Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 67056-67060 [2021-25637]

Agencies

• FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67056-67060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25637]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

ACTION: Notice of modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: The FTC is making technical revisions to one of the notices 
that it has published under the Privacy Act of 1974. This action is 
intended to make the notice clearer, more accurate, and up-to-date.

DATES: This notice shall become final and applicable on November 24, 
2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G. Richard Gold, Attorney, Office of 
the General Counsel, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20580, (202) 326-3355.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To inform the public, the FTC publishes in 
the Federal Register and posts on its website a ``system of records 
notice'' (SORN) for each system of records that the FTC currently 
maintains within the meaning of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, 5 
U.S.C. 552a (Privacy Act or Act). See https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems. The Privacy Act protects 
records about individuals in systems of records collected and 
maintained by Federal agencies.\1\ Each Federal agency, including the 
FTC, must publish a SORN that describes the records maintained in each 
of its Privacy Act systems, including the categories of individuals 
that the records in the system are about, where and how the agency 
maintains these records, and how individuals can find out whether an 
agency system contains any records about them or request access to 
their records, if any. The FTC, for example, maintains 40 systems of 
records under the Act. Some of these systems contain records about the 
FTC's own employees, such as personnel and payroll files. Other FTC 
systems contain records about members of the public, such as public 
comments, consumer complaints, or phone numbers submitted to the FTC's 
Do Not Call Registry.
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    \1\ A system is not a ``system of records'' under the Act unless 
the agency maintains and retrieves records in the system by the 
relevant individual's name or other personally assigned identifier.
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    For this notice, the FTC is revising FTC-II-1 (General Personnel 
Records--FTC) to ensure that the SORN remains clear, accurate, and up-
to-date. This SORN covers Official Personnel Folders (OPFs) and the 
approved electronic equivalent (the electronic OPF or eOPF) and other 
personnel records that the FTC's Human Capital Management Office (HCMO) 
maintains about FTC employees. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 
has published a Government-wide SORN that covers this system of 
records, OPM/GOVT-1 (General Personnel Records). See 71 FR 35341, 35342 
(2006). The Commission has updated or clarified the sections on 
authority, purpose, retention of records, and procedures for employees 
and

[[Page 67057]]

former employees on record access, contesting records and notification.
    The FTC is not substantively adding or amending any routine uses of 
its Privacy Act system records. Accordingly, the FTC is not required to 
provide prior public comment or notice to OMB or Congress for these 
technical amendments, which are final upon publication. See U.S.C. 
552a(e)(11) and 552a(r); OMB Circular A-108, supra.

FTC Systems of Records Notices

    In light of the updated SORN template set forth in the revised OMB 
Circular A-108 (2016), the FTC is reprinting the entire text of the 
amended SORN to read as follows:
* * * * *

II. Commission Personnel Systems of Records

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    General Personnel Records--FTC (FTC-II-1).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20580. For other locations where records may be maintained or 
accessed, see Appendix III (Locations of FTC Buildings and Regional 
Offices), available on the FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems and at 80 FR 9460, 9465 
(Feb. 23, 2015).

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Chief Human Capital Officer, Human Capital Management Office, 
Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20580, email: [email protected]. See OPM/GOVT-1 for information about the 
system manager and address for that system.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    5 U.S.C. 301, 1302, 2951, 3301, 3372, 4118, 8347; the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 791; Executive Orders 9397, 9830, 
12107 and 13164; and 5 CFR pt. 293.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The Official Personnel Folder (OPF), its approved electronic 
equivalent (the electronic OPF or eOPF), and other general personnel 
records are the official repository of the records, reports of 
personnel actions, and the documents required in connection with those 
actions effected during an employee's Federal service. The personnel 
action reports and other documents, some of which are filed as long 
term records in the OPF, give legal force and effect to personnel 
transactions and establish employee rights and benefits under pertinent 
laws and regulations governing Federal employment. The OPF, which 
exists in various approved media, is maintained for the period of the 
employee's service in the Commission and is then transferred to the 
National Personnel Records Center for storage or, as appropriate, to 
the next employing Federal agency. Other records are either retained at 
the agency for various lengths of time in accordance with National 
Archives and Records Administration records schedules or destroyed when 
they have served their purpose or when the employee leaves the agency. 
They provide the basic source of factual data about a person's Federal 
employment while in the service and after his or her separation. 
Records in this system have various uses including: Screening 
qualifications of employees; determining status, eligibility, and 
employees' rights and benefits under pertinent laws and regulations 
governing Federal employment, including requests for reasonable 
accommodation by applicants with disabilities or sincerely held 
religious beliefs, practices, or observances; computing length of 
service; and for other information needed in providing personnel 
services. These records and their automated or microformed equivalents 
may also be used to locate individuals for personnel research. 
Temporary documents on the left side of the OPF may lead (or have led) 
to a formal action, but do not constitute a record of it, nor make a 
substantial contribution to the employee's long term record.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Current Federal Trade Commission employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Each category of records may include identifying information such 
as name(s), date of birth, home residence, mailing address, Social 
Security number, and home telephone number. This system includes, but 
is not limited to, the contents of the Official Personnel Folder (OPF) 
maintained by the FTC's Human Capital Management Office (HCMO) and 
described in the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 
Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping and in OPM's Government-wide system of 
records notice for this system, OPM/GOVT-1. (Nonduplicative personnel 
records maintained by FTC employee managers in other FTC offices are 
covered by FTC-II-2, Unofficial Personnel Records-FTC.) Records in this 
system (FTC-II-1) include copies of current employees' applications for 
employment, documentation supporting appointments and awards, benefits 
records (health insurance, life insurance, retirement information, and 
Thrift Savings Plan information), investigative process documents, 
personnel actions, other personnel documents, changes in filing 
requirements, and training documents.
    Other records include:
    a. Records reflecting work experience, educational level achieved, 
specialized education or training obtained outside of Federal service.
    b. Records reflecting Federal service and documenting work 
experience and specialized education or training received while 
employed. Such records contain information about past and present 
positions held; grades; salaries; and duty station locations; 
commendations, awards, or other data reflecting special recognition of 
an employee's performance; and notices of all personnel actions, such 
as appointments, transfers, reassignments, details, promotions, 
demotions, reductions in force, resignations, separations, suspensions, 
approval of disability retirement applications, retirement and 
removals.
    c. Records relating to participation in the Federal Employees' 
Group Life Insurance Program and Federal Employees Health Benefits 
Program.
    d. Records relating to an Intergovernmental Personnel Act 
assignment or Federal-private exchange program.
    e. Records relating to participation in an agency Federal Executive 
or SES Candidate Development Program.
    f. Records relating to Government-sponsored training or 
participation in the agency's Upward Mobility Program or other 
personnel programs designed to broaden an employee's work experiences 
and for purposes of advancement (e.g., an administrative intern 
program).
    g. Records connected with the Senior Executive Service (SES), for 
use in making studies and analyses of the SES, preparing reports, and 
in making decisions affecting incumbents of these positions, e.g., 
relating to sabbatical leave programs, training, reassignments, and 
details, that are perhaps unique to the SES and which may or may not be 
filed in the employee's OPF. These records may also serve as basis for 
reports submitted to OMB's Executive Personnel and Management 
Development Group for purposes of

[[Page 67058]]

implementing the Office's oversight responsibilities concerning the 
SES.
    h. Records on an employee's activities on behalf of the recognized 
labor organization representing agency employees, including accounting 
of official time spent and documentation in support of per diem and 
travel expenses.
    i. To the extent that the records listed here are also maintained 
in the agency automated personnel or microform records system, those 
versions of the above records are considered to be covered by this 
system notice. Any additional copies of these records (excluding 
performance ratings of record and conduct-related documents maintained 
by first-line supervisors and managers covered by FTC-II-2) maintained 
by agencies at field or administrative offices remote from where the 
original records exist are considered part of this system.
    j. Records relating to designations for lump sum death benefits.
    k. Records relating to classified information nondisclosure 
agreements.
    l. Records relating to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) concerning the 
starting, changing, or stopping of contributions to the TSP as well as 
the how the individual wants the investments to be made in the various 
TSP Funds.
    m. Copies of records contained in the Enterprise Human Resources 
Integration (EHRI) data warehouse (including the Central Employee 
Record, the Business Intelligence file that provide resources to obtain 
career summaries, and the electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF)) 
maintained by OPM. These data elements include many of the above 
records along with additional human resources information such as 
training, payroll and performance information from other OPM and agency 
systems of records. A definitive list of EHRI data elements is 
contained in OPM's Guide to Human Resources Reporting and The Guide to 
Personnel Data Standards.
    n. Emergency contact information for the employee (see, e.g., FTC 
Form 75), which is kept on the left side of the OPF.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Individual to whom the record applies and agency employees.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    (1) Performance Related Uses
    (a) To disclose information to any source from which additional 
information is requested (to the extent necessary to identify the 
individual, inform the source of the purpose(s) of the request, and to 
identify the type of information requested), where necessary to obtain 
information relevant to an agency decision concerning the hiring or 
retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the 
conducting of a security or suitability investigation of an individual, 
the classifying of jobs, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of 
a license, grant, or other benefit;
    (b) To disclose to an agency in the executive, legislative, or 
judicial branch, or the District of Columbia Government in response to 
its request, or at the initiation of the agency maintaining the 
records, information in connection with the hiring of an employee; the 
issuance of a security clearance; the conducting of a security or 
suitability investigation of an individual; the classifying of jobs; 
the letting of a contract; the issuance of a license, grant, or other 
benefit by the requesting agency; or the lawful statutory, 
administrative, or investigative purpose of the agency to the extent 
that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting 
agency's decision on the matter;
    (c) By the agency or by OPM to locate individuals for personnel 
research or survey response, and in the production of summary 
descriptive statistics and analytical studies in support of the 
function for which the records are collected and maintained, or for 
related work force studies. While published statistics and studies do 
not contain individual identifiers, in some instances the selection of 
elements of data included in the study may be structured in such a way 
as to make the data individually identifiable by inference;
    (d) To provide an official of another Federal agency information 
needed in the performance of official duties related to reconciling or 
reconstructing data files, in support of the functions for which the 
records were collected and maintained;
    (e) To disclose information to officials of the Merit Systems 
Protection Board, including the Office of the Special Counsel, when 
requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the civil 
service and other merit systems, review of Office rules and 
regulations, investigations of alleged or prohibited personnel 
practices, and such other functions, promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 
1206, or as may be authorized by law;
    (f) To disclose information to the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission when requested in connection with investigations into 
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 by the 
President's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978;
    (g) To disclose to prospective non-Federal employers, the following 
information about a specifically identified current or former Federal 
employee:
    (i) Tenure of employment;
    (ii) Civil service status;
    (iii) Length of service in the agency and the Government; and
    (iv) When separated, the date and nature of action as shown on the 
Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (or authorized 
exception);
    (h) To consider employees for recognition through quality step 
increases, and to publicize those granted. This may include disclosure 
to other public and private organizations, including news media, which 
grant or publicize employee recognition;
    (i) To consider and select employees for incentive awards and other 
honors and to publicize those granted. This may include disclosure to 
other public and private organizations, including news media, which 
grant or publicize employee awards or honors;
    (j) To disclose information to any member of the agency's 
Performance Review Board or other board or panel (e.g., one convened to 
select or review nominees for awards of merit pay increases), when the 
member is not an official of the employing agency; information would 
then be used for the purposes of approving or recommending selection of 
candidates for executive development of SES candidate programs, issuing 
a performance appraisal rating, issuing performance awards, nominating 
for Meritorious and Distinguished Executive ranks, and removal, 
reduction-in-grade, and other personnel actions based on performance;
    (k) By agency officials for purposes of review in connection with 
appointments, transfers, promotions, reassignments, adverse actions, 
disciplinary actions, and determinations of the qualifications of an 
individual;
    (l) By the Office of Personnel Management for purposes of making a 
decision when a Federal employee or former Federal employee is 
questioning the validity of a specific document in an individual's 
record; and
    (m) As a data source for management information for promotion of 
summary descriptive statistics and analytical studies in support of the 
related

[[Page 67059]]

personnel management functions of human resource studies; may also be 
utilized to locate specific individuals for personnel research or other 
personnel management functions;
    (2) Training/Education Related Uses
    (a) To disclose information to Government training facilities 
(Federal, State, and local) and to non-Government training facilities 
(private vendors of training courses or programs, private schools, 
etc.) for training purposes; and
    (b) To disclose information to educational institutions on 
appointment of a recent graduate to a position in the Federal service, 
and to provide college and university officials with information about 
their students working under the Cooperative Education Volunteer 
Service, or other similar programs where necessary to a student's 
obtaining credit for the experience gained;
    (3) Retirement/Insurance/Health Benefits Related Uses
    (a) To disclose information to: The Department of Labor, Department 
of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration, Department of 
Defense, Federal agencies that have special civilian employee 
retirement programs; or a national, State, county, municipal, or other 
publicly recognized charitable or income security administration agency 
(e.g., State unemployment compensation agencies) where necessary to 
adjudicate a claim under the retirement, insurance or health benefits 
programs of the Office of Personnel Management or an agency cited 
above, or to an agency to conduct an analytical study or audit of 
benefits being paid under such programs;
    (b) To disclose to 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;
    (c) To disclose to health insurance carriers contracting with the 
Office of Personnel Management 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;
    (d) When an individual to whom a record pertains is mentally 
incompetent or under other legal disability, information in the 
individual's record may be disclosed to any person who is responsible 
for the care of the individual, to the extent necessary to assure 
payment of benefits to which the individual is entitled;
    (e) To disclose to the agency-appointed representative of an 
employee all notices, determinations, decisions, or other written 
communications issued to the employee, in connection with an 
examination ordered by the agency under:
    (i) Fitness-for-duty examination procedures; or
    (ii) Agency-filed disability retirement procedures;
    (f) To disclose to a requesting agency, organization, or individual 
the home address and other relevant information concerning those 
individuals who, it is reasonably believed, might have contracted an 
illness, been exposed to, or suffered from a health hazard while 
employed in the Federal work force; and
    (g) To disclose information to the Department of Defense, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Coast 
Guard needed to effect any adjustments in retired or retained pay 
required by the dual compensation provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5532;
    (4) Labor Relations Related Uses
    (a) To disclose information to the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority (including its General Counsel) when requested in connection 
with investigation and resolution of allegations of unfair labor 
practices, in connection with the resolution of exceptions to 
arbitrator's awards where a question of material fact is raised and 
matters before the Federal Service Impasses Panel; and
    (b) To disclose information to officials of labor organizations 
recognized under 5 U.S.C. 71 et seq. when relevant and necessary to 
their duties of exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, 
practices, and matters affecting working conditions; and
    (5) Miscellaneous Uses
    (a) To provide data to OPM for inclusion in the automated Center 
Personnel Data File;
    (b) To be disclosed for any other routine use set forth in the 
Government-wide system of records notice published for this system by 
OPM, see OPM/GOVT-1, or any successor OPM system notice that may be 
published for this system (visit www.opm.gov for more information);
    (c) To disclose information to a Federal, state, or local agency 
for determination of an individual's entitlement to benefits in 
connection with Federal Housing Administration programs; and
    (d) To locate individuals for personnel research or survey 
response, and in the production of summary descriptive statistics and 
analytical studies in support of the function for which the records are 
collected and maintained, or for related work force studies. While 
published statistics and studies do not contain individual identifiers, 
in some instances, the selection of elements of data included in the 
study may be structured in such a way as to make the data individually 
identifiable by inference.
    For other ways that the Privacy Act permits the FTC to use or 
disclose system records outside the agency, see Appendix I (Authorized 
Disclosures and Routine Uses Applicable to All FTC Privacy Act Systems 
of Records), available on the FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems and at 83 FR 
55541, 55542-55543 (Nov. 6, 2018).

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records may be maintained on standard legal-size and letter-size 
paper, and in electronic storage media such as personnel system 
databases and .pdf forms.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are indexed by employee name and social security number.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    The OPF is maintained for the period of the employee's service in 
the agency and is then, if in a paper format, transferred to the 
National Personnel Records Center for storage or, as appropriate, to 
the next employing Federal agency. If the OPF is maintained in an 
electronic format, the transfer and storage is in accordance with the 
OPM-approved electronic system according to the most current version of 
OPM's Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping. Destruction of the OPF is in 
accordance with General Records Schedule GRS-2.2, Items 40-41.
    When the individual transfers to any Federal agency or to another 
appointing office, the OPF is sent to that agency or office. All 
personnel-related medical records, except for those relating to 
reasonable accommodation requests, are covered by a separate OPM 
Privacy Act system of records notice, OPM/GOVT-10.
    Other records. These records are retained for varying periods of 
time as set out by GRS 2.2.

[[Page 67060]]

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Access is restricted to agency personnel or contractors whose 
responsibilities require access. Paper records are maintained in 
lockable rooms or file cabinets. (In addition, FTC HCMO offices are in 
a locked suite separate from other FTC offices not generally accessible 
to the public or other FTC staff.) Access to electronic records is 
controlled by ``user ID'' and password combinations and/or other 
appropriate electronic access or network controls (e.g., firewalls). 
FTC buildings are guarded and monitored by security personnel, cameras, 
ID checks, and other physical security measures.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    See Sec.  4.13 of the FTC's Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 4.13. For 
additional guidance, see also Appendix II (How To Make A Privacy Act 
Request), available on the FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems and at 73 FR 33592, 
33634 (June 12, 2008). Current FTC employees may also access their 
records directly by utilizing OPM's approved electronic Official 
Personnel Folder system, using their assigned user ID and password.
    Former FTC employees subsequently employed by another Federal 
agency should contact the personnel office for their current Federal 
employer. Former employees who have left Federal service and want 
access to their official personnel records in storage should contact 
the National Personnel Records Center, 1411 Boulder Boulevard, 
Valmeyer, IL 62295.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    See Sec.  4.13 of the FTC's Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 4.13. For 
additional guidance, see also Appendix II (How To Make A Privacy Act 
Request), available on the FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems and at 73 FR 33592, 
33634 (June 12, 2008). Current FTC employees may also access their 
records directly by utilizing OPM's approved electronic Official 
Personnel Folder system, using their assigned user ID and password.
    Former FTC employees subsequently employed by another Federal 
agency should contact the personnel office for their current Federal 
employer. Former employees who have left Federal service and want 
access to their official personnel records in storage should contact 
the National Personnel Records Center, 1411 Boulder Boulevard, 
Valmeyer, IL 62295.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    See Sec.  4.13 of the FTC's Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 4.13. For 
additional guidance, see also Appendix II (How To Make A Privacy Act 
Request), available on the FTC's website at https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/foia/foia-reading-rooms/privacy-act-systems and at 73 FR 33592, 
33634 (June 12, 2008). Current FTC employees may also access their 
records directly by utilizing OPM's approved electronic Official 
Personnel Folder system, using their assigned user ID and password.
    Former FTC employees subsequently employed by another Federal 
agency should contact the personnel office for their current Federal 
employer. Former employees who have left Federal service and want 
access to their official personnel records in storage should contact 
the National Personnel Records Center, 1411 Boulder Boulevard, 
Valmeyer, IL 62295.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    84 FR 16493-16510 (April 19, 2019)
    80 FR 9460-9465 (February 23, 2015)
    74 FR 17863-17866 (April 17, 2009)
    73 FR 33591-33634 (June 12, 2008).

Josephine Liu,
Assistant General Counsel for Legal Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-25637 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P