PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

Subpart B--Privacy Act

Sec. 4.29  Appeal of initial adverse agency determination on correction
or amendment.

    (a) If a request for correction or amendment is denied initially
under Sec. 4.28, the individual may submit a written appeal within
thirty working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal
public holidays) of the date of the initial denial. If an appeal is
submitted by mail, the postmark is conclusive as to timeliness.
    (b) An appeal should be addressed to the Assistant General Counsel
for Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 5875, 14th and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. An appeal should
include the words ``PRIVACY APPEAL'' in capital letters at the top of
the letter and on the face of the envelope. An appeal not addressed and
marked as provided herein will be so marked by Department personnel
when it is so identified, and will be forwarded immediately to the
Assistant General Counsel for Administration. An appeal which is not
properly addressed by the individual will not be deemed to have been
``received'' for purposes of measuring the time periods in this section
until actual receipt by the Assistant General Counsel for
Administration. In each instance when an appeal so forwarded is
received, the Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall notify
the individual that his or her appeal was improperly addressed and the
date on which the appeal was received at the proper address.
    (c) The individual's appeal shall be signed by the individual, and
shall include a statement of the reasons why the initial denial is
believed to be in error, and the Department's control number assigned
to the request. The Privacy Officer who issued the initial denial shall
furnish to the Assistant General Counsel for Administration the record
the individual requests to be corrected or amended, and all
correspondence between the Privacy Officer and the requester. Although
the foregoing normally will comprise the entire record on appeal, the
Assistant General Counsel for Administration may seek any additional
information necessary to ensure that the final determination is fair
and equitable and, in such instances, disclose the additional
information to the individual to the greatest extent possible, and
provide an opportunity for comment thereon.
    (d) No personal appearance or hearing on appeal will be allowed.
    (e) The Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall act upon
the appeal and issue a final determination in writing not later than
thirty working days (i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal
public holidays) from the date on which the appeal is received, except
that the Assistant General Counsel for Administration may extend the
thirty days upon deciding that a fair and equitable review cannot be
made within that period, but only if the individual is advised in
writing of the reason for the extension and the estimated date by which
a final determination will issue. The estimated date should not be
later than the sixtieth working day after receipt of the appeal unless
unusual circumstances, as described in Sec. 4.25(a), are met.
    (f) If the appeal is determined in favor of the individual, the
final determination shall include the specific corrections or
amendments to be made and a copy thereof shall be transmitted promptly
to the individual and to the Privacy Officer who issued the initial
denial. Upon receipt of such final determination, the Privacy Officer
shall promptly take the actions set forth in Sec. 4.28(a)(2)(i) and
(b).
    (g) If the appeal is denied, the final determination shall be
transmitted promptly to the individual and state the reasons for the
denial. The notice of final determination also shall inform the
individual that:
    (1) The individual has a right under the Act to file with the
Assistant General Counsel for Administration a

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concise statement of reasons for disagreeing with the final
determination. The statement ordinarily should not exceed one page and
the Department reserves the right to reject an excessively lengthy
statement. It should provide the Department control number assigned to
the request, indicate the date of the final determination and be signed
by the individual. The Assistant General Counsel for Administration
shall acknowledge receipt of such statement and inform the individual
of the date on which it was received;
    (2) Any such disagreement statement submitted by the individual
would be noted in the disputed record, and filed with it;
    (3) The purposes and uses to which the statement would be put are
those applicable to the record in which it is noted, and that a copy of
the statement would be provided to persons and agencies to which the
record is disclosed subsequent to the date of receipt of such
statement;
    (4) The Department would append to any such disagreement statement
a copy of the final determination or summary thereof, which also would
be provided to persons and agencies to which the disagreement statement
is disclosed; and
    (5) The individual has a right to judicial review of the final
determination under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1)(A), as limited by 5 U.S.C.
552a(g)(5).
    (h) In making the final determination, the Assistant General
Counsel for Administration shall employ the criteria set forth in
Sec. 4.28(c) and shall deny an appeal only on the grounds set forth in
Sec. 4.28(e).
    (i) If an appeal is partially granted and partially denied, the
Assistant General Counsel for Administration shall follow the
appropriate procedures of this section as to the records within the
grant and the records within the denial.
    (j) Although a copy of the final determination or a summary thereof
will be treated as part of the individual's record for purposes of
disclosure in instances where the individual has filed a disagreement
statement, it will not be subject to correction or amendment by the
individual.
    (k) The provisions of paragraphs (g)(1) through (g)(3) of this
section satisfy the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(3).