Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/Office of Health Affairs-001 Contractor Occupational Health and Immunization Records System of Records, 21768-21772 [2011-9331]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 74 (Monday, April 18, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21768-21772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9331]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DHS-2011-0013]


Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/Office of 
Health Affairs--001 Contractor Occupational Health and Immunization 
Records System of Records

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of Privacy Act system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 the Department of 
Homeland Security proposes to establish a new Department of Homeland 
Security system of records notice titled, ``Department of Homeland 
Security/Office of Health Affairs--001 Contractor Occupational Health 
and Immunization Records System of Records.'' This system collects 
occupational health and immunization management records. These records 
are collected as part of the Directorate of Science and Technology's 
Laboratories and field sites occupational health surveillance 
operations, in support of the Office of Health Affair's 
responsibilities for medical and health matters. This newly established 
system will be included in the Department of Homeland Security's 
inventory of record systems.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 18, 2011. This new system will 
be effective May 18, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number DHS-
2011-0013 by one of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 703-483-2999.
     Mail: Mary Ellen Callahan, Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy 
Office, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

[[Page 21769]]

     Instructions: All submissions received must include the 
agency name and docket number for this rulemaking. All comments 
received will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.
     Docket: For access to the docket to read background 
documents or comments received go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions please contact: 
Chief Medical Officer (202-254-6479), Healthaffairs@HQ.DHS.Gov, Office 
of Health Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 
20520. For privacy issues please contact: Mary Ellen Callahan (703-235-
0780), Chief Privacy Officer, Privacy Office, U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 U.S.C. 
552a, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Health 
Affairs (OHA) proposes to establish a new system of records titled, 
DHS/OHA--001 Contractor Occupational Health and Immunization Records 
System of Records. This system, under the authority of the Chief 
Medical Officer, collects occupational health and immunization 
management records as part of the Directorate of Science and 
Technology's (S&T's) Laboratories and Federally Funded Research and 
Development Centers (FFRDC) occupational health surveillance 
operations.
    DHS/S&T Office of National Laboratories (ONL) develops, sustains 
and expands a coordinated network of S&T Laboratories and other FFRDC 
to help deliver critical homeland security capabilities. These S&T 
entities include: Chemical Security Analysis Center (CSAC), National 
Urban Science and Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), National Biodefense 
Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), Plum Island Animal Disease 
Center (PIADC), and Transportation Security Laboratory (TSL). ONL 
provides a coordinated, enduring core of productive science, 
technology, and engineering laboratories, organizations, and 
institutions, which can provide the knowledge and technology required 
to secure the Nation. In support of this effort, occupational health 
and immunization records are managed and maintained by a contracted, 
designated Competent Medical Authority (CMA). The CMA ensures 
verification of staff immunization status and general occupational 
health and safety, allowing them to work with specific material and use 
certain personal protective equipment in designated laboratory areas.
    Occupational health surveillance programs are typically in place at 
institutions conducting biological research involving potentially high-
risk agents to ensure occupational health of all personnel. As such, 
occupational health surveillance for contractors is commonly practiced 
at the S&T Laboratories and FFRDCs to ensure the health and safety of 
these individuals. A portion of the research conducted at the S&T 
Laboratories and FFRDCs involve working with biological threats and 
select agents and toxins. During such research, there is always a 
possibility that DHS contractors could become exposed to hazardous 
materials. It is part of biological laboratory best practices to 
maintain contractor's occupational health and immunization records to 
ensure that appropriate and timely medical care is provided in the case 
of any potential risk of exposure. In the event of individual exposure, 
maintenance of occupational health and immunization records will 
facilitate appropriate mitigation and treatment of the individual.
    In conjunction with occupational health surveillance, during the 
course of research conducted at the laboratories, contractors are often 
required to wear certain articles of personal protective equipment, 
such as respirators, in order to access and work in specific areas of 
the laboratory. Maintaining occupational health records helps verify 
that the contractor meets the health requirements to use such 
equipment. Additionally, DHS contractors conducting foreign travel as 
part of their duties at DHS have to ensure that they receive all 
appropriate immunizations and vaccinations prior to their travels. 
Managing contractor immunization records will facilitate recordkeeping 
of this information.
    The purpose of this system is to manage, quantify, monitor, and 
track occupational health and immunization records of contractors 
working at S&T Laboratories or FFRDCs, and employees and contractors 
from other Federal agencies assigned to those S&T entities created in 
support of S&T research mission and occupational health surveillance 
operations. The Department's authority for this collection is 6 U.S.C. 
321e which authorizes the DHS Chief Medical Officer to ensure 
``internal and external coordination of all medical preparedness and 
response activities of the Department.'' The Chief Medical Officer 
serves as the Department's primary point of contact on medical and 
health issues, and performs such other duties relating to the Chief 
Medical Officer's responsibilities as the Secretary may require. DHS 
Delegation 5001 (to the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs (ASHA) 
and Chief Medical Officer) builds upon the Chief Medical Officer's 
statutory authority in 6 U.S.C. 321e by granting the Chief Medical 
Officer ``the authority to exercise oversight over all medical and 
public health activities of'' DHS. Section II, DHS Delegation 5001.
    This system collects occupational health and immunization 
management records as part of S&T's Laboratories and FFRDC occupational 
health surveillance operations. Efforts have been made to safeguard 
records in accordance with applicable rules and policies, including all 
applicable DHS automated systems security and access policies. Strict 
controls have been imposed to minimize risk of compromising the 
information that is being stored. Access to the computer system 
containing the records in this system is limited to those individuals 
who have a need to know the information for the performance of their 
official duties and who have appropriate clearances or permissions. 
Routine uses contained in this notice include some from the 
Department's library of routine uses. Those include sharing with the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) for legal advice and representation; to a 
congressional office at the request of an individual; to the National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for records management; to 
contractors in support of their contract assignment to DHS; to an 
agency, organization, or individual for audit; to agencies, entities, 
or individuals in the event of a security or information risk or 
compromise; to Federal, State, local and other governmental partners to 
enforce and prosecute laws and regulations; and to the news media where 
there exists a legitimate public interest. Routine Use H. is unique to 
this system and is for sharing with the Department of Energy when 
conducting research in collaboration with DHS under an interagency 
agreement or Memorandum of Understanding. There is no sharing with any 
other agencies or medical teams. This system of records will collect 
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act using the following 
forms: OMB No. 0579-0213/0920-0576, APHIS/CDC Form-1 Application for 
Registration for Possession, Use and Transfer of Select

[[Page 21770]]

Agents and Toxins, Expires 12/31/2011; OMB No. 1110-0039, FBI Form FD-
961 Bioterrorism Preparedness Act: Entity/Individual Information, 
Expires 10/31/2012; OMB No. 1117-0012, DEA Form 225 Application for 
Registration Under the Controlled Substance Act, Expires 03/31/2012.
    It is important to note that neither OHA or S&T are subject to the 
provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 
of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy regulation, ``Standards for Privacy of 
Individually Identifiable Health Information'' (Privacy Rule), 45 CFR 
Parts 160 and 164. OHA/S&T do not meet the statutory definition of a 
covered entity under HIPAA, 42 U.S.C. 1320d-1. Because OHA/S&T are not 
covered entities, the restrictions proscribed by the HIPAA Privacy Rule 
are not applicable.
    This newly established system will be included in the Department of 
Homeland Security's inventory of record systems.

II. Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act embodies fair information principles in a statutory 
framework governing the means by which the United States government 
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates individuals' records. The 
Privacy Act applies to information that is maintained in a ``system of 
records.'' A ``system of records'' is a group of any records under the 
control of an agency for which information is retrieved by the name of 
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identifying particular assigned to the individual. In the Privacy Act, 
an individual is defined to encompass United States citizens and lawful 
permanent residents. As a matter of policy, DHS extends administrative 
Privacy Act protections to all individuals where systems of records 
maintain information on U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and 
visitors. Individuals may request access to their own records that are 
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the 
control of DHS by complying with DHS Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR 
part 5.
    The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal 
Register a description denoting the type and character of each system 
of records that the agency maintains, and the routine uses that are 
contained in each system in order to make agency record keeping 
practices transparent, to notify individuals regarding the uses to 
their records are put, and to assist individuals to more easily find 
such files within the agency. Below is the description of the DHS/OHA-
001 Contractor Occupational Health and Immunization Records System of 
Records.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DHS has provided a report of 
this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to 
Congress.
System of Records
    DHS/OHA-001.

System name:
    Office of Health Affairs--Contractor Occupational Health and 
Immunization Records System of Records.

Security classification:
    Unclassified, sensitive, and classified.

System location:
    Records may be maintained at the Directorate of Science and 
Technology (S&T) Headquarters in Washington, DC at S&T Laboratories or 
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), or by the 
contracted Competent Medical Authority, collecting the records on 
behalf of S&T.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Categories of individuals covered by this system include: S&T 
contractors working at S&T Laboratories (and other sites); FFRDC 
contractors; and contractors from other Federal agencies assigned to 
these S&T entities, whose occupational health and immunization records 
are created in support of the S&T's Laboratory research mission and 
occupational health surveillance operations. To note, Federal employees 
are specifically not covered by this system because they are covered by 
the Office of Personnel Management OPM/GOVT-10 Employee Medical File 
System Records system (June 19, 2006, 71 FR 35360).

Categories of records in the system:
    Categories of records in this system include:
     Individual's full name;
     Date of birth and age;
     Gender;
     Work e-mail address;
     Work phone number;
     Work address;
     Organizational affiliation;
     Blood type;
     Immunization record;
     Other relevant occupational health records.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
    The DHS Chief Medical Officer, under 6 U.S.C. 321e is authorized to 
ensure ``internal and external coordination of all medical preparedness 
and response activities of the Department'', to serve as the 
Department's primary point of contact on medical and health issues, and 
to perform such other duties relating to the Chief Medical Officer's 
responsibilities as the Secretary may require. DHS Delegation 5001 (to 
the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs (ASHA) and Chief Medical 
Officer) builds upon the Chief Medical Officer's statutory authority in 
6 U.S.C. 321e by granting the Chief Medical Officer ``the authority to 
exercise oversight over all medical and public health activities of'' 
DHS. Section II, DHS Delegation 5001. Additionally, the Delegation 
authorizes the Chief Medical Officer to assure an effective coordinated 
medical response to natural or man-made disasters or acts of terrorism, 
including ``[s]upporting the National Operations Center, National 
Response Coordination Center, and Component leadership to ensure that 
operations have appropriate medical support, to specifically include 
coordination of medical activities for any level of incident with 
biological or medical consequences.''

Purpose(s):
    The purpose of this system is to manage, quantify, monitor, and 
track occupational health and immunization records of contractors 
working at S&T Laboratories or FFRDCs, and employees and contractors 
from other Federal agencies assigned to those S&T entities created in 
support of S&T research mission and occupational health surveillance 
operations.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users and the purposes of such uses:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside DHS as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    A. To the Department of Justice (including United States Attorney 
Offices) or other Federal agency conducting litigation or in 
proceedings before any court, adjudicative or administrative body, when 
it is necessary to the litigation and one of the following is a party 
to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation:
    1. DHS or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee of DHS in his/her official capacity;
    3. Any employee of DHS in his/her individual capacity where DOJ or 
DHS has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The United States or any agency thereof, is a party to the 
litigation or has

[[Page 21771]]

an interest in such litigation, and DHS determines that the records are 
both relevant and necessary to the litigation and the use of such 
records is compatible with the purpose for which DHS collected the 
records.
    B. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of the individual to whom the record pertains.
    C. To the National Archives and Records Administration or other 
Federal government agencies pursuant to records management inspections 
being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    D. To an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of 
performing audit or oversight operations as authorized by law, but only 
such information as is necessary and relevant to such audit or 
oversight function.
    E. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
    1. DHS suspects or has confirmed that the security or 
confidentiality of information in the system of records has been 
compromised;
    2. The Department has determined that as a result of the suspected 
or confirmed compromise there is a risk of harm to economic or property 
interests, identity theft or fraud, or harm to the security or 
integrity of this system or other systems or programs (whether 
maintained by DHS or another agency or entity) or harm to the 
individual that rely upon the compromised information; and
    3. The disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is 
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DHS's efforts to 
respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, 
or remedy such harm.
    F. To contractors and their agents, grantees, experts, consultants, 
and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, 
cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DHS, when necessary to 
accomplish an agency function related to this system of records. 
Individuals provided information under this routine use are subject to 
the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on disclosure as are 
applicable to DHS officers and employees.
    G. To an appropriate Federal, State, Tribal, local, international, 
or foreign law enforcement agency or other appropriate authority 
charged with investigating or prosecuting a violation or enforcing or 
implementing a law, rule, regulation, or order, where a record, either 
on its face or in conjunction with other information, indicates a 
violation or potential violation of law, which includes criminal, 
civil, or regulatory violations and such disclosure is proper and 
consistent with the official duties of the person making the 
disclosure.
    H. To the Department of Energy when conducting research in 
collaboration with DHS under an interagency agreement, a Memorandum of 
Understanding, or Memorandum of Agreement.
    I. To the news media and the public, with the approval of the Chief 
Privacy Officer in consultation with counsel, when there exists a 
legitimate public interest in the disclosure of the information or when 
disclosure is necessary to preserve confidence in the integrity of DHS 
or is necessary to demonstrate the accountability of DHS's officers, 
employees, or individuals covered by the system, except to the extent 
it is determined that release of the specific information in the 
context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
    None.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in 
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door. The records 
are stored on magnetic disc, tape, digital media, and CD-ROM.

Retrievability:
    Records may be retrieved by an individual's name, date of birth, e-
mail address, and/or work telephone number.

Safeguards:
    Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with 
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DHS automated 
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed 
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is stored. 
Access to the computer system containing the records in this system is 
limited to those individuals who have a need to know the information 
for the performance of their official duties and who have appropriate 
clearances or permissions.

Retention and disposal:
    Records will be maintained in accordance with the National Archives 
and Records Administration (NARA) approved General Records System 1, 
Item 19, which covers forms, correspondence, and other records, 
including summary records documenting an individual employee's medical 
history, physical condition, and visits to the Government health-
facilities, for non-work related purposes. Occupational health and 
immunization records maintained at field sites will be retained by the 
laboratories contract operators. Records are deleted/destroyed when S&T 
or laboratory contract operators determine that they are no longer 
needed for administrative, legal, audit, or other operational purposes.

System Manager and address:
    Directorate of Science and Technology Laboratory Operations and 
Oversight Manager (202-254-6400), Directorate of Science and 
Technology, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20520.

Notification procedure:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to any record 
contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, 
may submit a request in writing to S&T's FOIA Officer, whose contact 
information can be found at https://www.dhs.gov/foia under ``contacts.''
    When seeking records about yourself from this system of records 
your request must conform with the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 
6 CFR part 5. You must first verify your identity, meaning that you 
must provide your full name, current address and date and place of 
birth. You must sign your request, and your signature must either be 
notarized or submitted under 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits 
statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for 
notarization. While no specific form is required, you may obtain forms 
for this purpose from the Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Freedom of 
Information Act Officer, https://www.dhs.gov or 1-866-431-0486. In 
addition you should provide the following:
     An explanation of why you believe the Department would 
have information on you;
     Identify which component(s) of the Department you believe 
may have the information about you;
     Specify when you believe the records would have been 
created;
     Provide any other information that will help the FOIA 
staff determine which DHS component agency may have responsive records; 
and
     If your request is seeking records pertaining to another 
living individual, you must include a statement from that

[[Page 21772]]

individual certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her 
records.
    Without this bulleted information the component(s) may not be able 
to conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to 
lack of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.

Record access procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Contesting record procedures:
    See ``Notification procedure'' above.

Record source categories:
    Records are obtained by the subject individual.

Exemptions claimed for the system:
    None.

    Dated: March 24, 2011.
Mary Ellen Callahan,
Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2011-9331 Filed 4-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9F-P