Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 63684-63686 [2023-20051]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 178 (Friday, September 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63684-63686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20051]


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DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Financial Services Center (FSC), Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA).

ACTION: Notice of a new system of records.

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SUMMARY: The systems included on this notice are systems used by VA 
Payroll for processing and reporting on information related to payroll 
actions for VA employees. The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that all 
agencies publish in the Federal Register a notice of the existence and 
character of their systems of records. Notice is hereby given that the 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Financial Services Center (FSC) is 
creating a new system of records entitled ``Payroll Processing and 
Reporting--VA'' System of Records Notice'' (208VA0478C).

DATES: Comments on this new 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 new 
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: Comments may be submitted through www.Regulations.gov or 
mailed to VA Privacy Service, 810 Vermont Avenue NW, (005R1A), 
Washington, DC 20420. Comments should indicate that they are submitted 
in response to ``Payroll Processing and Reporting--VA'', 208VA0478C. 
Comments received will be available at www.regulations.gov for public 
viewing, inspection or copies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Lindow, Financial Services 
Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, 1615 Woodward Street, Austin, 
TX 78772, (512) 981-4871, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Kronos webTA (Time and Attendance) is an 
automated, centralized, web-based time and attendance system developed 
to replace the legacy Enhanced Time and Attendance (ETA) system. Kronos 
webTA provides a modern take on quick and accurate transmission of 
data, allows for rapid creation of reports, and establishes a flexible 
foundation for future enhancements. The system allows employees to see 
``day to day'' information like hours worked, leave balances, and a 
transparent approval workflow for timesheet certifications, and leave 
and premium pay request.
    Defense Civilian Pay System (DCPS) is the primary interface of VA 
Payroll personnel with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service 
(DFAS). DCPS provides the ability to update an employee's payroll 
information and view payroll reports.
    Nationwide Payroll (SQL) is primarily used for Retirement & 
Contingency Pay Audits and Retirement & Contingency Leave Audits. We 
use the system to validate retirement codes & contributions, OASDI 
wages, TSP GB & GM, and retirement corrections. It serves as a research 
tool and provides invaluable Individual Retirement Record, and Military 
Service Deposit.
    Office of Financial Management Resources Portal (OFMR) application 
maintains payroll data for all VA employees, current and separated. It 
has the capability to create custom reports and export to excel format. 
It is used to search payroll data by SSN and VA EIN for current and 
separated VA employees going back to 1999 and forward. It is also used 
for audit purposes and serves as a repository for payroll data. We can 
gather historical data as needed from one application. It is used daily 
by the FSC Payroll Support Division.

Signing Authority

    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. Kurt D. 
DelBene, Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief 
Information Officer, approved this document on August 7, 2023 for 
publication.

    Dated: September 12, 2023.
Amy L. Rose,
Government Information Specialist, VA Privacy Service, Office of 
Compliance, Risk and Remediation, Office of Information and Technology, 
Department of Veterans Affairs.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    ``Payroll Processing and Reporting--VA'' (208VA0478C).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    This system of record is located in the Financial Services Center, 
Austin, TX.

[[Page 63685]]

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Jonathan Lindow, Financial Services Center, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 1615 Woodward Street, Austin, TX 78772, (512) 981-4871, or 
[email protected].
    Elaine Walter, Financial Services Center, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 7600 Metropolis Dr., Austin, TX 78744, (512) 516-3263, 
[email protected].
    Wayne Mobley, Financial Services Center, Department of Veterans 
Affairs, 7600 Metropolis Dr., Austin, TX 78744, (512) 516-3263, 
[email protected].

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    CFR part 4501, Office of Personnel Management.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    To maintain a system(s) for managing payroll related information 
including, but not limited to time and attendance, salary, deductions, 
and other personal information like addresses and beneficiaries. 
Systems and application that are listed above contains SSN, EIN, 
Retirement codes and contributions, OASDI Wages, TSP, and Military 
Service Deposits. The primary function of OFMR is a tool that we used 
to respond to customer service inquiries and data request. Projects 
include but are not limited to, Public Law 111-163, Post Quimby and 
Adams cases, Premium Pay for Periods of Leave, Clothing Allowance and 
Environmental Differential Leave (EDP).

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Individuals covered by these systems are current and past VA 
employees.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Personnel Information like Name, Social Security Number, Addresses, 
Telephone number, Employee Type, Employee Status, Occupational Series, 
and other ``Non-PII'' information. Payroll Information including Time 
and Attendance, Leave Record, Salary, Deductions, Beneficiaries, 
Insurance and Retirement Information.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Record source are from users of the three systems.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    1. Congress: VA may disclose information to a Member of Congress or 
staff acting upon the Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests 
the information on behalf of, and at the request of, the individual who 
is the subject of the record.
    2. Data breach response and remediation, for VA: VA may disclose 
information to appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) VA 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records, (2) VA has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, VA (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal 
Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such 
agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in 
connection with VA's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed 
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    3. Data breach response and remediation, for another Federal 
agency: VA may disclose information 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.
    4. Law Enforcement: VA may disclose information that, either alone 
or in conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or 
potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal, or regulatory in 
nature, to a Federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, or foreign law 
enforcement authority or other appropriate entity charged with the 
responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or 
charged with enforcing or implementing such law. The disclosure of the 
names and addresses of veterans and their dependents from VA records 
under this routine use must also comply with the provisions of 38 
U.S.C. 5701 Confidential nature of claims.
    5. DoJ for Litigation or Administrative Proceeding: VA may disclose 
information to the Department of Justice (DoJ), or in a proceeding 
before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body before 
which VA is authorized to appear, when:
    (a) VA or any component thereof;
    (b) Any VA employee in his or her official capacity;
    (c) Any VA employee in his or her individual capacity where DoJ has 
agreed to represent the employee; or
    (d) The United States, where VA determines that litigation is 
likely to affect the agency or any of its components,
    6. Contractors: VA may disclose information to contractors, 
grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or 
working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other 
assignment for VA, when reasonably necessary to accomplish an agency 
function related to the records.
    7. OPM: VA may disclose information to the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM) in connection with the application or effect of civil 
service laws, rules, regulations, or OPM guidelines in particular 
situations.
    8. EEOC: VA may disclose information to the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) 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.
    9. FLRA: VA may disclose information to the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority (FLRA) in connection with: the investigation and resolution 
of allegations of unfair labor practices, the resolution of exceptions 
to arbitration awards when a question of material fact is raised; 
matters before the Federal Service Impasses Panel; and the 
investigation of representation petitions and the conduct or 
supervision of representation elections.
    10. MSPB: VA may disclose information to the Merit Systems 
Protection Board (MSPB) and the Office of the Special Counsel 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.
    11. NARA: VA may disclose information to NARA in records management 
inspections conducted under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906, or other functions 
authorized by laws and policies governing NARA operations and VA 
records management responsibilities.
    12. Treasury, for Withholding VA may disclose information 
concerning an individual's indebtedness by virtue of a person's 
participation in a benefits program administered by VA, to the 
Department of the Treasury for the collection of Title 38 benefit 
overpayments, overdue indebtedness, or costs of services provided to an 
individual not entitled to such services, by the withholding of all or 
a portion of the person's Federal income tax refund.
    13. Treasury, to Report Waived Debt as Income VA may disclose 
information

[[Page 63686]]

concerning an individual's indebtedness that is waived under 38 U.S.C. 
3102, compromised under 4 CFR part 103, otherwise forgiven, or for 
which the applicable statute of limitations for enforcing collection 
has expired, to the Department of the Treasury as a report of income 
under 26 U.S.C. 61(a)(12).
    14. Treasury, to Report Earnings as Income VA may disclose 
information to the Department of the Treasury to report calendar year 
earnings of $600 or more for income tax reporting purposes.
    15. Treasury, for Payment or Reimbursement VA may disclose 
information to the Department of the Treasury to facilitate payments to 
physicians, clinics, and pharmacies for reimbursement of services 
rendered or to veterans for reimbursement of authorized expenses, as 
well as to collect, by set off or otherwise, debts owed the United 
States.
    16. Unions VA may disclose information identified in 5 U.S.C. 
7114(b)(4) to officials of labor organizations recognized under 5 
U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant and necessary to their duties of 
exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, practices, and 
matters affecting working conditions.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    The systems on this SORN retains data readily available for a 
period of 6 years.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    These records may be retrieved using various combinations of name, 
social security number, employee identification number, ticket number, 
or by employee user ID.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    In accordance with General Records Schedule 1.1, Item #10, records 
are destroyed 6 years after final payment or cancellation, but longer 
retention is authorized for business use.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Access to these records is restricted to authorized VA employees or 
contractors, on a ``need to know'' basis. Offices where these records 
are maintained are locked after working hours and are protected from 
outside access by the Federal Protective Service, other security 
officers, and alarm systems. Access to computerized records is 
restricted to authorized VA employees or contractors, by means of 
unique user identification and passwords.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking information concerning the existence of a 
record must submit a written request to the current or the last VA 
payroll office that the employee worked. Such requests must contain a 
reasonable description of the records requested. In addition, 
identification of the individual requesting the information will be 
required in the written request and will consist of the requester's 
name, signature, and address, as a minimum.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals contesting accuracy of the record should contact their 
current or their last VA Payroll Office.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Payroll Field Support Branch [email protected].

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    There is no category of records in this system that has been 
identified as exempt from any section of the Privacy Act.

HISTORY:
    Not applicable.

[FR Doc. 2023-20051 Filed 9-14-23; 8:45 am]
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