Privacy Act; System of Records: Human Resources Records, State-31, 43258-43261 [2013-17391]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43258-43261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17391]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 8384]


Privacy Act; System of Records: Human Resources Records, State-31

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of State proposes 
to amend an existing system of records, Human Resources Records, State-
31, pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended 
(5 U.S.C. 552a) and Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-130, 
Appendix I.

DATES: This system of records will be effective on August 28, 2013, 
unless we receive comments that will result in a contrary 
determination.

ADDRESSES: Any persons interested in commenting on the amended system 
of records may do so by writing to the Director; Office of Information 
Programs and Services, A/GIS/IPS, Department of State, SA-2, 515 22nd 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20522-8001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director; Office of Information 
Programs and Services, A/GIS/IPS, Department of State, SA-2, 515 22nd 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20522-8001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of State proposes that the 
current system will retain the name ``Human Resources Records'' 
(previously published as 65 FR 69359). The information collected and 
maintained in this system is in keeping with the Department's mission 
to document all processes associated with individual employment 
histories and career progression; to ensure that all employees and 
potential employees have equal opportunities; and to make personnel 
management determinations about employees throughout their Federal 
careers. The proposed system will include administration updates and 
modifications to the following sections: Categories of individuals, 
Categories of records, Routine uses, and Safeguards.
    The Department's report was filed with the Office of Management and 
Budget. The amended system description, ``Human Resources Records, 
State-31,'' will read as set forth below.

Joyce A. Barr,
Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of State.
STATE-31

SYSTEM NAME:
    Human Resources Records.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Classified and unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20520; State 
Annex 01, 2401 E Street NW., Washington, DC 20037; State Annex 03, 2121 
Virginia Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20037; State Annex 44, 301 4th 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20547; overseas at U.S. embassies, U.S. 
consulates general, and U.S. consulates; U.S. missions; and the 
National Personnel Records Center, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, MO 
63118.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    All applicants for employment with the Department of State 
(including unsuccessful applicants); all current and former Civil 
Service (CS) and Foreign Service (FS) employees of the Department of 
State including members of the Senior Executive Service (SES), 
Presidential Appointees, employees under full-time, part-time, 
intermittent, temporary, and limited appointments; anyone serving in an 
advisory capacity (compensated and uncompensated); other agency 
employees on detail to the Department of State; former Foreign Service 
Reserve Officers; student applicants for internships, Presidential 
Management Fellows, Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program Fellows, student 
interns and other student summer hires, Stay-in-School student 
employees, and Cooperative Education Program participants; and 
prospective alien spouses and cohabitants of Department of State 
employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Categories of records may include identifying information, such as, 
but not limited to, name, date of birth, home address, mailing and 
email addresses, numeric identifier (such as employee identification 
number, SGID, or Social Security number) and telephone numbers. Types 
of files include

[[Page 43259]]

documents relating to class action lawsuits, annuitants under the 
Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System and the Foreign 
Service Pension System as well as Civil Service annuitants, prospective 
alien spouses and cohabitants of Department employees, employees who 
apply for their spouses or children to be expeditiously naturalized, 
employees detailed or seconded to international organizations, Foreign 
Service personnel separated for cause; official personnel files; 
documents relating to merit promotions, recruitment and employment, 
employee relations, career development and counseling, performance, 
conduct, suitability, and discipline, Foreign Service promotion and 
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) travel. These records may contain any 
documents not otherwise stated relating to employment, to include, but 
not limited to, hiring, employment and separation from the Department.

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. 3901 et seq. 
(Foreign Service Act of 1980); 22 U.S.C. 3921 (Management of the 
Foreign Service); 22 U.S.C. 4041 (Administration of the Foreign Service 
Retirement and Disability System); 5 U.S.C. 301-302 (Management of 
Executive Departments); Executive Order 9397, as amended (Numbering 
System for Federal Accounts Relating to Individual Persons); Executive 
Order 9830 (Amending the Civil Service Rules and Providing for Federal 
Personnel Administration); and Executive Order 12107 (Relating to the 
Civil Service Commission and Labor-Management in the Federal Service) 
and successor authorities.

PURPOSE:
    The information collected and maintained in this system is in 
keeping with the Department's mission to document all processes 
associated with individual employment histories and career progression; 
to ensure that all employees and potential employees have equal 
opportunities; and to make personnel management determinations about 
employees throughout their Federal careers.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    The information in Human Resources Records may be shared:
    A. With consulting services that provide information about 
available aids, devices and methods of accommodating employees with 
disabilities;
    B. With the Office of Personnel Management for its government-wide 
personnel management functions such as pay, benefits, and retirement 
deductions or other relevant personnel processes;
    C. With other Federal agencies, state governments, foreign 
governments and international organizations where employees are being 
considered for detail, assignment or secondment;
    D. With academic institutions to which Department employees may be 
assigned for long-term training;
    E. With any member of an agency's Performance Review Board or other 
panel when the member is not an official of the employing agency. 
Information would then be used for approving or recommending selection 
of candidates for Executive development or Senior Executive Service 
(SES) candidate programs, issuing a performance rating of record, 
issuing performance awards, nominating for meritorious and 
distinguished executive ranks, removal, reduction in grade, and other 
personnel actions based on performance;
    F. With attorneys, union representatives or other persons 
designated by employees in writing to represent them in complaints, 
grievance, appeal, or litigation cases;
    G. With requestors in determining a former spouse's entitlement to 
benefits and other inquiries related to retirement benefits;
    H. With the President of the United States, the Executive Office of 
the President and legislative and appropriations committees of the U.S. 
Congress charged with consideration of legislation and appropriations 
for the Foreign Service, or representatives duly authorized by such 
committees;
    I. With labor organization officials when such information is 
relevant to personnel policies affecting employment conditions and 
necessary for exclusive representation by the labor organization;
    J. With officials of foreign governments and other U.S. government 
agencies for clearance before a Federal employee is assigned to that 
country as well as for the procurement of necessary services for 
American personnel assigned overseas, such as permits of free entry and 
identity cards;
    K. With the Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, 
Social Security Administration, Department of Defense, or any other 
Federal agencies that have special civilian employee retirement and 
disability programs; or to a national, state, county, municipal, or 
other publicly recognized income administration agency (e.g. State 
unemployment compensation agencies), when necessary to adjudicate a 
claim under the retirement, insurance, unemployment or health benefits 
programs of the Department or an agency cited above, or to an agency to 
conduct an analytical study or audit of benefits being paid under such 
programs;
    L. With the Office of Federal Employees Group Life Insurance, 
information necessary to verify election, declination, or waiver of 
regular and/or optional life insurance coverage, or eligibility for 
payment of a claim for life insurance;
    M. With health insurance carriers contracting with the Federal 
government to provide a health benefits plan under the Federal 
Employees Health Benefits Program, information necessary to identify 
enrollment in a plan, to verify eligibility for payment of a claim for 
health benefits, or to carry out the coordination or audit of benefit 
provisions of such contracts;
    N. With any person who is responsible for the care of an individual 
to whom a record pertains who is mentally incompetent or under other 
legal disability. Information in the individual's record may be 
disclosed to said person to the extent necessary to assure payment of 
benefits to which the individual is entitled;
    O. With public and private organizations, including news media, 
which grant or publicize employee recognition to consider and select 
employees for incentive awards and other honors and to publicize awards 
and honors granted;
    P. With the Department of Justice in connection with proceedings 
before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body when 
any of the following is a party to litigation or has an interest in 
such litigation and the Department of State determines that the use of 
such records is arguably relevant and necessary to the litigation of 
(1) the Department of State or any component thereof, (2) any employee 
of the Department of State in his or her official capacity, (3) any 
employee of the Department of State in his or her individual capacity 
where the Department of Justice or the Department of State has agreed 
to represent the employee, or (4) the United States, when the 
Department of State determines that litigation is likely to affect the 
Department of State or any of its components;

[[Page 43260]]

    Q. To implement court decisions and/or terms of settlement 
agreements reached by the parties;
    R. To prepare reports to the courts in compliance with monitoring 
requirements;
    S. In response to an order from a court or an administrative body 
directing the production of personnel records (including, but not 
limited to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Foreign 
Service Grievance Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board);
    T. With other Government agencies and private organizations, 
institutions or individuals to verify employment, to process security 
clearances and to request record or credit checks;
    U. To provide an official of another Federal agency information 
needed in the performance of official duties in support of the 
functions for which the records were collected and maintained;
    V. To disclose information to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) 
counselors and EEO investigators in connection with EEO complaints and 
to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when requested in 
connection with investigations of alleged or possible discrimination 
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;
    W. With the Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation 
programs relating to benefits under the Federal Employees Compensation 
Act; and
    X. To disclose information to the news media and the public when a 
matter involving the Department of State has become public knowledge; 
the Under Secretary for Management determines that in response to the 
matter in the public domain, disclosure is necessary to provide an 
accurate factual record on the matter; and the Under Secretary for 
Management determines that there is a legitimate public interest in the 
information disclosed.
    The Department of State periodically publishes in the Federal 
Register its Prefatory Statement of Routine Uses which applies to all 
of its Privacy Act systems of records. These standard routine uses 
apply to Human Resources Records, State-31.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
    None.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, 
AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
    Electronic media and hard copy.

RETRIEVABILITY:
    By an individual name and numeric identifier.

SAFEGUARDS:
    All users are given cyber security awareness training which covers 
the procedures for handling Sensitive but Unclassified information, 
including personally identifiable information (PII). Annual refresher 
training is mandatory. In addition, all Foreign Service and Civil 
Service employees and those Locally Engaged Staff who handle PII are 
required to take the Foreign Service Institute distance learning 
course, PA 459, 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 Human Resources Records, a user must first be granted 
access to the Department of State computer system.
    Remote access to the Department of State network from non-
Department owned systems is authorized only to unclassified systems and 
only through a Department approved access program. Remote access to the 
network is configured with the Office of Management and Budget 
Memorandum M-07-16 security requirements which include, but are not 
limited to, two-factor authentication and time out function.
    All Department of State employees and contractors with authorized 
access 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. All paper records containing personal information are 
maintained in secured file cabinets in restricted areas, access to 
which is limited to authorized personnel only. 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.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
    These records will be maintained until they become inactive, at 
which time they will be retired or destroyed in accordance with 
published records schedules of the Department of State and as approved 
by the National Archives and Records Administration. More specified 
information may be obtained by writing to the Director, Office of 
Information Programs and Services, A/GIS/IPS, SA-2, Department of 
State, 515 22nd Street NW., Washington, DC 20522-8100.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
    The Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Human 
Resources, Department of State; 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 
20520.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
    Individuals who have reason to believe that the Bureau of Human 
Resources might have records pertaining to themselves should write to 
the Director; Office of Information Programs and Services, A/GIS/IPS; 
SA-2, Department of State; 515 22nd Street NW., Washington, DC 20522-
8100. The individual must specify that he or she wishes the Human 
Resources Records to be checked. At a minimum, the individuals must 
include: name; date and place of birth; approximate dates of employment 
with the Department of State or when in process for a potential 
appointment; current mailing address and zip code; signature; and other 
information helpful in identifying the record.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals who wish to gain access to or amend records pertaining 
to themselves should write to the Director; Office of Information 
Programs and Services (address above).

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See above.)

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    These records contain information obtained directly from the 
individual who is the subject of these records, previous employers, 
supervisors, Foreign Service inspectors, any/all offices within the 
Bureau of Human Resources (counselors, placement officers, and 
personnel technicians), other bureaus (administrative/executive 
officers, personnel and payroll offices, security, medical, and legal), 
reports of the Board of Examiners of the Foreign Service, Foreign 
Service Employee Evaluation Reports and Selection Board findings, the 
Foreign Service Institute, colleges, universities, Armed Forces 
academic institutions, contractors

[[Page 43261]]

responsible for administration of the Foreign Service written 
examination, and other authorized agencies administering pre-employment 
tests, Office of Personnel Management and other Federal agencies, 
prospective alien spouses of Foreign Service employees; grievance staff 
and appeals boards, affidavits and testimony of witnesses.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(1), subject to the provisions of 
section 552(b)(1), records are exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), 
(e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f) to protect material required to 
be kept Secret. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (k)(4), records contained 
within this system that are maintained solely for statistical purposes 
are also 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) and (k)(7), 
certain records contained within this system contain confidential 
source information and 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)(6), records that contain testing or examination material the 
release of which may compromise testing or examination procedures are 
also exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) 
and (I), and (f). See Department of State Rules published in 22 CFR 
171.

[FR Doc. 2013-17391 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-26-P