OGE/GOVT-1 SYSTEMS
LISTING
System name:
Executive Branch
Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Reports and Other Name-Retrieved Ethics
Program Records.
Security
classification:
None.
System
location:
Office of
Government Ethics,
Categories
of individuals covered by the system
This system
contains records on: The President, Vice President, and candidates for those
offices; officers and employees including special Government employees, whose
positions are classified above GS-15 of the General Schedule or at an
equivalent rate of basic pay equal to or greater than 120% of the minimum rate
of basic pay for GS-15; officers or employees in a position determined by the
Director of the Office of Government Ethics to be of equal classification to
GS-15 or above; Administrative Law Judges; excepted service employees in
positions that are of a confidential or policymaking nature unless an employee
or group of employees are exempted by the Director of the Office of Government
Ethics; members of a uniformed service whose pay grade is at or in excess of
O-7 under section 201 of title 37, United States Code; the Postmaster General,
the Deputy Postmaster General, Governor of the Board of Governors of the U.S.
Postal Service and each officer or employee of the U.S. Postal Service or
Postal Rate Commission whose basic rate of pay is equal to or greater than 120%
of the minimum rate of basic pay for GS-15; the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics and each agency's primary designated agency ethics official;
any civilian employee employed in the Executive Office of the President (other
than a special Government employee) who holds a commission of appointment from
the President; and nominees for positions requiring Senate confirmation. This
system includes both former and current employees in these categories who have
filed financial disclosure statements under the requirements of the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978, as amended, or who otherwise come under the
requirements of the Ethics Act. This system also contains information that is necessary
for administering all provisions of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and
the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (Pub. L. 101-194), as amended, and E.O. 12674 as
modified on any current or former officer or employee of the executive branch.
Categories
of records in the system
This system of
records contains: Financial information such as salary, dividends, retirement benefits,
interests in property, deposits in a bank and other financial institutions;
information on gifts received; information on certain liabilities; information
about positions as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, proprietor,
representative, employee, or consultant of any corporation, company, firm,
partnership, or other business, non-profit organization, labor organization, or
educational institution; information about non-Government employment agreements,
such as leaves of absence to accept Federal service, continuation of payments
by a non-Federal employer; and information about assets placed in trust pending
disposal. This system also includes other documents developed or information
and material received by the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, or agency
ethics officials in administering the Ethics of Government Act of 1978 or the
Ethics Reform Act of 1989, as amended, which are retrieved by name or other
personal identifier. Such other documents or information may include, but will
not be limited to: ethics agreements, documentation of waivers issued to an officer
or employee by an agency pursuant to section 208(b)(1) or section
208(b)(3) of title 18, U.S.C.; certificates of divestiture issued by the
President or by the Director of OGE pursuant to section 502 of the
Ethics Reform Act of 1989; information necessary for the rendering of ethics counseling,
advice or formal advisory opinions, or the resolution of complaints; the actual
opinions issued; and records of referrals and consultations regarding current
and former employee's who are or have been the subject of conflicts of interest
or standards of conduct inquiries or determinations, or employees who are
alleged to have violated department, agency or Federal ethics statutes, rules,
regulations or Executive orders. Such information may include correspondence,
documents or material concerning an individual's conduct, reports of investigations
with related exhibits, statements, affidavits or other records obtained during
an inquiry. These documents may include information related to personal and
family financial and other business interests, positions held outside the
Government and acceptance of gifts. The records may also contain reports of
action taken by the agency, decisions and reports on legal or disciplinary
action resulting from any referred administrative action or prosecution.
Authority
for maintenance of the system
5 U.S.C. 7301,
7351, 7353; 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government Act of 1978); 31 U.S.C. 1353;
E.O. 12674 (as modified by E.O. 12731).
Purpose(s):
All records are
maintained in accordance with the requirements of the Ethics in Government Act
of 1978 and the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, as amended, and Executive Order
12674 as modified and OGE and agency regulations there under. These
requirements include the filing of financial status reports, reports concerning
certain agreements between the covered individual and any prior private sector
employer, ethics agreements, and the preservation of waivers issued to an
officer or employee pursuant to section 208 of title 18 and certificates of
divestiture issued pursuant to section 502 of the Ethics Reform Act. Such
statements and related records are required to assure compliance with these
acts and to preserve and promote the integrity of public officials and
institutions. The requirements also include the possession or maintenance of information
being researched or prepared for referral by ethics officials concerning
employees or former employees of the Federal Government who are the subject of
complaints of misconduct or alleged violations of ethics laws. These complaints
may be referred to the Office of the Inspector General of the agency where the
employee is or was employed or to the Department of Justice.
Routine
uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the
purposes of such uses:
These records
and information in these records may be used:
Note: When an
agency is requested to furnish such records to the Director or other authorized
officials of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), such a disclosure is to be considered as made to those
officers and employees of the agency which co-maintains the records who have a
need for the records in the performance of their official duties in accordance
with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app., and other
ethics-related laws, Executive orders and regulations conferring pertinent
authority on OGE, pursuant to
the provision of the Privacy Act at 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(1).
Policies
and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of
records in the system:
Storage:
These records
are maintained in paper and/or electronic form.
Retrievability:
These records
are retrieved by the name or other programmatic identifier assigned to the
individual on whom they are maintained.
Safeguards:
These records
are maintained in file cabinets which may be locked or in specified areas to
which only authorized personnel have access. Electronic records are protected
from unauthorized access through password identification procedures, limited
access, firewalls and other system-based protection methods.
Retention
and disposal:
In accordance
with the National Archives and Records Administration General Records Schedule
for ethics program records, these records are generally retained for a period
of six years after filing, or for such other period of time as is provided for
in that schedule for certain specified types of ethics records. In cases where
records are filed by, or with respect to, a nominee for an appointment
requiring confirmation by the Senate when the nominee is not appointed and Presidential
and Vice-Presidential candidates who are not elected, the records are generally
destroyed one year after the date the individual ceased being under Senate consideration
for appointment or is no longer a candidate for office. However, if any records
are needed in an ongoing investigation, they will be retained until no longer
needed in the investigation. Destruction is by shredding or electronic
deletion.
System
manager(s) and address(es):
Notification
procedureS:
Individuals
wishing to inquire whether this system of records contains information about
them should contact, as appropriate:
Record
access procedures:
Individuals
wishing to request access to their records should contact the appropriate
office as shown in the Notification Procedure section. Individuals must furnish
the following information for their records to be located and identified:
Individuals
requesting access must also follow OGE's
Privacy Act regulations regarding verification of identity and access to
records (5 CFR part 2606).
Contesting
record procedures:
Since the
information in these records is updated on a periodic basis, most record
corrections can be handled through established administrative procedures for updating
the records. However, individuals can obtain information on the procedures for
contesting the records under the provisions of the Privacy Act by contacting
the appropriate office shown in the Notification Procedure section.
Record
source categories:
Information in
this system of records is provided by:
Exemptions
claimed for the system:
None.