§ 297.105 - Agency and Office responsibilities for systems of records and applicability of the regulations.

§ 297.105 Agency and Office responsibilities for systems of records and applicability of the regulations.

(a) These regulations apply to processing requests from both current and former Office employees for records contained in internal, central, and Governmentwide systems of records managed by the Office.

(b) Agencies are solely and totally responsible for processing requests regarding records maintained in their internal systems of records. Agency regulations, and not these Office regulations, govern the implementation of the Privacy Act for agency internal systems; there is no right of appeal to the Office from an agency's determination regarding its internal agency records.

(c) For records maintained in the Office's central systems of records, the data subject should contact the appropriate Office system manager concerning Privacy Act matters. These regulations will apply to inquiries regarding records located in the central systems of records.

(d) For records maintained within the Office's Governmentwide systems of records, each agency is responsible, unless specifically excepted by the Office, for responding to initial Privacy Act access and amendment requests from its own current employees. For records in Office Governmentwide systems, including those in Official Personnel Folders, Employee Performance Folders, and Employee Medical Folders, the Office is responsible for responding to initial Privacy Act access and amendment requests from former Federal employees.

(e) The procedures in this part apply to all such requests. The procedures in this part also apply to appeals from an agency initial determination regarding access to or amendment of records contained in the Office's Governmentwide systems of records.

(f) The Office follows the procedures in this part when -

(1) Processing initial requests regarding access to or amendment of records by its own employees and others that the Office is maintaining information on in its systems of records, including requests from former employees of an agency whose records properly reside in an Office Governmentwide system of records.

(2) Processing Privacy Act appeals regarding access to and amendment of records generated by another Federal agency, but which are contained in the Office's Governmentwide systems of records, after an agency has issued the initial decision.

(3) Processing initial requests and appeals concerning access to and amendment of records contained in the central systems of records.

(g) For requests concerning records and material of another agency that are in the custody of the Office, but not under its control or ownership, the Office reserves the right to either refer the request to the agency primarily responsible for the material or to notify the individual of the proper agency that should be contacted.