Privacy Act of 1974; DOT/ALL 028; Employee Accommodations Files, 64597-64600 [2021-25153]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 220 / Thursday, November 18, 2021 / Notices
file petitions for a determination of
inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to
exempt manufacturers only from the
duties found in sections 30118 and
30120, respectively, to notify owners,
purchasers, and dealers of a defect or
noncompliance and to remedy the
defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any
decision on this petition only applies to
the subject tires that MNA no longer
controlled at the time it determined that
the noncompliance existed. However,
any decision on this petition does not
relieve equipment distributors and
dealers of the prohibitions on the sale,
offer for sale, or introduction or delivery
for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant tires
under their control after MNA notified
them that the subject noncompliance
existed.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and
501.8)
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2021–25113 Filed 11–17–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. OST–2021–0135]
Privacy Act of 1974; DOT/ALL 028;
Employee Accommodations Files
Office of the Departmental
Chief Information Officer, Office of the
Secretary of Transportation,
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of a new system of
records.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Privacy Act of 1974, the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
intends to establish a new system of
records titled Employee
Accommodations Files. This system
allows DOT to collect, use, maintain,
and disseminate the records needed to
process, manage, maintain, and resolve
reasonable accommodation requests
from employees or applicants for
employment based on a medical
condition/disability or a sincerely held
religious belief, practice, or observance.
This includes requests for a medical or
religious accommodation to decline the
COVID–19 vaccination. The information
will be used to determine whether
accommodations are legally required in
accordance with the Rehabilitation Act
and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964.
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SUMMARY:
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This new system of records is
effective upon publication; however,
comments on the Routine Uses will be
accepted on or before December 20,
2021. The Routine Uses will become
effective at the close of the comment
period. The Department may publish an
amended System of Records Notice
(SORN) in light of any comments
received.
DATES:
You may submit comments,
identified by docket number OST–
2021–0135 by any of the following
methods:
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal Holidays.
• Instructions: You must include the
agency name and docket number OST–
2021–0135.
• All comments received will be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search
the electronic form of all comments
received in any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). You may
review the DOT’s complete Privacy Act
statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477–78), or you may visit https://
DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general and privacy questions, please
contact: Karyn Gorman, Acting
Departmental Chief Privacy Officer,
Department of Transportation, S–83,
Washington, DC 20590, Email: privacy@
dot.gov, Tel. (202) 366–3140.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
Background
In accordance with the Privacy Act of
1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT),
Office of the Secretary, is proposing a
new system of records titled Employee
Accommodations Files. The
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64597
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended,
29 U.S.C. 791 and Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42
U.S.C. 2000e, require DOT to grant
employee requests for medical/
disability accommodations or religious
accommodations because of a sincerely
held religious belief, practice or
observance unless an undue hardship
would result. DOT is similarly required
in some circumstances to grant
employee requests for medical
accommodations because of disability.
The government-wide policy requiring
all Federal employees as defined in 5
U.S.C. 2105 to be vaccinated against
COVID–19 is expected to generate many
requests for medical/disability and
religious accommodations.
In order to process and make a
determination on an accommodation
request, DOT is required to collect
information from Federal employees
and applicants for federal employment
making such requests.
This system will collect information
related to individuals requesting
medical/disability and religious
accommodations. These accommodation
requests include but are not limited to
requests for exemptions from vaccines.
By requesting an accommodation,
individuals are authorizing DOT to
collect and maintain a record of the
information submitted to support the
request for the accommodation. The
information contained within this
system of records will be collected
directly from the individual employees
or applicants for federal employment
who have requested accommodations.
This new system will be included in
DOT’s inventory of record systems.
DOT has also included DOT General
Routine Uses, to the extent they are
compatible with the purposes of this
System. As recognized by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in its
Privacy Act Implementation Guidance
and Responsibilities (65 FR 19746 (July
9, 1975)), the routine uses include
proper and necessary uses of
information in the system, even if such
uses occur infrequently. DOT has
included in this notice routine uses for
disclosures to law enforcement when
the record, on its face, indicates a
violation of law, to DOJ for litigation
purposes, or when necessary in
investigating or responding to a breach
of this system or other agencies’
systems. DOT may disclose to Federal,
State, local, or foreign agency
information relevant to law
enforcement, litigation, and proceedings
before any court or adjudicative or
administrative body. OMB has long
recognized that these types of routine
uses are ‘‘proper and necessary’’ uses of
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information and qualify as compatible
with agency systems (65 FR 19476,
April 11, 2000). In addition, OMB
Memorandum M–17–12 directed
agencies to include routine uses that
will permit sharing of information when
needed to investigate, respond to, and
mitigate a breach of a Federal
information system. DOT also has
included routine uses that permit
sharing with the National Archives and
Records Administration when necessary
for an inspection, or to any federal
government agency engaged in audit or
oversight related to this system. These
types of disclosures are necessary and
proper uses of information in this
system because they further DOT’s
obligation to fulfil its records
management and program management
responsibilities by facilitating
accountability to agencies charged with
oversight in these areas.
Privacy Act
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
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SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Office of Civil Rights, at Department
of Transportation at 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
Yvette Rivera, Associate Director, Equity
and Access Division, Departmental
Office of Civil Rights, 202–366–5131.
For the Federal Aviation
Administration, the Office of Civil
Rights, 800 Independence Ave. SW,
Washington, DC 20591. Michael
Looney, Program Manager, (202) 267–
3258.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 42 U.S.C. 2000e.
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended, 29 U.S.C. 791.
• Executive Order 13164.
• 29 CFR parts 1605, 1614.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a)
governs the means by which the federal
government agencies collect, maintain,
use, and disseminate 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 from which
information is retrieved by the name of
an individual or by some identifying
number, symbol, or other identifying
particular assigned to the individual.
The Privacy Act extends rights and
protections to individuals who are U.S.
citizens and lawful permanent
residents. Additionally, the Judicial
Redress Act (JRA) provides a covered
person with a statutory right to make
requests for access and amendment to
covered records, as defined by the JRA,
along with judicial review for denials of
such requests. In addition, the JRA
prohibits disclosures of covered records,
except as otherwise permitted by the
Privacy Act.
Below is the description of the
Employee Accommodations Files
System of Records. In accordance with
5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DOT has provided a
report of this system of records to the
OMB and to Congress.
DOT/ALL 28; Employee
Accommodations Files.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained in a
FedRAMP-certified third-party cloud
environment. Records may also be kept
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in other components and sub-offices of
DOT.
17:11 Nov 17, 2021
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The purpose of the system is to collect
information from individuals seeking
medical/disability and/or religious
accommodations in order to approve or
deny their requests.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE
SYSTEM:
Categories of individuals within this
system include: Individuals who are
current DOT employees and applicants
for federal employment who have
requested medical/disability and/or
religious accommodations.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Records include the name of the
individual seeking accommodations,
nature of the accommodation sought,
including but not limited for religious
accommodations, how complying with
such a requirement would burden
religious exercise, how long the belief
has been held and the reason for seeking
exemption.
For accommodations based on
medical/disability, the records will
include information such as nature of
the medical condition/disability,
functional limitations caused by the
medical condition/disability, how the
requested accommodation would
address the functional limitations,
medical documentation of the medical
condition/disability, and other
information specific to the requested
accommodation to determine whether
DOT is legally required to grant the
request.
PII elements: Name, title, email
address, phone number, operating
administration, pay grade or band,
supervisor information, other
information collected from requesters to
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make a determination regarding a
specific medical and/or religious
accommodation request.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
DOT employees and applicants
seeking medical/disability and/or
religious accommodations.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE
SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND
PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
Department General Routine Uses
1. In the event that a system of records
maintained by DOT to carry out its
functions indicates a violation or
potential violation of law, whether civil,
criminal or regulatory in nature, and
whether arising by general statute or
particular program pursuant thereto, the
relevant records in the system of records
may be referred, as a routine use, to the
appropriate agency, whether Federal,
State, local or foreign, charged with the
responsibility of investigating or
prosecuting such violation or charged
with enforcing or implementing the
statute, or rule, regulation, or order
issued pursuant thereto.
2a. Routine Use for Disclosure for Use
in Litigation. It shall be a routine use of
the records in this system of records to
disclose them to the Department of
Justice or other federal agency
conducting litigation when—(a) DOT, or
any agency thereof, or (b) Any employee
of DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her
official capacity, or (c) Any employee of
DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her
individual capacity where the
Department of Justice has agreed to
represent the employee, or (d) The
United States or any agency thereof,
where DOT determines that litigation is
likely to affect the United States, is a
party to litigation or has an interest in
such litigation, and the use of such
records by the Department of Justice or
other federal agency conducting the
litigation is deemed by DOT to be
relevant and necessary in the litigation,
provided, however, that in each case,
DOT determines that disclosure of the
records in the litigation is a use of the
information contained in the records
that is compatible with the purpose for
which the records were collected.
2b. Routine Use for Agency Disclosure
in Other Proceedings. It shall be a
routine use of records in this system to
disclose them in proceedings before any
court or adjudicative or administrative
body before which DOT or any agency
thereof, appears, when—(a) DOT, or any
agency thereof, or (b) Any employee of
DOT or any agency thereof in his/her
official capacity, or (c) Any employee of
DOT or any agency thereof in his/her
individual capacity where DOT has
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agreed to represent the employee, or (d)
The United States or any agency thereof,
where DOT determines that the
proceeding is likely to affect the United
States, is a party to the proceeding or
has an interest in such proceeding, and
DOT determines that use of such
records is relevant and necessary in the
proceeding, provided, however, that in
each case, DOT determines that
disclosure of the records in the
proceeding is a use of the information
contained in the records that is
compatible with the purpose for which
the records were collected.
3. Disclosure may be made 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. In such
cases, however, the Congressional office
does not have greater rights to records
than the individual. Thus, the
disclosure may be withheld from
delivery to the individual where the file
contains investigative or actual
information or other materials which are
being used, or are expected to be used,
to support prosecution or fines against
the individual for violations of a statute,
or of regulations of the Department
based on statutory authority. No such
limitations apply to records requested
for Congressional oversight or legislative
purposes; release is authorized under 49
CFR 10.35(9).
4. One or more records from a system
of records may be disclosed routinely to
the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA) in records
management inspections being
conducted under the authority of 44
U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
5. DOT may make available to another
agency or instrumentality of any
government jurisdiction, including State
and local governments, listings of names
from any system of records in DOT for
use in law enforcement activities, either
civil or criminal, or to expose fraudulent
claims, regardless of the stated purpose
for the collection of the information in
the system of records. These
enforcement activities are generally
referred to as matching programs
because two lists of names are checked
for match using automated assistance.
This routine use is advisory in nature
and does not offer unrestricted access to
systems of records for such law
enforcement and related antifraud
activities. Each request will be
considered on the basis of its purpose,
merits, cost effectiveness and
alternatives using Instructions on
reporting computer matching programs
to the Office of Management and
Budget, OMB, Congress, and the public,
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published by the Director, OMB, dated
September 20, 1989.
6. DOT may disclose records from this
system, as a routine use, to appropriate
agencies, entities, and persons when (1)
DOT suspects or has confirmed that the
security or confidentiality of
information in the system of records has
been compromised; (2) DOT 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
DOT or another agency or entity) 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 DOT’s efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed
compromise and prevent, minimize, or
remedy such harm.
7. DOT may disclose records from this
system, as a routine use, to the Office of
Government Information Services for
the purpose of (a) resolving disputes
between FOIA requesters and federal
agencies and (b) reviewing agencies’
policies, procedures, and compliance in
order to recommend policy changes to
Congress and the President.
8. DOT may disclose records from the
system, as a routine use, to contractors
and their agents, experts, consultants,
and others performing or working on a
contract, service, cooperative agreement,
or other assignment for DOT, when
necessary to accomplish an agency
function related to this system of
records.
9. DOT may disclose records from this
system, as a routine use, to an agency,
organization, or individual for the
purpose of performing audit or oversight
operations related to this system of
records, but only such records as are
necessary and relevant to the audit or
oversight activity. This routine use does
not apply to intra-agency sharing
authorized under Section (b)(1) of the
Privacy Act.
10.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF
RECORDS:
Records relating to requests for
accommodation relating to mandatory
COVID–19 vaccination are stored in the
USDOT Vaccination Application.
Records relating to other disabilityrelated requests for accommodation are
stored in the Reasonable
Accommodation Management System
(RAMS). Requests for religious
accommodations may be stored in
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64599
RAMS, or in systems at component or
sub-office level.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF
RECORDS:
Records on individuals will be
retrieved by name.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND
DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records will be held in accordance
with NARA General Records Control
Schedule 2.3, Employee Relations
Records, item 20, Reasonable
accommodation case files. Individual
employee files created, received, and
maintained by EEO reasonable
accommodation, diversity/disability
programs, employee relations
coordinators, supervisors,
administrators, or Human Resource
specialists containing records of
requests for reasonable accommodation
and/or assistive technology devices and
services that have been requested for or
by an employee. Includes: Request,
approvals and denials, notice of
procedures for informal dispute
resolution or appeal processes, forms,
correspondence, records of oral
conversations, policy guidance
documents, medical records, supporting
notes and documentation. These records
are temporary and will be destroyed 3
years after employee separation from the
agency or all appeals are concluded,
whichever is later; however, longer
retention is authorized if required for
business use.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL
SAFEGUARDS:
Records in this system are
safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including
all applicable DOT automated systems
security and access policies. Strict
controls have been imposed to minimize
the risk of compromising the
information that is being stored. Data is
encrypted at rest and in transit. Access
to 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.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
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 the System
Manager at the address identified in
‘‘System Manager and Address’’ above.
When seeking records about yourself
from this system of records or any other
Departmental system of records your
request must conform with the Privacy
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Act regulations set forth in 49 CFR part
10. 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 Freedom of
Information Act Officer, https://
www.dot.gov/foia or 202.366.4542. 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 DOT 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
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.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
See Record Access Procedures.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
See Record Access Procedures.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
None.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Karyn Gorman,
Acting Departmental Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021–25153 Filed 11–17–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
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Terrorism Risk Insurance Program
2022 Data Call
use in the 2022 data call. Copies of these
forms and associated instructions
(which identify changes to the reporting
templates and instructions as previously
used by Treasury) are available for
electronic review on the Treasury
website at https://home.treasury.gov/
policy-issues/financial-marketsfinancial-institutions-and-fiscal-service/
federal-insurance-office/terrorism-riskinsurance-program/annual-datacollection. State insurance regulators,
through the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), will
also be separately seeking comment
from stakeholders on the proposal.
DATES: Submit comments on or before
January 18, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov, or by mail to the
Federal Insurance Office, Attn: Richard
Ifft, Room 1410 MT, Department of the
Treasury, 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20220. Because
postal mail may be subject to processing
delays, it is recommended that
comments be submitted electronically.
If submitting comments by mail, please
submit an original version with two
copies. Comments concerning the
proposed data collection forms and
collection process should be captioned
with ‘‘2022 TRIP Data Collection
Comments.’’ Please include your name,
group affiliation, address, email address,
and telephone number(s) in your
comment. Where appropriate, a
comment should include a short
Executive Summary (no more than five
single-spaced pages).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard Ifft, Senior Insurance
Regulatory Policy Analyst, Federal
Insurance Office, Room 1410 MT,
Department of the Treasury, 1500
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20220, at (202) 622–2922 (not a tollfree number), or Sherry Rowlett,
Program Analyst, Federal Insurance
Office, at (202) 622–1890. Persons who
have difficulty hearing or speaking may
access these numbers via TTY by calling
the toll-free Federal Relay Service at
(800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Departmental Offices, U.S.
Department of the Treasury.
ACTION: Request for comments.
I. Background
TRIA 1 created the Terrorism Risk
Insurance Program (Program) within the
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Pursuant to the Terrorism
Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA), the
Federal Insurance Office (FIO) requests
public feedback on the proposed
revisions to the data collection forms for
1 Public Law 107–297, 116 Stat. 2322, codified at
15 U.S.C. 6701, note. Because the provisions of
TRIA (as amended) appear in a note, instead of
particular sections, of the United States Code, the
provisions of TRIA are identified by the sections of
the law.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
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(Treasury) to address disruptions in the
market for terrorism risk insurance, to
help ensure the continued availability
and affordability of commercial
property and casualty insurance for
terrorism risk, and to allow for the
private markets to stabilize and build
insurance capacity to absorb any future
losses for terrorism events. TRIA
requires the Secretary of the Treasury
(Secretary) to perform periodic analyses
of certain matters concerning the
Program.2 In order to assist the
Secretary with this process, TRIA also
requires insurers to submit on an annual
basis certain insurance data and
information regarding their
participation in the Program.3 FIO is
authorized to assist the Secretary in the
administration of the Program.4
Treasury began collecting data from
insurers in 2016 on a voluntary basis,5
and on a mandatory basis in 2017.6
Treasury also arranged in 2017 for
workers’ compensation rating bureaus to
provide most of the workers’
compensation insurance data elements.7
Beginning in 2018, Treasury and state
insurance regulators have conducted a
consolidated data call, in which
participating insurers can, for the most
part, submit the same reporting forms to
Treasury and state regulators to satisfy
the respective objectives of both
Treasury and state insurance
regulators.8
Program regulation 31 CFR 50.51(a)
requires insurers to submit the specified
data no later than May 15 of each
calendar year. Treasury, through an
insurance statistical aggregator, uses a
web portal through which insurers must
submit the requested data; state
regulators collect the same data through
a portal operated by New York State. All
information submitted via the Treasury
web portal operated by its insurance
statistical aggregator is subject to the
confidentiality and data protection
provisions of applicable federal law.
2 TRIA, Section 104(h)(2) (requiring, inter alia, a
report on the effectiveness of the Program); Section
108(h) (requiring a report on the competitiveness of
small insurers in the terrorism risk insurance
marketplace).
3 TRIA, Section 104(h)(1). The data collection
requirements were incorporated within TRIA by
Section 111 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance
Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (2015
Reauthorization Act), Public Law 114–1, 129 Stat.
2.
4 31 U.S.C. 313(c)(1)(D).
5 81 FR 11649 (March 4, 2016).
6 In 2016, a reporting exemption was extended to
small insurers writing less than $10 million in
TRIP-eligible lines premium in the reporting year.
See 81 FR 95312 (December 27, 2016); 82 FR 20420
(May 1, 2017). As noted below, that exemption
continues.
7 82 FR 20420 (May 1, 2017).
8 See 83 FR 14718 (April 5, 2018).
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 220 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64597-64600]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25153]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. OST-2021-0135]
Privacy Act of 1974; DOT/ALL 028; Employee Accommodations Files
AGENCY: Office of the Departmental Chief Information Officer, Office of
the Secretary of Transportation, Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) intends to establish a new system of
records titled Employee Accommodations Files. This system allows DOT to
collect, use, maintain, and disseminate the records needed to process,
manage, maintain, and resolve reasonable accommodation requests from
employees or applicants for employment based on a medical condition/
disability or a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or
observance. This includes requests for a medical or religious
accommodation to decline the COVID-19 vaccination. The information will
be used to determine whether accommodations are legally required in
accordance with the Rehabilitation Act and Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
DATES: This new system of records is effective upon publication;
however, comments on the Routine Uses will be accepted on or before
December 20, 2021. The Routine Uses will become effective at the close
of the comment period. The Department may publish an amended System of
Records Notice (SORN) in light of any comments received.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number OST-
2021-0135 by any of the following methods:
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket
number OST-2021-0135.
All comments received will be posted without change to
https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all
comments received in any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review the
DOT's complete Privacy Act statement in the Federal Register published
on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit https://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or to the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
docket.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general and privacy questions,
please contact: Karyn Gorman, Acting Departmental Chief Privacy
Officer, Department of Transportation, S-83, Washington, DC 20590,
Email: [email protected], Tel. (202) 366-3140.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary, is
proposing a new system of records titled Employee Accommodations Files.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 791 and Title VII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, require
DOT to grant employee requests for medical/disability accommodations or
religious accommodations because of a sincerely held religious belief,
practice or observance unless an undue hardship would result. DOT is
similarly required in some circumstances to grant employee requests for
medical accommodations because of disability. The government-wide
policy requiring all Federal employees as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2105 to
be vaccinated against COVID-19 is expected to generate many requests
for medical/disability and religious accommodations.
In order to process and make a determination on an accommodation
request, DOT is required to collect information from Federal employees
and applicants for federal employment making such requests.
This system will collect information related to individuals
requesting medical/disability and religious accommodations. These
accommodation requests include but are not limited to requests for
exemptions from vaccines. By requesting an accommodation, individuals
are authorizing DOT to collect and maintain a record of the information
submitted to support the request for the accommodation. The information
contained within this system of records will be collected directly from
the individual employees or applicants for federal employment who have
requested accommodations. This new system will be included in DOT's
inventory of record systems.
DOT has also included DOT General Routine Uses, to the extent they
are compatible with the purposes of this System. As recognized by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in its Privacy Act Implementation
Guidance and Responsibilities (65 FR 19746 (July 9, 1975)), the routine
uses include proper and necessary uses of information in the system,
even if such uses occur infrequently. DOT has included in this notice
routine uses for disclosures to law enforcement when the record, on its
face, indicates a violation of law, to DOJ for litigation purposes, or
when necessary in investigating or responding to a breach of this
system or other agencies' systems. DOT may disclose to Federal, State,
local, or foreign agency information relevant to law enforcement,
litigation, and proceedings before any court or adjudicative or
administrative body. OMB has long recognized that these types of
routine uses are ``proper and necessary'' uses of
[[Page 64598]]
information and qualify as compatible with agency systems (65 FR 19476,
April 11, 2000). In addition, OMB Memorandum M-17-12 directed agencies
to include routine uses that will permit sharing of information when
needed to investigate, respond to, and mitigate a breach of a Federal
information system. DOT also has included routine uses that permit
sharing with the National Archives and Records Administration when
necessary for an inspection, or to any federal government agency
engaged in audit or oversight related to this system. These types of
disclosures are necessary and proper uses of information in this system
because they further DOT's obligation to fulfil its records management
and program management responsibilities by facilitating accountability
to agencies charged with oversight in these areas.
Privacy Act
The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) governs the means by which the
federal government agencies collect, maintain, use, and disseminate
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 from which
information is retrieved by the name of an individual or by some
identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to
the individual. The Privacy Act extends rights and protections to
individuals who are U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.
Additionally, the Judicial Redress Act (JRA) provides a covered person
with a statutory right to make requests for access and amendment to
covered records, as defined by the JRA, along with judicial review for
denials of such requests. In addition, the JRA prohibits disclosures of
covered records, except as otherwise permitted by the Privacy Act.
Below is the description of the Employee Accommodations Files
System of Records. In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DOT has
provided a report of this system of records to the OMB and to Congress.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
DOT/ALL 28; Employee Accommodations Files.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained in a FedRAMP-certified third-party cloud
environment. Records may also be kept in other components and sub-
offices of DOT.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Office of Civil Rights, at Department of Transportation at 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Yvette Rivera, Associate
Director, Equity and Access Division, Departmental Office of Civil
Rights, 202-366-5131. For the Federal Aviation Administration, the
Office of Civil Rights, 800 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20591.
Michael Looney, Program Manager, (202) 267-3258.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 42 U.S.C. 2000e.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 791.
Executive Order 13164.
29 CFR parts 1605, 1614.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The purpose of the system is to collect information from
individuals seeking medical/disability and/or religious accommodations
in order to approve or deny their requests.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Categories of individuals within this system include: Individuals
who are current DOT employees and applicants for federal employment who
have requested medical/disability and/or religious accommodations.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Records include the name of the individual seeking accommodations,
nature of the accommodation sought, including but not limited for
religious accommodations, how complying with such a requirement would
burden religious exercise, how long the belief has been held and the
reason for seeking exemption.
For accommodations based on medical/disability, the records will
include information such as nature of the medical condition/disability,
functional limitations caused by the medical condition/disability, how
the requested accommodation would address the functional limitations,
medical documentation of the medical condition/disability, and other
information specific to the requested accommodation to determine
whether DOT is legally required to grant the request.
PII elements: Name, title, email address, phone number, operating
administration, pay grade or band, supervisor information, other
information collected from requesters to make a determination regarding
a specific medical and/or religious accommodation request.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
DOT employees and applicants seeking medical/disability and/or
religious accommodations.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
Department General Routine Uses
1. In the event that a system of records maintained by DOT to carry
out its functions indicates a violation or potential violation of law,
whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by
general statute or particular program pursuant thereto, the relevant
records in the system of records may be referred, as a routine use, to
the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local or foreign,
charged with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such
violation or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, or
rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.
2a. Routine Use for Disclosure for Use in Litigation. It shall be a
routine use of the records in this system of records to disclose them
to the Department of Justice or other federal agency conducting
litigation when--(a) DOT, or any agency thereof, or (b) Any employee of
DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her official capacity, or (c) Any
employee of DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her individual capacity
where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent the employee,
or (d) The United States or any agency thereof, where DOT determines
that litigation is likely to affect the United States, is a party to
litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the use of such
records by the Department of Justice or other federal agency conducting
the litigation is deemed by DOT to be relevant and necessary in the
litigation, provided, however, that in each case, DOT determines that
disclosure of the records in the litigation is a use of the information
contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which
the records were collected.
2b. Routine Use for Agency Disclosure in Other Proceedings. It
shall be a routine use of records in this system to disclose them in
proceedings before any court or adjudicative or administrative body
before which DOT or any agency thereof, appears, when--(a) DOT, or any
agency thereof, or (b) Any employee of DOT or any agency thereof in
his/her official capacity, or (c) Any employee of DOT or any agency
thereof in his/her individual capacity where DOT has
[[Page 64599]]
agreed to represent the employee, or (d) The United States or any
agency thereof, where DOT determines that the proceeding is likely to
affect the United States, is a party to the proceeding or has an
interest in such proceeding, and DOT determines that use of such
records is relevant and necessary in the proceeding, provided, however,
that in each case, DOT determines that disclosure of the records in the
proceeding is a use of the information contained in the records that is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
3. Disclosure may be made 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. In such cases, however,
the Congressional office does not have greater rights to records than
the individual. Thus, the disclosure may be withheld from delivery to
the individual where the file contains investigative or actual
information or other materials which are being used, or are expected to
be used, to support prosecution or fines against the individual for
violations of a statute, or of regulations of the Department based on
statutory authority. No such limitations apply to records requested for
Congressional oversight or legislative purposes; release is authorized
under 49 CFR 10.35(9).
4. One or more records from a system of records may be disclosed
routinely to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in
records management inspections being conducted under the authority of
44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
5. DOT may make available to another agency or instrumentality of
any government jurisdiction, including State and local governments,
listings of names from any system of records in DOT for use in law
enforcement activities, either civil or criminal, or to expose
fraudulent claims, regardless of the stated purpose for the collection
of the information in the system of records. These enforcement
activities are generally referred to as matching programs because two
lists of names are checked for match using automated assistance. This
routine use is advisory in nature and does not offer unrestricted
access to systems of records for such law enforcement and related
antifraud activities. Each request will be considered on the basis of
its purpose, merits, cost effectiveness and alternatives using
Instructions on reporting computer matching programs to the Office of
Management and Budget, OMB, Congress, and the public, published by the
Director, OMB, dated September 20, 1989.
6. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to
appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) DOT suspects or
has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in
the system of records has been compromised; (2) DOT 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 DOT or another agency or entity) 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 DOT's efforts to respond to the suspected or
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
7. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to
the Office of Government Information Services for the purpose of (a)
resolving disputes between FOIA requesters and federal agencies and (b)
reviewing agencies' policies, procedures, and compliance in order to
recommend policy changes to Congress and the President.
8. DOT may disclose records from the system, as a routine use, to
contractors and their agents, experts, consultants, and others
performing or working on a contract, service, cooperative agreement, or
other assignment for DOT, when necessary to accomplish an agency
function related to this system of records.
9. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to
an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of performing
audit or oversight operations related to this system of records, but
only such records as are necessary and relevant to the audit or
oversight activity. This routine use does not apply to intra-agency
sharing authorized under Section (b)(1) of the Privacy Act.
10.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records relating to requests for accommodation relating to
mandatory COVID-19 vaccination are stored in the USDOT Vaccination
Application. Records relating to other disability-related requests for
accommodation are stored in the Reasonable Accommodation Management
System (RAMS). Requests for religious accommodations may be stored in
RAMS, or in systems at component or sub-office level.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records on individuals will be retrieved by name.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records will be held in accordance with NARA General Records
Control Schedule 2.3, Employee Relations Records, item 20, Reasonable
accommodation case files. Individual employee files created, received,
and maintained by EEO reasonable accommodation, diversity/disability
programs, employee relations coordinators, supervisors, administrators,
or Human Resource specialists containing records of requests for
reasonable accommodation and/or assistive technology devices and
services that have been requested for or by an employee. Includes:
Request, approvals and denials, notice of procedures for informal
dispute resolution or appeal processes, forms, correspondence, records
of oral conversations, policy guidance documents, medical records,
supporting notes and documentation. These records are temporary and
will be destroyed 3 years after employee separation from the agency or
all appeals are concluded, whichever is later; however, longer
retention is authorized if required for business use.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable DOT automated
systems security and access policies. Strict controls have been imposed
to minimize the risk of compromising the information that is being
stored. Data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Access to 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.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
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 the System Manager at the address
identified in ``System Manager and Address'' above.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with
the Privacy
[[Page 64600]]
Act regulations set forth in 49 CFR part 10. 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 Freedom
of Information Act Officer, https://www.dot.gov/foia or 202.366.4542. 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 DOT 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 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.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
See Record Access Procedures.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
See Record Access Procedures.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
None.
Issued in Washington, DC.
Karyn Gorman,
Acting Departmental Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-25153 Filed 11-17-21; 8:45 am]
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