Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 13014]

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY:

Department of State.

ACTION:

Notice of a modified system of records.

SUMMARY:

This system of records documents the adjudication of grievance appeals and separation for cause actions recommended by an agency, as well as any other matters arising under the Foreign Service Grievance Board's (FSGB) jurisdiction. These records may also be used to provide statistical data and other information for reports, member productivity, and other management functions.

DATES:

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11), this system of records notice is effective upon publication, with the exception of the routine uses (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) that are subject to a 30-day period during which interested persons may submit comments to the Department. Please submit any comments by August 6, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Questions can be submitted by mail, email, or by calling Timothy J. Kootz, the Senior Agency Official for Privacy, on (202) 485-2051. If mail, please write to: Timothy J. Kootz, Senior Agency Official for Privacy; U.S. Department of State; Shared Knowledge Services, A/SKS; Room 4534, 2201 C St. NW; Washington, DC 20520. If email, please address the email to the Senior Agency Official for Privacy, Timothy J. Kootz, at

SORN@state.gov.

Please write “Foreign Service Grievance Board Records, State-13” on the envelope or the subject line of your email.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Timothy J. Kootz, Senior Agency Official for Privacy; U.S. Department of State; Shared Knowledge Services, A/SKS; Room 4534, 2201 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20520 or by calling (202) 485-2051.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The modified system of records notice includes revisions and additions to the following sections: Security Classification, System Location, System Manager(s), Authority for Maintenance of the System, Purpose(s) of the System, Categories of Individuals Covered by the System, Categories of Records in the System, Record Source Categories, Routine Uses, Policies and Practices for Storage of Records, Policies and Practices for Retrieval of Records, Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records, and Administrative, Technical, and Physical Safeguards. In addition, the Department is taking this opportunity to make minor administrative updates to the notice in the following sections: Record Access Procedures, Contesting Record Procedures, Notification Procedures, Exemptions, and History. This notice is being modified to reflect the Department's move to digital storage solutions, new OMB guidance, access by contractors, and updated contact information.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

Foreign Service Grievance Board Records, State-13.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified and Classified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

SA-26, 8101 O'Dell Rd., Beltsville, MD 20705, and within a government cloud provided, implemented, and overseen by the Department's Enterprise Server Operations Center (ESOC), 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

Executive Secretary, Foreign Service Grievance Board, SA-15, 1800 N. Kent Street, Suite 3100S, Arlington, VA 22209. The Executive Secretary can be reached via email at

FSGB@state.gov.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

22 U.S.C. 2581 (General Authority of Secretary of State); 22 U.S.C. 2651a (Organization of the Department of

State); 22 U.S.C. 3921 (Administration by the Secretary of State); 22 U.S.C. 3901 (Foreign Service Act of 1980); 22 U.S.C. 3921 (Management of the Foreign Service) 22 U.S.C. 4135(e) (Foreign Service Grievance Board); 22 CFR 903.2 (Record of proceedings).

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

This system of records is maintained to document and adjudicate grievance appeals and separation for cause actions recommended by an agency, as well as any other matters arising under the Board's jurisdiction. These records may also be used to provide statistical data and other information for reports, member productivity, and other management functions.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Current and former Foreign Service personnel of the Department of State, the Department of Commerce U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (FCS), the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), the Peace Corps, and former Foreign Service personnel of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who are parties to, or mentioned in the parties' filings in grievance appeals, separation for cause cases, and other cases adjudicated by the Foreign Service Grievance Board. The Privacy Act defines an individual at 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(2) as a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

The Foreign Service Grievance Board records covered include the Records of Proceedings; Board Orders and Decisions; and Court Case Files. The Records of Proceedings in the grievance appeal or separation for cause proceedings include all documents filed by the parties; exhibits; hearing transcripts; decisions, orders, and other communications issued by the Board; and any other materials received or obtained by the Board in connection with the case, except for materials the Board excludes from the Record of Proceedings under 22 CFR 903.3. Board Orders and Decisions are files that contain only those specific documents issued by the Board in a case. Court Case Files contain documents sent to the relevant court or administrative body when a Board decision is appealed, or an exception is filed; communications regarding those appeals or exceptions; and subsequent court actions. These records may contain employees' name, social security number, addresses, law enforcement information, race, sex, national origin, disability status, and medical information.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

The individual; the agency which employs the individual; the exclusive representative; other individuals or organizations from whom the FSGB has received testimony, affidavits, or other documents.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

Foreign Service Grievance Board Records may be disclosed:

(a) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) the Department of State suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records; (2) the Department of State has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, the Department of State (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Department of State efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

(b) To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the Department of State determines that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.

(c) To members of the Board and staff of the Board, to conduct grievance reviews, carry out research related to the grievance or separation for cause proceeding, and for any other functions related to the adjudication of a grievance or a separation for cause proceeding.

(d) To the grievant or charged employee so that they can pursue a grievance appeal or defend themselves in a separation for cause proceeding and review the record of proceedings to ensure its accuracy.

(e) To the grievant representative(s), if any, so that they can pursue a grievance appeal or defend a client in a separation for cause proceeding and review the record of proceedings to ensure its accuracy.

(f) To the exclusive employee representative so that they can participate in any grievance or separation for cause proceeding and review the record of any proceeding to ensure its accuracy.

(g) To the Agency against which the grievance has been filed or any other Agency with equities in the grievance, so that the recipient or other Agency can: (i) defend itself in a grievance appeal, (ii) have access to material and relevant information in an appeal in which it has equities, and/or (iii) review the record of proceedings to ensure its accuracy.

(h) To an appropriate court or administrative body, which will be provided a copy of the Record of Proceedings when one of the parties files an appeal or exception of a Board decision.

(i) To the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), if it is representing an Agency in an appeal of a Board decision, so that the Department of Justice can defend the Agency in such an appeal.

(j) To the National Archives and Records Administration for records management inspections conducted under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

(k) To a contractor of the Department having need for the information in the performance of the contract but not operating a system of records within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552a(m).

(l) To an agency, whether federal, state, local or foreign, where a record indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, so that the recipient agency can fulfill its responsibility to investigate or prosecute such violation or enforce or implement the statute, rule, regulation, or order.

(m) To the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), or other appropriate federal agencies, for the integration and use of such information to protect against terrorism, if that record is about one or more individuals known, or suspected, to be or to have been involved in activities constituting, in preparation for, in aid of, or related to terrorism. Such Information may be further disseminated by recipient agencies to Federal, State, local, territorial, tribal, and foreign government authorities, and to support private sector processes as contemplated in Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-6 and

other relevant laws and directives, for terrorist screening, threat-protection and other homeland security purposes.

(n) 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.

(o) To a court, adjudicative body, or administrative body before which the Department is authorized to appear when (a) the Department, (b) any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity; (c) any employee of the Department in his or her individual capacity where the DOJ or the Department has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the Government of the United States, when the Department determines that litigation is likely to affect the Department, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the Department is deemed to be relevant and necessary to the litigation or administrative proceeding.

(p) To the DOJ for its use in providing legal advice to the Department or in representing the Department in a proceeding before a court, an adjudicative body, or other administrative body before which the Department is authorized to appear, where the Department deems DOJ's use of such information relevant and necessary to the litigation, and such proceeding names as a party or interests:

(1) The Department or any component of it;

(2) Any employee of the Department in his or her official capacity;

(3) Any employee of the Department in his or her individual capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee: or

(4) The Government of the United States, where the Department determines that litigation is likely to affect the Department or any of its components.

In addition to the routine uses described above, redacted decisions and orders issued in grievances and separation for cause proceedings may be published on the Board's public website to inform the public about the Board's decisions and operations.

Policies and Practices for Storage of Records:

Records are stored in both hard copy and in electronic media. A description of standard Department of State policies concerning storage of electronic records is found here

https://fam.state.gov/FAM/05FAM/05FAM0440.html.

All hard copies of records containing personal information are maintained in secured file cabinets and in restricted areas, access to which is limited to authorized personnel only.

Policies and Practices for Retrieval of Records:

Case numbers and individual grievant names.

Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal of Records:

Records are retained in accordance with the following Records Disposition Schedule: DAA-0059-2013-0002.

Administrative, Technical, and Physical Safeguards:

All users are given cyber security awareness training which covers the procedures for handling Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) information, including personally identifiable information (PII). Annual refresher training is mandatory. In addition, all Department OpenNet users are required to take the Foreign Service Institute distance learning course instructing employees on privacy and security requirements, including the rules of behavior for handling PII and the potential consequences if it is handled improperly. Before being granted access to Foreign Service Grievance Board Records, a user must first be granted access to the Department of State computer system.

Department of State employees and contractors may remotely access this system of records using non-Department owned information technology. Such access is subject to approval by the Department's access program and is limited to information maintained in unclassified information systems. Remote access to the Department's information systems is configured in compliance with OMB Circular A-130 multifactor authentication requirements and includes a time-out function.

All Department of State employees and contractors with authorized access to records maintained in this system of records have undergone a thorough background security investigation. Access to the Department of State, its annexes and posts abroad is controlled by security guards and admission is limited to those individuals possessing a valid identification card or individuals under proper escort. Access to computerized files is password-protected and under the direct supervision of the system manager. The system manager has the capability of printing audit trails of access from the computer media, thereby permitting regular and ad hoc monitoring of computer usage. When it is determined that a user no longer needs access, the user account is disabled.

Information that conforms with Department-specific definitions for Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) low, moderate, or high categorization are permissible for cloud usage and must specifically be authorized by the Department's Cloud Program Management Office and the Department of State Authorizing Official. Specific security measures and safeguards will depend on the FISMA categorization of the information in a given cloud system. In accordance with Department policy, systems that process more sensitive information will require more stringent controls and review by Department cybersecurity experts prior to approval. Prior to operation, all Cloud systems must comply with applicable security measures that are outlined in FISMA, FedRAMP, OMB regulations, National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Special Publications (SP) and Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Department of State policies and standards.

All data stored in cloud environments categorized above a low FISMA impact risk level must be encrypted at rest and in-transit using a federally-approved encryption mechanism. The encryption keys shall be generated, maintained, and controlled in a Department data center by the Department key management authority. Deviations from these encryption requirements must be approved in writing by the Department of State Authorizing Official. High FISMA impact risk level systems will additionally be subject to continual auditing and monitoring, multifactor authentication mechanism utilizing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and NIST 800 53 controls concerning virtualization, servers, storage and networking, as well as stringent measures to sanitize data from the cloud service once the contract is terminated.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Individuals who wish to gain access to or amend records pertaining to themselves should submit a Privacy Act request to the U.S. Department of State Information Access Programs (IAP) directorate by following the guidance and procedures located at

https://foia.state.gov/request/request2.aspx.

Mailed requests can be addressed to U.S. Department of State, Information Access Programs Directorate (A/SKS/IAP); 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520-0000. To request information under the Privacy Act, the individual should be a citizen of the United States, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The Privacy Act permits access to an individual's own

records only if those records are within a system of records that are retrieved by an individual's name or personal identifier.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

Individuals who wish to contest the content of any record pertaining to him or her in the system should write to U.S. Department of State; Information Access Programs Directorate (A/SKS/IAP); 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520-0000.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

Individuals who wish to be notified if the system contains a record pertaining to him or her should write to the U.S. Department of State; Information Access Programs Directorate (A/SKS/IAP); 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520-0000.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(1), records subject to the provisions of section 552(b)(1) are exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5), records that consist of investigatory material compiled for the purpose of determining suitability, eligibility, or qualifications for Federal civilian employment, military service, Federal contracts, or access to classified information are exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f).

HISTORY:

Previously published at 42 FR 49706.

Timothy J. Kootz,

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Shared Knowledge Services (A/SKS), U.S. Department of State.

[FR Doc. 2026-13634 Filed 7-6-26; 8:45 am]

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