Effective Date: January 11, 2006
(71 F.R. 1866)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY
THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
SYSTEM NUMBER: 60-0250
System name:
Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) Counselor and Investigator Personnel Records, Social Security
Administration, Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources, Office of Civil Rights
and Equal Opportunity.
Security classification:
None.
System Location:
Social Security Administration
Room 2200
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Employees
who have volunteered or have been proposed for duty as Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) Counselors on a part-time basis.
Categories of records in the system:
This system of
records contains information concerning the personal characteristics of EEO
counselors. The records consist of the name and other identifying data, title,
location, training received, information concerning qualifying background, case
assignments, and evaluation of EEO counselors serving on a part-time basis and
related information.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
29
U.S.C. 633a; 42 U.S.C. 2000e; and Executive Order (E.O.) 11478.
Purpose(s):
These records
are used to identify, locate and determine the availability of employees who
volunteer as counselors for assignments and to determine training needs of
counselors. These records are maintained in Social Security Administration
(SSA) field and regional offices. They may be used to provide information for
production of summary descriptive statistics and analytical studies in support
of the function for which the records are collected and maintained, or for
related personnel management functions or manpower studies, and to locate
specific individuals for personnel research or other personnel
management functions.
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 provide resources to another Federal
agency, in response to its requests for loan of counselors.
2. To another Federal agency, in response
to its requests, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the
issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation or 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.
3. 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.
4. To official 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.
5. To contractors for the purpose of
collecting, analyzing, aggregating or otherwise refining records in this
system. The contractor shall be required to maintain Privacy Act safeguards
with respect to such records.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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 each case, SSA determines that such disclosure is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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:
These records
are maintained in paper form (e.g., file folders, binders and index cards).
Retrievability:
These records
are retrieved by the names of EEO counselors and investigators.
Safeguards:
Access to, and
use of, these records is limited to those persons whose official duties require
access. Access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_g.htm for additional
information relating to SSA data security measures.
Retention and disposal:
These records
are maintained up to one year after the counselor or investigator ceases to
participate in the volunteer program, at which time they are destroyed.
System manager(s) and address(es):
Associate Commissioner
Office of Civil Rights and Equal
Opportunity
Room
2200
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, inaccurate, untimely 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 obtained from individuals to whom the record
pertains, SSA or other officials, official documents relating to appointments
and case assignments as counselors and investigators, correspondence from
specific persons or organizations, formal reports submitted by the individual
in the performance of official volunteer work.
Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
None.