Effective Date: January 11, 2006
(71 F.R. 1871)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY
THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
SYSTEM NUMBER: 60-0262
System name:
Attorney
Applicant Files, Social Security Administration, Office of the General Counsel.
Security classification:
None.
System Location:
Office of the General Counsel
Social
Security Administration
Room 600
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region I
Social Security Administration
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief Counsel, Region II
Social Security Administration, Room
3904
26 Federal Plaza
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief Counsel, Region III
Social Security Administration
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region IV
Social
Security Administration
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region V
Social Security Administration
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region VI
Social
Security Administration,
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region VII
Social Security Administration, Room
535
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region VIII
Social Security Administration
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief Counsel, Region IX
Social Security Administration, Room
405
50 United
In the
Office
of the General Counsel
Chief
Counsel, Region X
Social
Security Administration
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Applicants
for attorney positions in the Office of the General Counsel.
Categories of records in the system:
The Attorney
Applicant system consists of a variety of records relating to persons applying
for attorney positions such as resumes, college transcripts, writing samples,
recommendations from teachers and former employers, and professional
credentials, etc.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5
U.S.C. 3301, et seq.
Purpose(s):
To maintain
current information on individuals interested in employment as attorneys with
the Office of the General Counsel.
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 a congressional office from the
records of an individual in response to an inquiry from a congressional office
made at the request of that individual or from a third party on his or her
behalf.
2. To the Office of the President for
responding to an individual pursuant to an inquiry received from that
individual or from a third party on his or her behalf.
3. 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 the operations of
SSA or any of its components, is a party to 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 such 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.
4. To a Federal, State or local agency for
law enforcement purposes concerning a violation of law pertaining to the
records in this system.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 paper form (e.g., file folders) in locked cabinets. Some records
may be maintained on Agency computers.
Retrievability:
Records are
retrieved by the name of the applicant.
Safeguards:
Office buildings
in which files are kept are secure and these files are only accessible to
General Counsel Staff and other Agency employees whose 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:
The records are
maintained in the Office of the General Counsel for six months or, if an
applicant requests that his application be held for a longer time, for one
year. Records are then disposed of in accordance with the Federal Records Act
and applicable schedules.
System manager(s) and address(es):
Office of the General Counsel
Social
Security Administration
Room 617
(For additional
addresses see Systems location).
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, Social Security number, 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 being sought. These procedures are in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Contesting record procedures:
Same as Notification
procedures. Requesters should also 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 untimely,
incomplete, inaccurate or
irrelevant. These procedures are in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR
401.65(a)).
Record source categories:
The information
in this system comes from the applicant, educational institutions, past
employers and records of interviews with OGC personnel.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
None.