Department of Agriculture November 9, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-108, this notice is a new Privacy Act System of Records titled USDA/OSEC-02 Contractor and Visitor Public Health Emergency Records, which include information on contractor employees who work in, as well as visitors to, Department of Agriculture (USDA) facilities during declared public health emergencies. The system contains information provided by the contractor's employees including such information as their applicable vaccination or medical countermeasure status and whether they are experiencing symptoms associated with the public health emergency. Each contractor with employees who will work in USDA facilities (regardless of whether the contract is with USDA or another Federal agency) will be asked to confirm if its employees have been vaccinated or have received appropriate medical countermeasures, in addition, the contractor will be required to ensure that its employees follow the guidelines specified for working in USDA facilities, for example, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, not fully vaccinated employees are required to wear masks and maintain physical distancing. Visitors to USDA facilities will also be asked to provide information about their vaccination or medical countermeasure status and may be asked to provide proof of their status and information about whether they are experiencing any symptoms associated with the public health emergency.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently approved information collection, the Generic Clearance for Survey Research Studies. Burden hours and number of contacts will be increased to accommodate the proposed testing for the upcoming three year period.