Privacy Act of 1974: Update and Amend System of Records, 35099-35102 [2010-14838]

Agencies

• Office of Personnel Management

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 118 (Monday, June 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35099-35102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14838]



[[Page 35099]]

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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT


Privacy Act of 1974: Update and Amend System of Records

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

ACTION: Update and amend OPM/GOVT-10, Employee Medical File System 
Records.

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SUMMARY: OPM proposes to update and amend OPM/GOVT-10, Employee Medical 
File System Records contained in its inventory of record systems 
subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. This 
action is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to 
publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character, 
as well as any new use or intended new use of records maintained by the 
agency. 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (11).

DATES: These changes will become effective without further notice forty 
(40) calendar days from the date of this publication, unless we receive 
comments that result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to the Group Manager, Employee 
Services, Resources Management Group, 1900 E Street, NW., Room 7305, 
Washington, DC 20415.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Willie Powers, Group Manager, 
willie.powers@opm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) 
system of record notices subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a), as amended, have been published in the Federal Register. The 
proposed changes include an addition of a new category of record, (f), 
to reflect records resulting from participation in agency-sponsored 
health promotion and wellness activities; an amendment to NOTE 2, under 
categories of records in the system, to include participation in an 
agency-sponsored health and wellness program; an addition of two new 
purposes--(l) to facilitate communication among members of an on-site 
health and wellness program and to the individual employee 
participating in the program, and (m) to enable evaluation of the 
effectiveness of on-site health and wellness programs. We have also 
proposed an update to routine use (m) to include other agencies or 
contractors acting on behalf of the agency, the removal of routine use 
(x) due to duplication of routine use (q), and an addition of a new 
routine use (x) to evaluate and report on the effectiveness of health 
and wellness programs. We are providing advance notice of these 
amendments to Congress and OMB, as required by subsection (r) of the 
Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

John Berry,
Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
OPM/GOVT-10
System Name:
    Employee Medical File System Records

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    a. For current employees, records are located in agency medical, 
personnel, dispensary, health, safety, or other designated offices 
within the agency, or contractors performing a medical function for the 
agency.
    b. For former employees, most records will be located in an 
Employee Medical Folder (EMF) stored at the National Personnel Records 
Center operated by the National Archives and Records Administration 
(NARA). In some cases, agencies may retain for a limited time (e.g., up 
to 3 years) some records on former employees.

    Note 1: The records in this system of records are ``owned'' by 
the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and should be provided to 
those OPM employees who have an official need or use for those 
records. Therefore, if an employing agency is asked by an OPM 
employee to access the records within this system, such a request 
should be honored.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Current and former Federal civilian employees as defined in 5 
U.S.C. 2105.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records maintained in this system include:
    a. Medical records, forms, and reports completed or obtained when 
an individual applies for a Federal job and is subsequently employed;
    b. Medical records, forms, and reports completed during employment 
as a condition of employment, either by the employing agency or by 
another agency, State or local government entity, or a private sector 
entity under contract to the employing agency;
    c. Records pertaining and resulting from the testing of the 
employee for use of illegal drugs under Executive Order 12564. Such 
records may be retained by the agency (e.g., by the agency Medical 
Review Official) or by a contractor laboratory. This includes records 
of negative results, confirmed or unconfirmed positive test results, 
and documents related to the reasons for testing or other aspects of 
test results.
    d. Reports of on-the-job injuries and medical records, forms, and 
reports generated as a result of the filing of a claim for Workers' 
Compensation, whether the claim is accepted or not. (The official 
compensation claim file is not covered by this system; rather, it is 
part of the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation 
Program (OWCP) system of records.)
    e. All other medical records, forms, and reports created on an 
employee during his/her period of employment, including any retained on 
a temporary basis (e.g., those designated to be retained only during 
the period of service with a given agency) and those designated for 
long-term retention (i.e., those retained for the entire duration of 
Federal service and for some period of time after).
    f. Records resulting from participation in agency-sponsored health 
promotion and wellness activities, including health risk appraisals, 
biometric testing, health coaching, disease management, behavioral 
management, preventive services, fitness programs, and any other 
activities that could be considered part of a comprehensive worksite 
health and wellness program.

    Note 2: Records maintained by an agency dispensary are included 
in this system only when they are the result of a condition of 
employment or related to an on-the-job occurrence or result from 
participation in an agency-sponsored health and wellness program.


    Note 3: Records pertaining to employee drug or alcohol abuse 
counseling or treatment, and those pertaining to other employee 
counseling programs conducted under the Health Service Program 
established pursuant to 5 U.S.C. chapter 79, are not part of this 
system of records.


    Note 4: Only Routine Use ``u'' identified for this system of 
records is applicable to records relating to drug testing under 
Executive Order 12564. Further, such records shall be disclosed only 
to a very limited number of officials within the agency, generally 
only to the agency Medical Review Official (MRO), the administrator 
of the agency Employee Assistance Program, and any supervisory or 
management official within the employee's agency having authority to 
take the adverse personnel action against the employee.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Executive Orders 12107, 12196, and 12564 and 5 U.S.C. chapters 11, 
33, and 63.

PURPOSE(S):
    Records in this system of records are maintained for a variety of 
purposes, which include the following:

[[Page 35100]]

    a. To ensure that records required to be retained on a long-term 
basis to meet the mandates of law, Executive Order, or regulations 
(e.g., the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) and OWCP regulations), are so maintained.
    b. To provide data necessary for proper medical evaluations and 
diagnoses, to ensure that proper treatment is administered, and to 
maintain continuity of medical care.
    c. To provide an accurate medical history of the total health care 
and medical treatment received by the individual as well as job and/or 
hazard exposure documentation and health monitoring in relation to 
health status and claims of the individual.
    d. To enable the planning for further care of the patient.
    e. To provide a record of communications among members of the 
health care team who contribute to the patient's care.
    f. To provide a legal document describing the health care 
administered and any exposure incident.
    g. To provide a method for evaluating quality of health care 
rendered and job-health-protection including engineering protection 
provided, protective equipment worn, workplace monitoring, and medical 
exam monitoring required by OSHA or by good practice.
    h. To ensure that all relevant, necessary, accurate, and timely 
data are available to support any medically-related employment 
decisions affecting the subject of the records (e.g., in connection 
with fitness-for-duty and disability retirement decisions).
    i. To document claims filed with and the decisions reached by the 
OWCP and the individual's possible reemployment rights under statutes 
governing that program.
    j. To document employee's reporting of on-the-job injuries or 
unhealthy or unsafe working conditions, including the reporting of such 
conditions to OSHA and actions taken by that agency or by the employing 
agency.
    k. To ensure proper and accurate operation of the agency's employee 
drug testing program under Executive Order 12564.
    l. To facilitate communication among members of an on-site health 
and wellness program and to the individual employee participating in 
the program.
    m. To enable evaluation of the effectiveness of on-site health and 
wellness programs.

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

    Note 5: With the exception of Routine Use ``u,'' none of the 
other Routine Uses identified for this system of records are 
applicable to records relating to drug testing under Executive Order 
12564. Further, such records shall be disclosed only to a very 
limited number of officials within the agency, generally only to the 
agency Medical Review Official (MRO), the administrator of the 
agency Employee Assistance Program, and the management official 
empowered to recommend or take adverse action affecting the 
individual. These records and information in these records may be 
used:
    a. To disclose information to the Department of Labor, 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, 
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, or a national, State, or 
local social security type agency, when necessary to adjudicate a 
claim (filed by or on behalf of the individual) under a retirement, 
insurance, or health benefit program.
    b. To disclose information to a Federal, State, or local agency 
to the extent necessary to comply with laws governing reporting of 
communicable disease.
    c. To disclose information to another Federal agency, to a 
court, or a party in litigation before a court or in an 
administrative proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency when 
the Government is a party to the judicial or administrative 
proceeding.
    d. To disclose information to the Department of Justice, or in a 
proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, other administrative 
body before which the agency is authorized to appear, when:
    1. The agency, or any component thereof; or
    2. Any employee of the agency in his or her official capacity; 
or
    3. Any employee of the agency in his or her individual capacity 
where the Department of Justice or the agency has agreed to 
represent the employee; or
    4. The United States, where the agency determines that 
litigation is likely to affect the agency or any of its components, 
is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and 
the use of such records by the Department of Justice or the agency 
is deemed by the agency to be relevant and necessary to the 
litigation, provided, however, that in each case it has been 
determined that the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for 
which the records were collected.
    e. To disclose in response to a request for discovery or for 
appearance of a witness, information that is relevant to the subject 
matter involved in a pending judicial or administrative proceeding.
    f. To disclose pertinent information to the appropriate Federal, 
State, or local agency responsible for investigating, prosecuting, 
enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, or order 
when the disclosing agency becomes aware of an indication of a 
violation or potential violation of civil or criminal law or 
regulation.
    g. To disclose information to the Office of Management and 
Budget at any stage in the legislative coordination and clearance 
process in connection with private relief legislation as set forth 
in OMB Circular No. A-19.
    h. To disclose information 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.
    i. To disclose information to the Merit System Protection Board 
or the Office of the Special Counsel, the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority and its General Counsel, the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission, arbitrators, and hearing examiners to the extent 
necessary to carry out their authorized duties.
    j. To disclose information to survey team members from the Joint 
Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH) when requested in 
connection with an accreditation review, but only to the extent that 
the information is relevant and necessary to meet the JCAH 
standards.
    k. To disclose information to the National Archives and Records 
Administration in records management inspections and its role as 
Archivist.
    l. To disclose information to health insurance carriers 
contracting with the Office to provide a health benefits plan under 
the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program information necessary 
to verify eligibility for payment of a claim for health benefits.
    m. By the agency maintaining or responsible for generating the 
records (or third parties under contract with the agency) to locate 
individuals for health research or survey response and in the 
production of summary descriptive statistics and analytical studies 
(e.g., epidemiological studies) in support of the function for which 
the records are collected and maintained. While published statistics 
and studies do not contain individual identifiers, in some instances 
the selection of elements of data included in the study might be 
structured in such a way as to make the data individually 
identifiable by inference.
    n. To disclose information to the Office of Federal Employees 
Group Life Insurance or Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board 
that is relevant and necessary to adjudicate claims.
    o. To disclose information, when an individual to whom a record 
pertains is mentally incompetent or under other legal disability, to 
any person who is responsible for the care of the individual, to the 
extent necessary.
    p. To disclose to the agency-appointed representative of an 
employee, all notices, determinations, decisions, or other written 
communications issued to the employee, in connection with an 
examination ordered by the agency under medical evaluation (formerly 
Fitness for Duty) examinations procedures.
    q. To disclose to a requesting agency, organization, or 
individual the home address and other information concerning those 
individuals who it is reasonably believed might have contracted an 
illness or been exposed to or suffered from a health hazard while 
employed in the Federal workforce.

[[Page 35101]]

    r. To disclose information to a Federal agency, in response to 
its request or at the initiation of the agency maintaining the 
records, in connection with the retention of an employee, the 
issuance of a security clearance, the conducting of a suitability or 
security investigation of an individual, the classifying of jobs, 
the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or 
other benefit by the requesting agency, or the lawful, statutory, 
administrative, or investigative purpose of the agency, to the 
extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the 
requesting agency's decision on the matter.
    s. To disclose to any Federal, State, or local government 
agency, in response to its request or at the initiation of the 
agency maintaining the records, information relevant and necessary 
to the lawful, statutory, administrative, or investigatory purpose 
of that agency as it relates to the conduct of job related 
epidemiological research or the assurance of compliance with 
Federal, State, or local government laws on health and safety in the 
work environment.
    t. To disclose to officials of labor organizations recognized 
under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71, analyses using exposure or medical 
records and employee exposure records, in accordance with the 
records access rules of the Department of Labor's OSHA, and subject 
to the limitations at 29 CFR 1910.20(e)(2)(iii)(B).
    u. To disclose the results of a drug test of a Federal employee 
pursuant to an order of a court of competent jurisdiction where 
required by the United States Government to defend against any 
challenge against any adverse personnel action.
    v. To disclose information to contractors, grantees, or 
volunteers performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement or job for the Federal Government.
    w. To disclose records on former Panama Canal Commission 
employees to the Republic of Panama for use in employment matters.
    x. To evaluate and report on the effectiveness of health and 
wellness programs by agency staff or third parties under contract 
with the agency to conduct such evaluations.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, SAFEGUARDING, AND 
RETAINING AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Records are stored in file folders, on microfiche, in electronic 
record systems, and on file cards, x-rays, or other medical reports and 
forms.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    Records are retrieved by the employee's name, date of birth, social 
security number, or any combination of those identifiers.

SAFEGUARDS:
    Records are stored in locked file cabinets or locked rooms. 
Electronic records are protected by restricted access procedures and 
audit trails. Access to records is strictly limited to agency or 
contractor officials with a bona fide need for the records.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    The EMF is maintained for the period of the employee's service in 
the agency and is then transferred to the National Personnel Records 
Center for storage, or as appropriate, to the next employing Federal 
agency. Other medical records are either retained at the agency for 
various lengths of time in accordance with the National Archives and 
Records Administration's records schedules or destroyed when they have 
served their purpose or when the employee leaves the agency. Within 90 
days after the individual separates from the Federal service, the EMF 
is sent to the National Personnel Records Center for storage. 
Destruction of the EMF is in accordance with General Records Schedule-
1(21). Records arising in connection with employee drug testing under 
Executive Order 12564 are generally retained for up to 3 years. Records 
are destroyed by shredding, burning, or by erasing the disk.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    a. Group Manager, Employee Services, Resources Management Group, 
1900 E Street, NW., Room 7305, Washington, DC 20415.
    b. For current Federal employees, OPM has delegated to the 
employing agency the Privacy Act responsibilities concerning access, 
amendment, and disclosure of the records within this system notice.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals wishing to inquire whether this system of records 
contains records on them should follow the appropriate procedure listed 
below.
    a. Current Employees. Current employees should contact their 
employing agency's personnel, dispensary, health, safety, medical, or 
other designated office responsible for maintaining the records, as 
identified in the agency's internal issuance covering this system. 
Individuals must furnish such identifying information as required by 
the agency for their records to be located and identified.
    b. Former employees. Former employees should contact their former 
agency's personnel, dispensary, health, safety, medical, or other 
designated office responsible for maintaining the records, as 
identified in the agency's internal issuance covering this system.
    Additionally, for access to their EMF, they should submit a request 
to the National Personnel Records Center (Civilian), 111 Winnebago 
Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63118.

RECORDS ACCESS PROCEDURE:
    a. Current employees should contact the appropriate agency office 
as indicated in the Notification Procedure section and furnish such 
identifying information as required by the agency to locate and 
identify the records sought.
    b. Former employees should contact the appropriate agency office as 
indicated in the Notification Procedure section and furnish such 
identifying information as required by the agency to locate and 
identify the records sought. Former employees may also submit a request 
to the National Personnel Records Center (Civilian), 111 Winnebago 
Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63118, for access to their EMF. When 
submitting a request to the National Personnel Records Center, the 
individual must furnish the following information to locate and 
identify the record sought:
    1. Full name.
    2. Date of birth.
    3. Social security number.
    4. Agency name, date, and location of last Federal service.
    5. Signature.
    c. Individuals requesting access must also comply with OPM's 
Privacy Act regulations on verification of identity and access to 
records (5 CFR part 297).

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURE:
    Because medical practitioners often provide differing, but equally 
valid medical judgments and opinions when making medical evaluations of 
an individual's health status, review of requests from individuals 
seeking amendment of their medical records, beyond correction and 
updating of the records, will be limited to consideration of including 
the differing opinion in the record rather than attempting to determine 
whether the original opinion is accurate. Individuals wishing to amend 
their records should:
    a. For a current employee, contact the appropriate agency office 
identified in the Notification Procedure section and furnish such 
identifying information as required by the agency to locate and 
identify the records to be amended.
    b. For a former employee, contact the appropriate agency office 
identified in the Notification Procedure section and furnish such 
identifying information as required by the agency to locate and 
identify the record to be amended. Former employees may also submit a 
request to amend records in their EMF to the system manager. When 
submitting a request to the system manager, the individual must furnish

[[Page 35102]]

the following information to locate and identify the records to be 
amended:
    1. Full name.
    2. Date of birth.
    3. Social security number.
    4. Agency name, date, and location of last Federal service.
    5. Signature.
    c. Individuals seeking amendment of their records must also follow 
the Office's Privacy Act regulations on verification of identity and 
amendment of records (5 CFR part 297).

RECORDS SOURCE CATEGORIES:
RECORDS IN THIS SYSTEM ARE OBTAINED FROM:
    a. The individual to whom the records pertain.
    b. Agency employee health unit staff.
    c. Federal and private sector medical practitioners and treatment 
facilities.
    d. Supervisors/managers and other agency officials.
    e. Other agency records.
[FR Doc. 2010-14838 Filed 6-18-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6325-46-P