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.
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.