approving, and/or recommending training at the ethics officials' 
employing agencies.
    f. To disclose to other executive branch agencies and the public, 
summary data on OGE meetings, events, educational and training 
programs, and professional development offerings as part of internal 
OGE Annual Performance Reports, Equity and DEIA reports, and other 
evaluations of OGE programs.
    g. To disclose information when OGE determines that the records are 
arguably relevant and necessary to a proceeding before a court, grand 
jury, or administrative or adjudicative body; or in a proceeding before 
an administrative or adjudicative body when the adjudicator determines 
the records to be relevant and necessary to the proceeding.
    h. To disclose information to the National Archives and Records 
Administration in records management inspections conducted under 
authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    i. To disclose information to appropriate agencies, entities, and 
persons when: (1) OGE suspects or has confirmed that there has been a 
breach of the system of records; (2) OGE has determined that as a 
result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to 
individuals, the agency (including its information systems, programs, 
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 OGE's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    j. To disclose information to another Federal agency or Federal 
entity, when OGE determines that information from this system of 
records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or 
entity in (1) responding to a 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.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    These records are maintained in paper and/or electronic form.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    These records may be retrieved by name or other data elements such 
as an individual's agency.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    In accordance with General Records Schedule 6.4, item 010, Public 
affairs-related routine operational records, administrative event 
records are destroyed when 3 years old, or no longer needed, whichever 
is later. In accordance with General Records Schedule 2.6, item 020, 
Ethics training records, ethics training records are destroyed when 6 
years old or when superseded, whichever is later.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Hardcopy records are maintained in file cabinets which may be 
locked or in specified areas to which only authorized personnel have 
access. Electronic records are maintained either on the OGE network, in 
OGE internal applications, or in third party applications like Pay.gov, 
which is used to manage paid registrations. They are protected from 
unauthorized access through password identification procedures, limited 
access, firewalls, and other system-based protection methods.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals requesting access to this system of records must follow 
the procedures set forth in OGE's Privacy Act regulations at 5 CFR part 
2606.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to request amendment of records about 
themselves must follow the procedures set forth in OGE's Privacy Act 
regulations at 5 CFR part 2606.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Individuals wishing to inquire whether this system of records 
contains information about them must follow the procedures set forth in 
OGE's Privacy Act regulations at 5 CFR part 2606.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    84 FR 70191.

    Approved: September 28, 2023.
Shelley K. Finlayson,
Acting Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
[FR Doc. 2023-22168 Filed 10-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6345-03-P