Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, 79688-79692 [2024-22310]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 189 (Monday, September 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79688-79692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22310]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2023-0099]


Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Office of the Departmental Chief Information Officer, Office of 
the Secretary of Transportation, DOT.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the United States 
Department of Transportation (DOT) intends to rename, update, and 
reissue an existing system of records notice currently titled ``DOT/ALL 
24 Departmental Office of Civil Rights (DOCR) System.'' This Notice is 
necessary for DOT records that are not covered by the Government-wide 
System of Records Notices (SORNs) for the Office of Personnel 
Management (OPM/GOVT-1) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
(EEOC/GOVT-1). OPM/GOVT-1 covers general personnel records pertaining 
to Federal employees. The EEOC/GOVT-1 covers equal employment 
opportunity records pertaining to claims by Federal employees and 
applicants for Federal employment who allege they have been 
discriminated against by a Federal agency under title VII of the Civil 
Act of 1964, as amended; section 15 of the Age Discrimination in 
Employment Act, section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as 
amended; and the Equal Pay Act. The DOT system known as the DOCR 
General Support System (GSS)

[[Page 79689]]

covers Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) appeal records and 
includes correspondence, inquiries, complaints, and appeals filed by 
individuals, small businesses, or representatives of individuals or 
small businesses who believe they have been subjected to prohibited 
discrimination or retaliation by a DOT federally assisted or federally 
conducted program or activity. Modification to DOT/ALL 24 is necessary 
due to updates, consolidation and processes used to manage the records 
in the system.

DATES: Submit comments on or before October 30, 2024. The Department 
may publish an amended Systems of Records Notice considering any 
comments received. This modified system will be effective immediately 
upon publication. The routine uses will be effective October 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You submit comments, identified by docket number DOT-OST-
2023-0099 by any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Department of Transportation Docket Management, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Office of the Secretary/Docket Operations, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave. SE, Suite W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251
     Instructions: You must include the agency name and docket 
number DOT-OST-2023-0099. All comments received will be posted with 
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information period. You may review the Department of Transportation'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.
    Privacy Act: Anyone can 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 DOT's 
complete Privacy Act statement in the Federal Register published on 
November 16, 2011 (76 FR 71108-71111), or you may visit https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket and any of its associated 
background information or comments, go to https://www.regulations.gov 
and follow the online instructions. You may also contact a Privacy Act 
Representative at the street address listed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions contact Karyn Gorman, 
Departmental Chief Privacy Officer, Department of Transportation, S-83, 
Washington, DC 20590, Email: [email protected], Tel. (202) 366-2140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice Updates

    This notice updates the following categories: system name, system 
location, system manager(s) address, authorities for the maintenance of 
the system, the purpose, categories of individuals and categories of 
records, the record source, and routine uses of records maintained in 
the system, policies and practices for retention and disposal of 
records, administrative, technical and physical safeguards, and the 
records access procedures. The updates are substantive changes or 
amended to better clarify content in the previously published Notice.
    Updates include editorial changes to simplify and clarify language, 
formatting, and text of the previously published Notice to align with 
the requirements of the Office of Management and Budget Memoranda (OMB) 
A-108 and to ensure consistency with other Notices issues by the 
department of Transportation.

Background

    In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the 
Department of Transportation proposes to modify and reissue a 
Department of Transportation system of records notice titled ``DOT/ALL 
24 Departmental Office of Civil Rights System''. This notice covers the 
business processes used to protect records under the Privacy Act of 
1974, Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the 
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended the Age 
Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, section 504 of the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the American with Disability 
Act of 1990; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, 
and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. The system 
is also used to document, investigate, and respond to complaints and 
inquires related to DBE business cases and appeals. In addition, the 
system is used to document, track, investigate, and respond to civil 
rights complaints to ensure compliance with applicable laws and 
regulations.
    DOT is updating this SORN to make the following substantive 
changes:
    1. System Name: Updated to ``DOT/ALL 24 Departmental Office of 
Civil Rights Records''.
    2. System Location: Is being updated to reflect a change in cloud 
server. The previous cloud server was Micropact and is now Entellitrak 
hosted and maintained by Tyler Technologies, Inc.
    3. Authorities: Are updated to include 49 CFR parts 23 and 26 to 
ensure disadvantaged business enterprise airport concessions are 
covered. The previous system or records did not include the additional 
authorities.
    4. Purpose: Is updated to clarify how the data is used in the 
system under Civil Rights laws and regulations and for Disadvantage 
Business Enterprise and appeals.
    5. Categories of individuals: Updated to better clarify the types 
of individuals covered in this system or records.
    6. Categories of Records: Is updated to clarify and include 
information on additional type of records collected in the system such 
as complaints received from DOT employees, contractors, and the public.
    7. Records Source Categories: Is updated to better identify the 
sources of information collected in the system for the purpose outlined 
in this notice.
    8. Routine Uses: This notice modifies the routine uses by adding 
and updating the specific DOT General Blanket Routine Uses that apply 
specially to this system.
    9. Retention and Disposal: This notice updates the policies and 
practices for retention and disposal of the records section to include 
a proposed records retention and disposition schedule.
    10. Administrative, Technical, and Physical Safeguards: Are updated 
to better clarify the administrative, technical and safeguards of the 
records in the system.
    11. Records Access: Updated to ensure individuals seeking copies of 
their records in the system submit and include the appropriate 
information to verify and obtain a copy of their records.

Privacy Act

    The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) governs how the Federal Government 
collects, maintains, and uses personally identifiable information (PII) 
in a System of Records. A ``System of Records'' is a group of any 
records under the control of a Federal agency from which information 
about individuals is retrieved by name or other personal identifier. 
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal Register 
a System of Records notice (SORN) identifying and describing each 
System of Record the agency maintains, including the

[[Page 79690]]

purposes for which the agency uses PII in the system, the routine uses 
for which the agency discloses such information outside the agency, and 
how individuals to whom a Privacy Act record pertains can exercise 
their rights under the Privacy Act (e.g., to determine if the system 
contains information about them and to contest inaccurate information). 
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), a report on the establishment of 
this System of Records has been sent to Congress and to the Office of 
Management and Budget.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Department of Transportation, DOT/ALL 24 Departmental Office of 
Civil Rights Records.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Sensitive, Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are maintained by the DOT Departmental Office of Civil 
Rights, and DOT component civil rights offices. The Entellitrak system 
is hosted and maintained on a cloud server by Tyler Technologies, Inc, 
headquartered in 12901 Worldgate Drive, Suite 800, Herndon, Virginia 
20170. The system owner is the Departmental Office of Civil Rights 
(DOCR), S-30, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue W78 SE, Washington, DC 20590.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Associate Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights (DOCR), 
1200 New Jersey Ave., Suite W78-340, Washington, DC 20590.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Executive Order 13160, 42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq., 42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
seq., 42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.; 29 U.S.C. 794; 49 U.S.C. 47113; 49 CFR 
parts 23 and 26.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    DOT Civil Rights personnel use the contact information, 
identification information, and descriptive details to document, 
investigate, and respond to civil rights complaints, inquiries, and 
Disadvantage Business Enterprise (DBE) appeals. Information in the 
system is also used to conduct reviews of Federally funded recipients 
to assess their compliance with civil rights laws. Appeals received 
from firm's are processed in the system that have been denied DBE 
certification or firms who are no longer eligible to participate in the 
DBE program. The process involves creating a profile for the firm. 
After a profile is created, letters are generated acknowledging that an 
appeal was received from the firm and notifying recipients that the 
firm has appealed. Letters are sent to recipients requesting the 
complete administrative record that was used to deny/decertify the 
firm.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Members of the public who have submitted inquiries, complaints, or 
appeals to DOT, alleging discrimination by DOT or by third parties 
pertaining to DOT Federally assisted or DOT Federally conducted 
programs or activities. DOT employees filing complaints pursuant to 
sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; and 
individuals who are the subjects of external civil rights inquiries, 
complaints, and appeals; and witnesses who are interviewed concerning 
same.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Personal contact information for individual complainants, complaint 
subjects, DBE appellants, and/or witnesses who are involved in 
particular discrimination claims, such as name, home address, email 
address, and home telephone number; Identification information and 
descriptive details about individual complainants, such as the last 
four digits of the complainant's Social Security Number, date of birth, 
race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age (40 or over), medical/
disability documentation, sexual orientation, parental status, and/or 
genetic information; and complaints from the public regarding alleged 
discrimination by recipients and prime contractors. Additional records 
include records of civil rights discrimination inquiries, complaints, 
and appeals received from DOT employees and members of the public; 
including DOT employees, small businesses or representatives of these 
groups; records compiled during the investigation of the complaints and 
appeals; and records of responsive actions taken by DOT, including 
complaint information, statements, exhibits, reports and 
correspondence; records concerning certification appeals by 
disadvantaged business enterprises, including business name, contact 
information, and name of business owners.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    DOT employees, DBE firms, state and local recipients, and the 
general public.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records of 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside of DOT as 
a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3), as follows:
    System Specific Routine Uses:
    To the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), including United 
States Attorney's Offices, or other Federal agency conducting 
litigation or in proceedings before any court, adjudicative or 
administrative body, when it is necessary to the litigation and one of 
the following is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such 
litigation:
    1. DOT or any component thereof;
    2. Any employee of DOT in his/her official capacity;
    3. Any employee of DOT in his/her individual capacity where the DOJ 
or DOT has agreed to represent the employee; or
    4. The United States, or any agency thereof, is a party to the 
litigation or has an interest in such litigation and DOT determines 
that the records are both necessary and relevant to the litigation and 
the use of such records is compatible with the purpose for which DOT 
collected the records.
    5. To recipients of Federal financial assistance, witnesses, or 
consultants if necessary to assist DOCR in resolving civil rights 
complaint(s) or in obtaining additional information or expert advice 
relevant to the investigation of a civil rights complaint.
    6. To an adjudicative body before which DOT or one of its 
components is authorized to appear or to an individual or entity 
designated by the DOT or otherwise empowered to resolve or mediate 
disputes to the extent that the disclosure is necessary and relevant to 
the litigation or alternative dispute resolution (ADR).
    7. To a party, counsel, representative or witness in a litigation 
or ADR if relevant and necessary to the litigation or ADR.
    Department Routine Uses:
    8. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that 
congressional office made at the request of the individual to whom the 
record pertains.
    9. One or more records from a system of records may be disclosed 
routinely to the National Archives and Records Administration in 
records management inspections being conducted under the authority of 
44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    10. DOT may disclose records from this 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

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assignment for DOT, when necessary to accomplish an agency function 
related to this system of records.
    11. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) DOT 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (2) DOT has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, DOT (including 
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal (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 breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such 
harm.
    12. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when DOT 
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.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records are maintained in an electronic database and in paper 
files. Certain records are maintained only in paper files, for example, 
financial documents, photographs, and audio recordings.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by the complainant's, inquirers, or DBE 
appellant's name or case number, address, telephone number, or email 
address.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records will be held in accordance with the following records 
schedules: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Division Appeals--DAA-
0398-2019-0008-0001, Temporary, Destroy/delete 6 years after cutoff 
date unless needed longer for business use. Affirmed Denials/De-
certifications, DAA-0398-2019-0008-0002, Temporary, Destroy/delete 6 
years after cutoff date unless needed longer for business use. Remand 
or Reversed Denials/De-certifications, DAA-0398-2019-0008-0003, 
Temporary, Destroy/delete 6 years after cutoff date unless needed 
longer for business use. Untimely Appeals, DAA-0398-2019-0008-0004, 
Temporary, Destroy/delete 6 years after cutoff date unless needed 
longer for business use. Challenged Appeals, DAA-0398-2019-0008-0005, 
Temporary, Destroy/delete 6 years after cutoff date unless needed 
longer for business use. iComplaints records are maintained in 
accordance General Record Schedule 2.3, Employee Relations Records, EEO 
discrimination complaint case files; Item 110: DAA-GRS-2018-0002-0012, 
Informal Process: Temporary. Destroy 3 years after resolution of case, 
but longer retention is authorized if required for business use. Item 
111, DAA-GRS-2018-0002-0013, Informal Process: Temporary. Destroy 7 
years after resolution of case, but longer retention.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Electronic files are stored in secure, password-protected 
databases. Records made part of the appeal are kept in a secure 
electronic folder and access is limited to those who have a need to 
know in accordance with their official duties. Users must sign a Rules 
of Behavior document prior to being granted access to the electronic 
systems. Users are required to complete the DOT Cybersecurity Awareness 
training annually. Any paper files and system-generated reports 
containing PII are labeled as containing PII and are stored in locked 
file cabinets and/or in a locked file room. Files are only accessed by 
the system administrator, authorized Civil Rights personnel in DOCR, 
and in each DOT component on a need to-know basis.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking notification of whether this system of records 
contains information about them should address written inquiries to the 
System Manager at the address identified in ``System Manager and 
Address'' above. If an individual believes more than one component 
maintains Privacy Act records concerning him or her, the individual may 
submit the request to the Departmental Freedom of Information Act 
Office, U.S. Department of Transportation, Room W94-122, 1200 New 
Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590, ATTN: FOIA/Privacy Act request. 
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or any 
other departmental system of records your request must conform with the 
Privacy 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 and include the following:
    If executed outside the United States: ``I declare (or certify, 
verify, or state) under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United 
States of America that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 
(date). (Signature).'' If executed within the United States, its 
territories, possessions, or commonwealths: ``I declare (or certify, 
verify, or state) under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true 
and correct. Executed on (date). (Signature).''
    While no specific form is required, you may obtain forms for this 
purpose from the Chief Freedom of Information Act Officer, https://www.transportation.gov/foia or 202.366.4542. In addition, 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 and include the system ID and name of this system of records 
notice;
     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 ``Records Access Procedures'' above.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    See ``Records Access Procedures'' above.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    Pursuant to subsection (k)(2) of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), 
because this system will contain investigatory material compiled for 
law enforcement purposes, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is 
pending to revise DOT's Privacy Act regulations (49 CFR part 10, 
Appendix, part II) to exempt this system from the requirements of the 
following Privacy Act subsections, for the reasons stated in the 
proposed revision: (c)(3) (Accounting of Certain Disclosures), (d)

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(Access to Records), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I) (Agency Requirements), and 
(f) (Agency Rules) to the extent that DOCRS contains investigatory 
material compiled for law enforcement purposes.

HISTORY:
    A full notice of this system of records, DOT/ALL 24--Departmental 
Office of Civil Rights System, was published in the Federal Register on 
November 16, 2011(76 FR 71108)

    Issued in Washington, DC.
Karyn Gorman,
Departmental Chief Privacy Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-22310 Filed 9-27-24; 8:45 am]
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