Effective 09/08/94 (59 FR 46439)

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION NOTICE OF SYSTEM OF RECORDS REQUIRED BY THE PRIVACY ACT OF 1974
60-0031

System name: Employee Production and Accuracy Records, SSA/OPE.

Security classification:

None.

System location:

Operating offices of the SSA at the organizational level of the individual's employment.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:

Current employees of SSA.

Categories of records in the system:

Work measurement records with the following items: employee name; grade; name; production data (monthly, weekly, daily) and accuracy data and representative work products; backlog information; error ratio; processing time data; operating and production control codes; and leave usage.

Authority for maintenance of the system:

5 U.S.C. 301.

Purpose(s):

Information in this system of records is used by SSA management for manpower planning and production control (to identify backlogs and systems and procedure problems, manpower utilization, budget estimations appraisals of employees).

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 a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that office made at the request of the subject of a record.
  2. To DOJ, a court or other tribunal, or another party before such tribunal when:

    is a party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and SSA determines that the use of such records by DOJ, the court or other 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.

    Wage and other information which are subject to the disclosure provisions of the IRC (26 U.S.C. 6103) will not be disclosed under this routine use unless disclosure is expressly permitted by the IRC.

  3. To the appropriate Federal, State, or local agency charged with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting a violation or potential violation of law, whether by general statute, or particular program statute, or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, if this system of records indicates that a violation may have occurred.
  4. To DOJ to obtain its advice if SSA deems it desirable or necessary in determining whether particular records from this system are required to be disclosed under the FOIA.
  5. To Federal agencies who have the power to subpoena other Federal agencies' records upon receipt of a subpoena to SSA.
  6. Where a contract between SSA and a labor organization recognized under Executive Order 11491 provides that SSA will disclose personal records relevant to the organization's mission.
  7. Where the appropriate official of SSA pursuant to HHS' Freedom of Information Regulation, determines that it is in the public interest to disclose a record which is otherwise exempt from mandatory disclosure.
  8. To a contractor for the purpose of collating, analyzing, aggregating, or otherwise refining records in this system when SSA contracts with a private firm.
  9. Information may be disclosed to contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for the purpose of assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its programs. We contemplate disclosing information under this routine use only in situations in which SSA may enter into a contractual or similar agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency function relating to this system of records.
  10. Nontax return information which is not restricted from disclosure by Federal law may be disclosed to GSA and NARA for the purpose of conducting records management studies with respect to their duties and responsibilities under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906, as amended by the NARA Act of 1984.
  11. To student volunteers and other workers, who technically do not have the status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for SSA as authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable information in SSA records in order to perform their assigned Agency functions.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:

Records are maintained on paper forms, punch cards, magnetic tapes, or computer storage equipment.

Retrievability:

Records are indexed and retrieved alphabetically by name and numerically in SSN or clerk number sequence.

Safeguards:

System security for automated records have been established in accordance with the Systems Security Handbook. This includes maintaining the records in secured areas attended by security guards. Safeguards also include the use of a lock/unlock password system; exclusive use of leased telephone lines; a terminal-oriented transaction matrix, and an audit trail.

Access to records in this system is limited to authorized personnel who have a need for them in the performance of their official duties. All employees are briefed periodically on PA requirements and SSA confidentially rules, including the criminal sanctions for unauthorized disclosure of or access to personal records. (See Appendix G to this publication for additional information relating to safeguards SSA employs to protect personal information.)

Retention and disposal:

Records are kept for 2 years and destroyed. Paper records are disposed of by either burning or shredding. Magnetic tape records and computer stored records are erased or deleted when no longer needed.

System manager(s) and address:

Associate Commissioner, Office of Personnel, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235

Notification procedure:

An individual can determine if this system contains a record about him/her by contacting his/her immediate supervisor and providing information necessary to identify the record being sought (e.g., name and SSN). (Furnishing the SSN is voluntary, but it will make searching for an individual's record easier and avoid delay.)

An individual requesting notification of records in person need not furnish any special documents of identity. Documents he/she would normally carry on his/her person would be sufficient (e.g., credit cards, driver's license, or voter registration card). An individual requesting notification via mail or telephone must furnish a minimum of his/her name, date of birth, and address in order to establish identity, plus any additional information specified in this section. These procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record access procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Also, requesters should reasonably specify the records contents they are seeking. These access procedures are in accordance with HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Contesting record procedures:

Same as notification procedures. Also, requesters should reasonably identify the record, specify the information they are contesting and state 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 HHS Regulations 45 CFR Part 5b.

Record source categories:

Records are obtained from employees or their supervisors, control personnel or timekeepers.

Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:

None

Privacy Policy