Effective Date: January 11, 2006
(71 F.R. 1856)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY
THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
SYSTEM NUMBER: 60-0238
System name:
Pay, Leave and
Attendance Records, Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner for
Human Resources, Office of Personnel.
Security classification:
None.
System Location:
For Time and
Attendance:
Deputy
Commissioner for Human Resources
Office of Personnel
Director
Center for Personnel Management Information
Systems and
Payroll
For Federal Personnel and Payroll Systems
(FPPS):
Director
Payroll Operations Division
Department of the Interior
7301
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
All paid
employees of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Categories of records in the system:
This system
consists of a variety of records relating to pay and leave determinations made
about each employee of SSA. In addition to the name of the employee, the system
includes information such as the employee's date of birth, Social Security
number (SSN), home address, grade or rank, employing organization, timekeeper
number, salary, civil service retirement fund contributions, pay plan, number
of hours worked, annual and sick leave accrual rate and usage, administrative
leave usage, annual and sick leave balance, deductions for Medicare and/or
FICA, Federal, State and city tax withholdings, Federal Employees Governmental
Life Insurance withholdings, Federal Employees Health Benefits withholdings,
awards, commercial garnishments, child support and/or alimony wage assignments,
savings allotments, union and management association dues withholdings
allotments, savings bonds allotments; Combined Federal Campaign allotments; and
Thrift Savings Plan contributions.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5 U.S.C. Chapter 55, Sec. 5501 et seq., Chapter 61, Sec. 6101, et seq. and Chapter
63 Sec. 6301 et
seq.
Purpose(s):
Records in this
system are used to insure that each employee receives the proper pay and
allowances; that proper deductions and authorized allotments are made from
employees' pay; and that employees are credited and charged with the proper
amount of leave. Records are also used to produce summary descriptive
statistics and analytical studies in support of the functions for which the
records are collected and maintained and for related personnel management
functions or pay studies, and for other purposes compatible with the intent for
which the records system was created.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
Disclosure may
be made for routine uses as indicated below:
1. To the Internal Revenue Service and to
State and local government tax agencies: Records relating to employees' income
including name, home address, Social Security number, earned income, and amount
of taxes withheld.
2. To Federal, State, Foreign and local law
enforcement agencies in the event that this system of records indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory
in nature.
3. To a Federal, State or local agency
maintaining civil, criminal or other relevant enforcement records or other
pertinent records, such as current licenses, if necessary to obtain a record
relevant to an Agency decision concerning the hiring or retention of an employee,
the issuance of a security clearance, the letting of a contract, or the
issuance of a license, grant or other benefit.
4. To a Federal agency, in response to its
request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the
issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an
employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or
other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that the record is
relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the matter.
5. To a Federal agency having the power to
subpoena records, for example, the Internal Revenue Service or the Civil Rights
Commission, in response to a subpoena for information contained in this system
of records.
6. 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 conditions of employment.
7. To contractors or another Federal agency
when the Social Security Administration contracts with a private firm or makes
an arrangement with a Federal agency for the purpose of performing payroll
related processing, in addition to collating, analyzing, aggregating or otherwise
refining records in this system. The contractor shall be required to maintain
Privacy Act safeguards with respect to such records.
8. To the Office of Personnel Management,
the Merit Systems Protection Board, or the Office of the Special Counsel when
information is requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the
civil service and other merit systems, review of those agencies' rules and
regulations, investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel
practices, and for such other function of these agencies as may be authorized
by law, e.g., 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206.
9. To the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission 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 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.
11. To the Department of Labor in
connection with a claim filed by the employee for compensation on account of a
job-connected injury or disease.
12. To respond to court orders for
garnishment of an employee's pay for alimony or child support or commercial
debt.
13. To respond to orders from Internal
Revenue Service for garnishment of an employee's pay for Federal income tax
purposes.
14. To the Department of the Treasury for
the purposes of preparing and issuing employee salary and compensation checks
and United States Savings Bonds.
15. To State offices of unemployment
compensation in connection with claims filed by current or former Social
Security Administration employees for unemployment
compensation.
16. To a congressional office in response
to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that
individual.
17. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a
court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal, when
(a) The Social Security Administration
(SSA), or any component thereof; or
(b) Any SSA employee in his/her official
capacity; or
(c) Any SSA employee in his/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 that 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, SSA determines that such disclosure is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
18. To financial organizations designated
to receive labor organization or management association dues withheld from
employees' pay, in order to account for the amounts of such withheld dues which
they receive.
19.
To a State or local agency for the purpose of conducting computer matching
programs designed to reduce fraud, waste and abuse in Federal, State and local
public assistance programs and operations.
20. To a Federal agency for the purpose of
conducting computer matching programs designed to reduce fraud, waste and abuse
using loan or benefit records of a Federal, State or local agency to identify
employee's improperly receiving loans or benefits and to facilitate the
collection of debts owed the
21. To a Federal agency in response to a
written request from that agency, personally signed by a supervisor, specifying
the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which the
record is sought. The request for the record must be connected with the
agency's auditing and investigative functions designed to reduce waste, fraud,
and abuse. It must be based on information which raises questions about an
individual's eligibility for benefits or payments, and it must be made
reasonably soon after the information is received.
22. To the General Services Administration
and the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) under 44 U.S.C. 2904
and 2906, as amended by the NARA Act of 1984, information which is not restricted
from disclosure by Federal law for the use of those agencies in conducting
records management studies.
23. 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
the Social Security Administration (SSA), as authorized by law, and they need
access to personally identifiable information in SSA records in order to
perform their assigned Agency functions.
24. To the Secretary of Health and Human
Services or to any State, the Commissioner shall disclose any record or
information requested in writing by the Secretary for the purpose of
administering any program administered by the Secretary, if records or information
of such type were so disclosed under applicable rules, regulations and
procedures in effect before the date of enactment of the Social Security
Independence and Program Improvements Act of 1994.
25. We
may disclose information to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies,
entities, and persons when (1) we suspect or confirm that the security or
confidentiality of information in this system of records has been compromised;
(2) we determine that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise
there is a risk of harm to economic or property interests, identity theft or
fraud, or harm to the security or integrity of this system or other systems or
programs of SSA that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) we
determine that disclosing the information to such agencies, entities, and
persons is necessary to assist in our efforts to respond to the suspected or
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm. SSA will use
this routine use to respond only to those incidents involving an unintentional
release of its records.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
Records are
maintained in manual, microfilm, microfiche, imaged and printout form in the
Payroll Office. Currently, applicable records are stored on magnetic media at
the
Retrievability:
Records are
retrievable by name and SSN from NBC, DOI and by name, SSN and timekeeper
number at SSA.
Safeguards:
Access to, and
use of, these records is limited to personnel whose official duties require
such access. Personnel screening is employed to prevent unauthorized disclosure.
Access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_g.htm for additional
information relating to SSA data security measures.
Retention and disposal:
Records
submitted by the individual, such as allotment authorization forms, home
address forms, and tax withholding forms, are retained until superseded by new
forms or until the individual leaves SSA. Most of these records are then
destroyed. Some of these records must be retained for an additional period, or
forwarded to the new employing agency. Time and attendance records are retained
for six years and are then destroyed. The automated payroll master record,
established when the individual is first employed and continually updated
throughout the period of his or her employment, is retained until the
individual leaves SSA.
System manager(s) and address:
In both the field and Headquarters:
Deputy
Commissioner for Human Resources
Office
of Personnel
Director, CPMISP
Notification procedures:
An individual
can determine if this system contains a record about him/her by writing to the
system manager(s) at the above address and providing his/her name, SSN or other
information that may be in the system of records that will identify him/her. An
individual requesting notification of records in person should provide the same
information, as well as provide an identity document, preferably with a
photograph, such as a driver's license or some other means of identification.
If an individual does not have any identification documents sufficient to
establish his/her identity, the individual must certify in writing that he/she
is the person claimed to be and that he/she understands that the knowing and
willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another
individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
If notification is requested by telephone,
an individual must verify his/her identity by providing identifying information
that parallels information in the record to which notification is being
requested. If it is determined that the identifying
information provided by telephone is insufficient, the individual will be
required to submit a request in writing or in person. If an individual
is requesting information by telephone on behalf of another individual, the
subject individual must be connected with SSA and the requesting individual in
the same phone call. SSA will establish the subject individual's identity
(his/her name, SSN, address, date of birth and place of birth, along with one
other piece of information, such as mother's maiden name) and ask for his/her
consent in providing information to the requesting individual.
If a request for notification is submitted
by mail, an individual must include a notarized statement to SSA to verify
his/her identity or must certify in the request that he/she is the person
claimed to be and that he/she understands 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 SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Record access procedures:
Same
as Notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably specify
the record contents being sought. This procedure is in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Contesting record procedures:
Same
as Notification procedures. Also, requesters should reasonably
identify the record, specify the information they are contesting and the
corrective action sought, and the reasons for the correction, with supporting
justification showing how the record is incomplete, untimely, inaccurate or
irrelevant. This procedure is in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR
401.65(a)).
Record source categories:
Information in
this system of records is (1) supplied directly by the individual, or (2)
derived from information supplied by the individual, or (3) supplied by
timekeepers and other SSA officials.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
None.