Effective Date: January 11, 2006
(71 F.R. 1861)
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY
THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
SYSTEM NUMBER: 60-0241
System name:
Employee
Suggestion Program Records, Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner
for Human Resources, Office of Personnel, Center for Employee Services.
Security classification:
None.
System Location:
Social Security Administration
Office of Human Resources
Office of Personnel
Center for Employee Services
Central Suggestion Team
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Individuals
who have made suggestions in the Social Security Administration (SSA); and/or
suggestions made by individuals in other Federal agencies requiring an SSA
evaluation.
Categories of records in the system:
Suggestions, evaluations of suggestions,
name and address of individual submitting suggestions and evaluating the
suggestions, other identifying information such as pay plan and grade, position
title, Social Security number (SSN), timekeeper number and telephone number.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
5
U.S.C. 4501 et seq.
Purpose(s):
Records in this
system are used to control, evaluate, and make award determinations on employee
suggestions. The Central Suggestion Team maintains these records in SSA's Office of Personnel.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories
of users and the purposes of such uses:
Disclosure may be made for routine uses as
indicated below:
1. To the Office of Personnel Management
information related to a suggestion award when approval from that office is
needed in order to grant an award.
2. To a congressional office in response to
an inquiry from that office made at the request of the subject of a record.
3. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a
court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal, when:
(a) The Social Security Administration (SSA),
or any component thereof; or
(b) Any SSA employee in his/her official
capacity; or
(c) Any SSA employee in his/her individual
capacity where DOJ (or SSA, where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to
represent the employee; or
(d) The United States or any agency thereof
where SSA determines that the litigation is likely to affect SSA or any of its
components, is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation,
and SSA determines that the use of such records by DOJ, a court or other
tribunal, or another
party before the tribunal, is relevant and necessary to the litigation,
provided, however, that in each case, SSA determines that such disclosure is
compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
4. To student volunteers, individuals
working under a personal services contract, and other workers who technically
do not have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for
the Social Security Administration (SSA), as authorized by law, and they need
access to personally identifiable information in SSA records in order to
perform their assigned Agency functions.
5. To the General Services Administration
and the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) under 44 U.S.C. 2904
and 2906, as amended by the NARA Act of 1984, information which is not
restricted from disclosure by Federal law for the use of those agencies in
conducting records management studies.
6. We
may disclose information to appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies,
entities, and persons when (1) we suspect or confirm that the security or
confidentiality of information in this system of records has been compromised;
(2) we determine 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 of SSA that rely upon the compromised information; and (3) we
determine that disclosing the information to such agencies, entities, and
persons is necessary to assist in our efforts to respond to the suspected or
confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm. SSA will use
this routine use to respond only to those incidents involving an unintentional
release of its records.
Policies and practices for storing, accessing, retaining, and disposing
of records in the system:
Storage:
The records are
maintained in paper form (e.g., file folders) in locked file cabinets and in an
electronic system on a server housed in the
Retrievability:
The records are
retrieved by suggestion number or by the name of the employee.
Safeguards:
Access is
restricted to authorized staff and evaluators. Component evaluators are given a
copy of suggestions. Access http://www.socialsecurity.gov/foia/bluebook/app_g.htm for additional
information relating to SSA data security measures.
Retention and disposal:
After final action to make or deny an
award, suggestion records are maintained for two more years and then destroyed.
System manager(s) and address(es):
Director
Center for Employee Services
Office of Personnel
Office of Human Resources
Social
Security Administration
Notification procedures:
An individual can determine if this system
contains a record about him/her by writing to the system manager(s) at the
above address and providing his/her name, SSN or other information that may be
in the system of records that will identify him/her. An individual requesting
notification of records in person should provide the same information, as well
as provide an identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a
driver's license or some other means of identification. If an individual does
not have any identification documents sufficient to establish his/her identity,
the individual must certify in writing that he/she is the person claimed to be
and that he/she understands that the knowing and willful request for, or
acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false pretenses
is a criminal offense.
If notification is requested by telephone,
an individual must verify his/her identity by providing identifying information
that parallels information in the record to which notification is being
requested. If it is determined that the identifying
information provided by telephone is insufficient, the individual will be
required to submit a request in writing or in person. If an individual
is requesting information by telephone on behalf of another individual, the
subject individual must be connected with SSA and the requesting individual in
the same phone call. SSA will establish the subject individual's identity
(his/her name, SSN, address, date of birth and place of birth, along with one
other piece of information, such as mother's maiden name) and ask for his/her
consent in providing information to the requesting individual.
If a request for notification is submitted
by mail, an individual must include a notarized statement to SSA to verify
his/her identity or must certify in the request that he/she is the person
claimed to be and that he/she understands that the knowing and willful request
for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to another individual under false
pretenses is a criminal offense. These procedures are in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Record access procedure:
Same
as Notification procedures. Requesters should also reasonably specify
the record contents being sought. These procedures are in accordance with SSA
Regulations (20 CFR 401.40(c)).
Contesting record procedures:
Same
as Notification procedures. Also, requester should reasonably identify
the record, specify the information they are contesting and the corrective
action sought, and the reasons for the correction, with supporting
justification showing how the record is incomplete, untimely, inaccurate or
irrelevant. These procedures are in accordance with SSA Regulations (20 CFR
401.65(a)).
Record source categories:
Incoming
suggestion, responses, evaluations and other material obtained during course of
deciding to make an award.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
None.