Privacy Act of 1974; Proposed New Routine Use To an Existing System of Records

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of The Secretary

Privacy Act of 1974; Proposed New Routine Use To an Existing

System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Labor.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S. C.

552a(e)(11)), the Department of Labor is issuing notice of our intent

to amend the system of records entitled, DOL/OFO-1, Attendance, Leave,

and Payroll File, to include a new routine use. The disclosure is

required by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act (PRWORA, Pub.L. 104-193). We invite public comment

on this publication.

DATES: Persons wishing to comment on the proposed routine use must do

so by February 17, 1998.

Effective date: The proposed routine use will become effective as

proposed without further notice on February 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested individuals may comment on this publication by

writing to Robert A. Shapiro, Associate Solicitor, Division of

Legislation and Legal Counsel, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-

2428, Washington, DC 20210. All comments received will be available for

public inspection at that address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam McD. Miller, Co-Counsel for

Administrative Law, Office of the Solicitor, Department of Labor, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-2428, Washington, DC 20210, telephone

(202) 219-8188, ext. 135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section three of the Privacy Act

of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4)), hereinafter referred to as the Act, the

Department hereby publishes notice of a proposed new routine use for

the Department's existing payroll system of records. This document

supplements this Department's last publication in full of all of its

Privacy Act systems of records. On September 23, 1993, in Volume 58 at

Page 49548 of the Federal Register, we published a notice containing

138 systems of records which were maintained under the Act. Subsequent

publications of new systems were made on April 15, 1994 (59 FR

18156)(two new systems); on May 10, 1995 (60 FR 24897)(one new system);

and on June 15, 1995 (60 FR 31495)(one new system); April 7, 1997 (62

FR 16610)(one new system); and on October 14, 1997 (62 FR 53343) (one

new system).

The Department hereby proposes to amend an existing system of

records, DOL/OCFO-1, Attendance, Leave and Payroll File, so that a new

Routine Use can be established. Pursuant to Pub. L. 104-193, the

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of

1996, this Department will disclose data from this system to the Office

of Child Support Enforcement, Admininstration for Children and

Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for use in the

National Database of New Hires, part of the Federal Parent Locator

System (FPLS) and Federal Tax Offset System, DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074.

A description of the Federal Parent Locator Service may be found at 62

FR 51663 (October 2, 1997).

FPLS is a computerized network through which States may request

location information from Federal and State agencies to find non-

custodial parents and/or their employers for purposes of establishing

paternity and securing support. On October 1, 1997, the FPLS was

expanded to include the National Directory of New Hires, a database

containing information on employees recently hired, quarterly wage data

on private and public sector employees, and information on unemployment

compensation benefits. On October 1, 1998, the FPLS will be expanded

further to include a Federal Case Registry. The Federal Case Registry

will contain abstracts on all participants involved in child support

enforcement cases. When the Federal Case Registry is instituted, its

files will be matched on an ongoing basis against the files in the

National Directory of New Hires to determine if an employee is a

participant in a child support case anywhere in the country. If the

FPLS identifies a person as being a participant in a State child

support case, that State will be notified of the participant's current

employer. State requests to the FPLS for location information will also

continue to be processed after October 1, 1998.

When individuals are hired by the Department of Labor, we may

disclose to the FPLS their names, social security numbers, home

addresses, dates of birth, dates of hire, and information identifying

us as the employer. We also may disclose to FPLS names, social security

numbers, and quarterly earnings of each Department of Labor employee,

within one month of the end of the quarterly reporting period.

Information submitted by the Department of Labor to the FPLS will

be disclosed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Social

Security Administration for verification to ensure that the social

security number provided is correct. The data disclosed by the

Department of Labor to the FPLS will also be disclosed by the Office of

Child Support Enforcement to the Secretary of the Treasury for use in

verifying claims for the advance payment of the earned income tax

credit or to verify a claim of employment on a tax return.

We are also making various minor grammatical corrections to this

system. The names of agencies within the category for System Location

are being updated. In the Records Category, two commas are being added,

and two grammatical corrections are being made. Finally, two

grammatical corrections are being made in the category for Purpose.

Universal Routine Uses

In its September 23, 1993 publication, the Department gave notice

of eleven paragraphs containing routine uses which apply to all of its

systems of records, except for DOL/OASAM-5 and DOL/OASAM-7. These

eleven

[[Page 2418]]

paragraphs were presented in the General Prefatory Statement for that

document, and it appeared at Pages 49554-49555 of Volume 58 of the

Federal Register. Those eleven paragraphs were republished in an April

15, 1994 document in order to correct grammatical mistakes in the

September 23, 1993 version. In the May 10, 1995, June 15, 1995 and

April 7, 1997 publication, the General Prefatory Statement was

republished as a convenience to the reader of the document. In an

October 14, 1997 publication, the General Prefatory Statement was again

republished in order to make a syntactical change to paragraph 10. We

are again republishing the General Prefatory Statement as a convenience

to the reader.

The public, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the

Congress are invited to submit written comments on the proposed new

routine use. A report on the proposed amendment to DOL/OCFO-1 has been

provided to OMB and to the Congress as required by OMB Circular A-130,

Revised, and 5 U.S.C. 552a(r).

General Prefatory Statement

The following routine uses apply to and are incorporated by

reference into each system of records published below unless the text

of a particular notice of a system of records indicates otherwise.

These routine uses do not apply to DOL/OASAM-5, Rehabilitation and

Counseling File, nor to DOL/OASAM-7, Employee Medical Records.

1. It shall be a routine use of the records in this system of

records to disclose them to the Department of Justice when: (a) The

agency or any component thereof; or (b) any employee of the agency in

his or her official capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed

to represent the employee; or (c) the United States Government, is a

party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and by

careful review, the agency determines that the records are both

relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such records by

the Department of Justice is therefore deemed by the agency to be for a

purpose that is compatible with the purpose for which the agency

collected the records.

2. It shall be a routine use of the records in this system of

records to disclose them in a proceeding before a court or adjudicative

body, when: (a) The agency or any component thereof; or (b) any

employee of the agency in his or her official capacity; or (c) any

employee of the agency in his or her individual capacity where the

agency has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the United States

Government, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such

litigation, and by careful review, the agency determines that the

records are both relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use

of such records is therefore deemed by the agency to be for a purpose

that is compatible with the purpose for which the agency collected the

records.

3. When a record on its face, or in conjunction with other records,

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, disclosure may be made to the appropriate

agency, whether Federal, foreign, State, local, or tribal, or other

public authority responsible for enforcing, investigating or

prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing

the statute, or rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto, if

the information disclosed is relevant to any enforcement, regulatory,

investigative or prosecutive responsibility of the receiving entity,

and by careful review, the agency determines that the records are both

relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such records is

therefore deemed by the agency to be for a purpose that is compatible

with the purpose for which the agency collected the records.

4. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a

Member of Congress or to a Congressional staff member in response to an

inquiry of the Congressional office made at the written request of the

constituent about whom the record is maintained.

5. Records from this system of records may be disclosed to the

National Archives and Records Administration or to the General Services

Administration for records management inspections conducted under 44

U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

6. Disclosure may be made to agency contractors, or their

employees, consultants, grantees, or their employees, or volunteers who

have been engaged to assist the agency in the performance of a

contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement or other activity

related to this system of records and who need to have access to the

records in order to perform the activity. Recipients shall be required

to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended,

5 U.S.C. 552a; see also 5 U.S.C. 552a(m).

7. The name and current address of an individual may be disclosed

from any system of records to the parent locator service of the

Department of HHS or to other authorized persons defined by Pub. L. 93-

647 for the purpose of locating a parent who is not paying required

child support.

8. Disclosure may be made to any source from which information is

requested in the course of a law enforcement or grievance

investigation, or in the course of an investigation concerning

retention of an employee or other personnel action, the retention of a

security clearance, the letting of a contract, the retention of a

grant, or the retention of any other benefit, to the extent necessary

to identify the individual, inform the source of the purpose(s) of the

request, and identify the type of information requested.

9. Disclosure may be made to a Federal, State, local, foreign, or

tribal or other public authority of the fact that this system of

records contains information relevant to the hiring or retention of an

employee, the granting or retention of a security clearance, the

letting of a contract, a suspension or debarment determination or the

issuance or retention of a license, grant, or other benefit.

10. A record from any system of records set forth below may be

disclosed to the Office of Management and Budget in connection with the

review of private relief legislation and the legislative coordination

and clearance process.

11. Disclosure may be made to a debt collection agency that the

United States has contracted with for collection services to recover

debts owed to the United States.

Publication of a Proposed Amendment

Accordingly, DOL/OCFO-1, Attendance, Leave, and Payroll File, a

system notice recently amended at 62 FR 16614 (April 7, 1997), is

further amended by amending the category for Routine Uses, by adding a

new paragraph of routine use at the end of the existing text, to be

designated as paragraph F., to read as set forth below. For the

convenience of the reader, the newly revised system is being published

in full as follows:

DOL/OCFO-1

SYSTEM NAME:

Attendance, Leave, and Payroll File.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

A. Offices in Washington, D.C.:

1. Office of the Secretary of Labor, including:

[[Page 2419]]

a. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and

Management, (OASAM);

b. Office of the Solicitor of Labor;

c. Office of Public Affairs;

d. Bureau of International Labor Affairs;

e. Employees' Compensation Appeals Board;

f. Wage Appeals Board;

g. Benefits Review Board;

h. Office of Administrative Law Judges;

i. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation;

j. President's Committee on the Employment of People with

Disabilities;

k. National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee;

l. National Commission for Employment Policy;

m. Veteran's Employment and Training Service.

2. Bureau of Labor Statistics;

3. Employment Standards Administration, including the Office of

Labor-Management Standards and the Office of Labor-Management Programs;

4. Employment and Training Administration;

5. Occupational Safety and Health Administration;

6. Mine Safety and Health Administration;

7. Office of the Inspector General;

8. Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration; and

9. The Chief Financial Officer for the Department.

B. Regional and Area Offices of the above.

C. Timekeepers.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Department of Labor employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Name, social security number and employee number, grade, step, and

salary, organization (code), retirement or FICA data as applicable.

Federal, State, and local tax deductions, as appropriate. IRS tax lien

data, savings bond and charity deductions; regular and optional

government life insurance deduction(s), health insurance deduction and

plan or code; cash award data; jury duty data, military leave data, pay

differentials, union dues deductions, allotments by type and amount,

Thrift Savings Plan contributions, financial institution code and

employee account number, leave status and data of all types (including

annual, compensatory, jury duty, maternity, military, retirement,

disability, sick, transferred, and without pay), time and attendance

records, including flexitime log sheets indicating number of regular,

overtime, holiday, Sunday, and other hours worked, pay period number

and ending date, cost of living allowances, co-owner and/or beneficiary

of bonds, marital status, number of dependents, mailing address,

``Notification of Personnel Action'', and claims by the employee for

overtime, for back wages and for waivers. Consumer credit reports of

individuals indebted to the United States, correspondence to and from

the debtor, information or records relating to the debtor's current

whereabouts, assets, liabilities, income and expenses, debtor's

personal financial statements and other information such as the nature,

amount and history of a debt owed by an individual covered by this

system, and other records and reports relating to the implementation of

the Debt Collection Act of 1982, including any investigative reports or

administrative review matters. The individual records listed herein are

included only as pertinent or applicable to the individual employee.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

31 U.S.C. 66(A).

PURPOSE(s):

In compliance with principles and standards prescribed by the

Comptroller General, this system manages the Department of Labor's

compensation and benefits processing, accounting, and reporting. The

system provides control procedures and systems to assure the complete

and timely processing of input documents and output reports necessary

to update and maintain the Department's Interactive Payroll System.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES

OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

A. Transmittal of data to the U.S. Treasury to effect issuance of

paychecks or electronic fund transfers (EFT) to employees and

distribution of pay according to employee directions for savings bonds,

allotments to financial institutions, and other authorized purposes.

Transmittal of Thrift Savings Plan data to the Thrift Savings Board to

effect contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan. Tax withholding data

sent to the Internal Revenue Service and appropriate State and local

taxing authorities, FICA deductions to the Social Security

Administration, dues deductions to labor unions, withholdings for

health insurance to insurance carriers and the Office of Personnel

Management, charity deductions to agents of charitable institutions,

annual W-2 statements to taxing authorities and the individual, and

transmittal of computer tape data to appropriate State and local

governments for their benefits matching projects. Transmittal of

employee's name, social security number, salary history to state

unemployment insurance agencies in order to facilitate the processing

of state unemployment insurance claims for DOL employees.

B. Pursuant to section 13 of the Debt Collection Act of 1982, the

name, Social Security Number, address(es), telephone number(s), and

nature, amount and history of the debt of a current or former employee

may be disclosed to private collection agencies for the purpose of

collecting or compromising a debt existing in this system.

C. Department of Justice and General Accounting Office: Information

may be forwarded to the General Accounting Office and/or the Department

of Justice as prescribed in the Joint Federal Claims Collection

Standards (4 CFR Chapter II). When debtors fail to make payment through

normal collection routines, the files are analyzed to determine the

feasibility of enforced collection by referring the cases to the

Department of Justice for litigation.

D. Other Federal Agencies:

(1) Pursuant to sections 5 and 10 of the Debt Collection Act of

1982, information relating to the implementation of the Debt Collection

Act of 1982 may be disclosed to other Federal Agencies to effect salary

or administrative offsets, or for other purposes connected with the

collection of debts owed to the United States.

(2) A record from this system may be disclosed to a Federal Agency

in response to its request in connection with the hiring/retention of

an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a grant,

license, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that

the information is necessary and relevant to the requesting agency's

decision on the matter.

E. Internal Revenue Service:

(1) Information contained in the system of records may be disclosed

to the Internal Revenue Service to obtain taxpayer mailing addresses

for the purpose of locating such taxpayer to collect, compromise, or

write-off a Federal claim against the taxpayer.

(2) Information may be disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service

concerning the discharge of an indebtedness owed by an individual.

F. The names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of

birth, dates of hire, quarterly earnings, employer identifying

information, and State of hire of employees may be disclosed to the

Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for

[[Page 2420]]

Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services for the

purpose of locating individuals to establish paternity, establishing

and modifying orders of child support, identifying sources of income,

and for other child support enforcement actions as required by the

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

(Welfare Reform law, Pub. L. 104-193).

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:

The amount, status, and history of overdue debts, the name and

address, taxpayer identification number (SSN), and other information

necessary to establish the identity of a debtor, the agency and program

under which the claim arose, are disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

552a(b)(12) to consumer reporting agencies as defined by section 603(f)

of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)), in accordance

with section 3(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of

1966, as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of encouraging the

repayment of an overdue debt.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING,

AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Manual and machine-readable files.

RETRIEVABILITY:

By name and SSN.

SAFEGUARDS:

Personnel screening and locked storage equipment.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

Retained until after GAO audit. Records are then disposed of, or

retired, according to specified agency/GRS records schedules.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

See the appropriate Agency Official in attached and at 29 CFR

70a.43.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

As in system manager and address.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

As in system manager and address.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

As in system manager and address.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Employees, supervisors, timekeepers, official personnel records,

the IRS, consumer credit reports, personal financial statements,

correspondence with the debtor, records relating to hearings on the

debt, and from other DOL systems of records.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:

None.

Signed at Washington, DC, this 9th day of January 1998.

Alexis M. Herman,

Secretary of Labor.

[FR Doc. 98-1033 Filed 1-14-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510-23-P