Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 16138-16141 [2019-07648]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16138-16141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07648]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA).

ACTION: Notice of modified system of records.

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

SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, notice is hereby given 
that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is amending the system of 
records known as ``The Office of Inspector General Management 
Information System (MIS)--VA'' (71VA53), by amending the Routine Uses 
and Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, 
Retaining, and Disposing of Records within the System.

DATES: Comments on this modified system of records must be received no 
later than 30 days after date of publication in the Federal Register. 
If no public comment is received during the period allowed for comment 
or unless otherwise published in the Federal Register by VA, the 
modified system of records will become effective a minimum of 30 days 
after date of publication in the Federal Register. If VA receives 
public comments, VA shall review the comments to determine whether any 
changes to the notice are necessary.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted through 
www.Regulations.gov; by mail or hand-delivery to Director, Regulation 
Policy and Management (00REG), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 
Vermont Ave. NW, Room 1064, Washington, DC 20420; or by fax to (202) 
273-9026 (not a toll-free number). Comments should indicate that they 
are submitted in response to ``The Office of Inspector General 
Management Information System (MIS)--VA'' (71VA53). Copies of comments 
received will be available for public inspection in the Office of 
Regulation Policy and Management, Room 1063B, between the hours of 8:00 
a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except holidays). Please 
call (202) 461-4902 for an appointment. (This is not a toll-free 
number.) In addition, comments may be viewed online at 
www.Regulations.gov.

[[Page 16139]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Connor, Chief, Information 
Release Office (50CI), Office of Inspector General, Department of 
Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, 202-461-
4269; or fax comments to (202) 495-5859. Amy L. Rose, VA Privacy 
Service, Office of Information Security (OIS), Office of Information 
and Technology (OIT), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 632-7497.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This publication is in accordance with the 
Privacy Act requirement that agencies publish their amended system of 
records in the Federal Register when there is revision, change, or 
addition. The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has reviewed its 
system of records notices and has determined its record system, ``The 
Office of Inspector General Management Information System (MIS)--VA'' 
(71VA53), should be amended to reflect evolving technology and 
procedures, to conform to current practice, and to reflect current 
authorities. The storage practices section will now reflect that data 
is stored in VA OIG's new Enterprise Management System (EMS) database 
in addition to the legacy Master Case Index (MCI) database. The Routine 
Uses are amended to conform to changes recommended by OMB.
    The Senior Agency Official for Privacy, or designee, approved this 
document and authorized the undersigned to sign and submit the document 
to the Office of the Federal Register for publication electronically as 
an official document of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
Andr[eacute] Horton, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer, 
Department of Veterans Affairs approved this document on January 8, 
2019 for publication.

    Dated: April 12, 2019.
Amy L. Rose,
Program Analyst, VA Privacy Service, Department of Veterans Affairs.
71VA53

SYSTEM NAME:
    The Office of Inspector General Management Information System 
(MIS)--VA (71VA53).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    None.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Inspector General 
(OIG), Office of Assistant Inspector General for Management and 
Administration (53), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420.

SYSTEM MANAGER:
    Assistant Inspector General for Management and Administration (53), 
Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General, 810 
Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461-4760, 
[email protected].

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Inspector General Act of 1978, Public Law (Pub L.) 95-452, 5 U.S.C. 
App., as amended through Public Law 115-254 (IG Act).

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system of records is to compile records and 
information about individual OIG employees for various management and 
human resources objectives. Case tracking data is used to measure 
employee productivity. Employee contact information is maintained to 
allow employees to be contacted in emergency situations and includes 
third-party information provided by the employee as an alternate 
emergency contact. Training records are used to make certain the 
employees complete required training assignments and to maintain a 
record of each employee's training activities for career development 
and continuing professional education requirements.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The following category of individuals will be covered by the 
system: All personnel assigned to VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) 
and any third-party identified by those employees as an emergency 
contact.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The Management Information System contains the following categories 
of records: Time and Attendance, Phone Directory, Awards, Training, 
Travel, and Personnel (which may include personnel suitability records 
and preemployment inquiry records). Records (or information contained 
in records) may include: (1) Individual's and designated third-party's 
emergency contact name, address and telephone contact information; (2) 
social security number; (3) date of birth; (4) service computation 
date; (5) career status; (6) assigned station; (7) job series; (8) 
education; (9) grade; (10) type of case; (11) work assignments; (12) 
travel; (13) experience; (14) training; and (15) audit, hotline, health 
care inspections and investigation case tracking data (e.g., case 
number, budgeted and actual staff days, target and completion dates, 
findings and results). Personnel suitability records may contain 
investigative information about an individual's character, conduct and 
behavior in the community where he or she lives or lived; arrests and 
convictions for violations of law; reports of interviews with the 
subject and with present and former supervisors; coworkers, associates, 
neighbors, educators, etc., reports about the qualifications of an 
individual for a specific position and correspondence relating to 
adjudication matters; reports of inquiries with law enforcement 
agencies, employers, educational institutions attended, and credit 
reporting agencies; reports of action after Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) or Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) full field 
investigations: And other information developed from the above.
    Pre-Employment Inquiry Records:
    These records may contain information relating to an applicant's 
qualifications for employment in terms of character, reputation, and 
fitness; including letters of reference, responses to preemployment 
inquiries, qualifications and character information; reports of 
inquiries with law enforcement agencies, employers, educational 
institutions attended, and credit reporting agencies; and other 
information which may relate to the specific selection factors 
associated with the position sought.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individual employees, supervisors, official personnel folder, other 
personnel documents, individual applications, and forms.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Congress: VA may disclose information from the record of an 
individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made 
at the request of that individual.
    VA must be able to provide information about individuals to 
adequately respond to inquiries from Members of Congress at the request 
of constituents who have sought their assistance.
    2. Data breach response and remedial efforts: VA may, on its own 
initiative, disclose information from this system to appropriate 
agencies, entities, and persons when (1) VA suspects or has confirmed 
that the integrity or confidentiality of information in the system of 
records has been compromised; (2) the Department has

[[Page 16140]]

determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed compromise 
there is a risk of embarrassment or harm to the reputations of the 
record subjects, harm to economic or property interests, identity theft 
or fraud, or harm to the security, confidentiality, or integrity of 
this system or other systems or programs (whether maintained by the 
Department or another agency or entity) that rely upon the potentially 
compromised information; and (3) the disclosure is to agencies, 
entities, or persons whom VA determines are reasonably necessary to 
assist or carry out the Department's efforts to respond to the 
suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such 
harm.
    This routine use permits disclosures by the Department to respond 
to a suspected or confirmed data breach, including the conduct of any 
risk analysis or provision of credit protection services as provided in 
38 U.S.C. 5724.
    a. Effective Response. A federal agency's ability to respond 
quickly and effectively in the event of a breach of federal data is 
critical to its efforts to prevent or minimize any consequent harm. An 
effective response necessitates disclosure of information regarding the 
breach to those individuals affected by it, as well as to persons and 
entities in a position to cooperate, either by assisting in 
notification to affected individuals or playing a role in preventing or 
minimizing harms from the breach.
    b. Disclosure of Information. Often, the information to be 
disclosed to such persons and entities is maintained by federal 
agencies and is subject to the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a). The Privacy 
Act prohibits the disclosure of any record in a system of records by 
any means of communication to any person or agency absent the written 
consent of the subject individual, unless the disclosure falls within 
one of twelve statutory exceptions. In order to ensure an agency is in 
the best position to respond in a timely and effective manner, in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) of the Privacy Act, agencies should 
publish a routine use for appropriate systems specifically applying to 
the disclosure of information in connection with response and remedial 
efforts in the event of a data breach.
    c. Data breach response and remedial efforts with another Federal 
agency: VA may disclose information from this system to another Federal 
agency or Federal entity, when VA 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.
    3. Law Enforcement: VA may, on its own initiative, disclose 
information in this system, except the names and home addresses of 
veterans and their dependents, which is relevant to a suspected or 
reasonably imminent violation of law, whether civil, criminal or 
regulatory in nature and whether arising by general or program statute 
or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, to a federal, 
state, local, tribal, or foreign agency charged with the responsibility 
of investigating or prosecuting such violation, or charged with 
enforcing or implementing the statute, regulation, rule or order. On 
its own initiative, VA may also disclose the names and addresses of 
veterans and their dependents to a federal agency charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting civil, criminal or 
regulatory violations of law, or charged with enforcing or implementing 
the statute, regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto.
    VA must be able to provide on its own initiative information that 
pertains to a violation of laws to law enforcement authorities in order 
for them to investigate and enforce those laws. Under 38 U.S.C. 5701(a) 
and (f), VA may disclose the names and addresses of veterans and their 
dependents to federal entities with law enforcement responsibilities. 
This is distinct from the authority to disclose records in response to 
a qualifying request from a law enforcement entity, as authorized by 
Privacy Act subsection 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(7).
    4. Litigation: VA may disclose information from this system of 
records to the Department of Justice (DoJ), either on VA's initiative 
or in response to DoJ's request for the information, after either VA or 
DoJ determines that such information is relevant to DoJ's 
representation of the United States or any of its components in legal 
proceedings before a court or adjudicative body, provided that, in each 
case, the agency also determines prior to disclosure that release of 
the records to the DoJ is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records. VA, on its own initiative, may disclose records in this system 
of records in legal proceedings before a court or administrative body 
after determining that the disclosure of the records to the court or 
administrative body is a use of the information contained in the 
records that is compatible with the purpose for which VA collected the 
records.
    To determine whether to disclose records under this routine use, VA 
will comply with the guidance promulgated by the Office of Management 
and Budget in a May 24, 1985, memorandum entitled ``Privacy Act 
Guidance--Update,'' currently posted at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/guidance1985.pdf.
    VA must be able to provide information to DoJ in litigation where 
the United States or any of its components is involved or has an 
interest. A determination would be made in each instance that under the 
circumstances involved, the purpose is compatible with the purpose for 
which VA collected the information. This routine use is distinct from 
the authority to disclose records in response to a court order under 
subsection (b)(11) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(11), or any 
other provision of subsection (b), in accordance with the court's 
analysis in Doe v. DiGenova, 779 F.2d 74, 78-85 (DC Cir. 1985) and Doe 
v. Stephens, 851 F.2d 1457, 1465-67 (DC Cir. 1988).
    5. Contractors: VA may disclose information from this system of 
records to individuals, organizations, private or public agencies, or 
other entities or individuals with whom VA has a contract or agreement 
to perform such services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of 
laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor, subcontractor, 
public or private agency, or other entity or individual with whom VA 
has a contract or agreement to perform services under the contract or 
agreement.
    This routine use includes disclosures by an individual or entity 
performing services for VA to any secondary entity or individual to 
perform an activity that is necessary for individuals, organizations, 
private or public agencies, or other entities or individuals with whom 
VA has a contract or agreement to provide the service to VA.
    This routine use, which also applies to agreements that do not 
qualify as contracts defined by federal procurement laws and 
regulations, is consistent with OMB guidance in OMB Circular A-130, 
App. I, paragraph 5a(1)(b) that agencies promulgate routine uses to 
address disclosure of Privacy Act-protected information to contractors 
in order to perform the services contracts for the agency.

[[Page 16141]]

    6. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the EEOC when requested in connection 
with investigations of alleged or possible discriminatory practices, 
examination of federal affirmative employment programs, or other 
functions of the Commission as authorized by law or regulation.
    VA must be able to provide information to EEOC to assist it in 
fulfilling its duties to protect employees' rights, as required by 
statute and regulation.
    7. Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the FLRA, including its General 
Counsel, information related to the establishment of jurisdiction, 
investigation, and resolution of allegations of unfair labor practices, 
or in connection with the resolution of exceptions to arbitration 
awards when a question of material fact is raised; for it to address 
matters properly before the Federal Services Impasses Panel, 
investigate representation petitions, and conduct or supervise 
representation elections.
    VA must be able to provide information to FLRA to comply with the 
statutory mandate under which it operates.
    8. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB): VA may disclose 
information from this system to the MSPB, or the Office of the Special 
Counsel, when requested in connection with appeals, special studies of 
the civil service and other merit systems, review of rules and 
regulations, investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel 
practices, and such other functions promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 
1206, or as authorized by law.
    VA must be able to provide information to MSPB to assist it in 
fulfilling its duties as required by statute and regulation.
    9. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and General 
Services Administration (GSA): VA may disclose information from this 
system to NARA and GSA in records management inspections conducted 
under title 44, U.S.C.
    NARA is responsible for archiving old records which are no longer 
actively used but may be appropriate for preservation, and for the 
physical maintenance of the federal government's records. VA must be 
able to provide the records to NARA in order to determine the proper 
disposition of such records.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records and information are stored electronically in the VA OIG's 
new Enterprise Management System (EMS) and legacy Master Case Index 
(MCI) databases and servers at the OIG's office at 801 I Street NW, 
Washington, DC, in the office of the Information Technology Division. 
Backup records are stored on magnetic disc, tape, and CD-ROM and may 
also be retained in hard copy format in secure file folders. 
Information can be retrieved based on computer searches of various data 
elements, including, but not limited to, MCI or EMS case numbers, 
transaction numbers, key words, and names of individual OIG employees. 
Electronic data is maintained indefinitely as described above. Policy 
for the disposal of records as well as a retention schedule is being 
developed by the OIG's Office of Management and Administration, 
Information on awards and travel is maintained so that OIG managers 
have readily available relevant information about their employees in 
these areas.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by Social Security Number, case number, work 
assignment, or name.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Information in the system is protected from unauthorized access 
through administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Categories 
of records are restricted to those with an official need to know the 
information. Only VA OIG supervisors, for example, can access the 
Awards data, and only for employees within their supervisory chain. 
Access to data is also limited by means of features such as ``read-only 
access,'' i.e., where the person with access can read but not enter or 
change the information in the system. Safeguards also include password 
protection features and cipher locks securing the physical area. Some 
information in the system is restricted to employees of the Human 
Resources Management Division.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    An individual who seeks access to or wishes to contest records 
maintained under his or her name in this system must submit a written 
request to the Chief, Information Release Office (50CI). However, a 
majority of records in this system are exempt from the records access 
and contesting requirements under 5 U.S.C. 552a (j) and (k). To the 
extent that records in this system of records are not subject to 
exemption, they are subject to access and contest. A determination as 
to whether an exemption applies shall be made at the time a request for 
access or contest is received.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    (See records access procedures above.)

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    An individual who wishes to determine whether a record is being 
maintained under his or her name in this system must furnish a written 
request to the Chief, Information Release Office (50CI), Department of 
Veteran Affairs, Office of Inspector General, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20420.

HISTORY:
    [See the last full Federal Register notice, 73 FR 56633, Sep. 29, 
2008].

[FR Doc. 2019-07648 Filed 4-16-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE P