2016-10501. Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended

AGENCY:

Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION:

Notice of a Revised Privacy Act System of Records.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, hereinto referred to as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), gives notice of the establishment of a revised Privacy Act System of Records.

DATES:

Comments must be received no later than June 6, 2016. The new system of records will be effective June 14, 2016, unless the comments received result in a contrary determination.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by the title and docket number (see above), by any of the following methods:

• Electronic: [e-mail] or http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Claire Stapleton, Chief Privacy Officer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Claire Stapleton, Chief Privacy Officer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002.

Comments will be available for public inspection and copying at 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002 on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make an appointment to inspect comments by telephoning [phone]. All comments, including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or social security numbers, should not be included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Claire Stapleton, Chief Privacy Officer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The CFPB revises its Privacy Act System of Records Notice (SORN) “CFPB.009—Employee Administrative Records System.” As part of an annual review of this System of Records, the CFPB modifies the purpose(s) for which the system is maintained to clarify that the information in the system will be used for personnel actions and for administrative purposes to ensure quality control, performance, and improving management processes; the categories of individuals for the system to include applicants and detailees to the CFPB; and the record source categories for the system to include individuals who have applied for a position with the CFPB and to clarify the use for human resource functions.

The report of the revised system of records has been submitted to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Office of Management and Budget, pursuant to Appendix I to OMB Circular A-130, “Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals,” dated November 30, 2000,^[1] and the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(r). The revised system of records entitled “CFPB.009—Employee Administrative Records System” is published in its entirety below.

Dated: April 28, 2016.

Claire Stapleton,

Chief Privacy Officer, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

CFPB.009

SYSTEM NAME:

Employee Administrative Records System

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Current and former CFPB employees, volunteers, detailees, applicants, and persons who work at the CFPB (collectively “employees”), and their named dependents and/or beneficiaries, their named emergency contacts, and individuals who have been extended offers of employment.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Records in this system may contain identifiable information about individuals including, without limitation: (1) Identification and contact information, including name, address, email address, phone number and other contact information; (2) employee emergency contact information, including name, phone number, relationship to employee or emergency contact; (3) Social Security number (SSN), employee ID number, organization code, pay rate, salary, grade, length of service, and other related pay and leave records including payroll data; (4) biographic and demographic data, including date of birth and marital or domestic partnership status; (5) employment-related information such as performance reports, training, professional licenses, certification, and memberships information, fitness center membership information, union dues, employee claims for loss or damage to personal property, and other information related to employment by the CFPB; (6) benefits data, such as health, life, travel, and disability insurance information; and (7) retirement benefits information and flexible spending account information.

General personnel and administrative records contained in this system are covered under the government-wide systems of records notice published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM/GOVT-1). This system complements OPM/GOVT-1 and this notice incorporates by reference but does not repeat all of the information contained in OPM/GOVT-1.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

12 U.S.C. 5492-93, 5511; 31 U.S.C. 3721.

PURPOSE(S):

The information in the system is being collected to enable the CFPB to manage and administer human capital functions, including personnel actions, payroll, time and attendance, leave, insurance, tax, retirement and other benefits, and employee claims for loss or damage to personal property; and to prepare related reports to other federal agencies. The information will also be used for administrative purposes to ensure quality control, performance, and improving management processes.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

These records may be disclosed, consistent with the CFPB's Disclosure of Records and Information Rules, promulgated at 12 CFR 1070 et seq., to:

(1) Appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when: (a) The CFPB suspects or has confirmed that the security or confidentiality of information in the system of records has been compromised; (b) the CFPB has determined 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 (whether maintained by the CFPB or another agency or entity) that rely upon the compromised information; and (c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the CFPB's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed compromise and prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm;

(2) Another federal or state agency to (a) permit a decision as to access, amendment or correction of records to be made in consultation with or by that agency, or (b) verify the identity of an individual or the accuracy of information submitted by an individual who has requested access to or amendment or correction of records;

(3) The Office of the President in response to an inquiry from that office made at the request of the subject of a record or a third party on that person's behalf;

(4) Congressional offices in response to an inquiry made at the request of the individual to whom the record pertains;

(5) Contractors, agents, or other authorized individuals performing work on a contract, service, cooperative agreement, job, or other activity on behalf of the CFPB or Federal Government and who have a need to access the information in the performance of their duties or activities;

(6) The DOJ for its use in providing legal advice to the CFPB or in representing the CFPB in a proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body, where the use of such information by the DOJ is deemed by the CFPB to be relevant and necessary to the advice or proceeding, and such proceeding names as a party in interest:

(a) The CFPB;

(b) Any employee of the CFPB in his or her official capacity;

(c) Any employee of the CFPB in his or her individual capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or

(d) The United States, where the CFPB determines that litigation is likely to affect the CFPB or any of its components;

(7) A grand jury pursuant either to a federal or state grand jury subpoena, or to a prosecution request that such record be released for the purpose of its introduction to a grand jury, where the subpoena or request has been specifically approved by a court. In those cases where the Federal Government is not a party to the proceeding, records may be disclosed if a subpoena has been signed by a judge;

(8) A court, magistrate, or administrative tribunal in the course of an administrative proceeding or judicial proceeding, including disclosures to opposing counsel or witnesses (including expert witnesses) in the course of discovery or other pre-hearing exchanges of information, litigation, or settlement negotiations, where relevant or potentially relevant to a proceeding, or in connection with criminal law proceedings;

(9) Appropriate agencies, entities, and persons to the extent necessary to obtain information relevant to current and former CFPB employees' benefits, compensation, and employment;

(10) Appropriate federal, state, local, foreign, tribal, or self-regulatory organizations or agencies responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, implementing, issuing, or carrying out a statute, rule, regulation, order, policy, or license if the information may be relevant to a potential violation of civil or criminal law, rule, regulation, order, policy, or license;

(11) National, state or local income security and retirement agencies or entities involved in administration of employee retirement and benefits programs (e.g., state unemployment compensation agencies and state pension plans) and any of such agencies' contractors or plan administrators, when necessary to determine employee eligibility to participate in retirement or employee benefits programs, process employee participation in those programs, process claims with respect to individual employee participation in those programs, audit benefits paid under those programs, or perform any other administrative function in connection with those programs;

(12) An executor of the estate of a current or former employee, a government entity probating the will of a current or former employee, a designated beneficiary of a current or former employee, or any person who is responsible for the care of a current or former employee, where the employee has died, has been declared mentally incompetent, or is under other legal disability, to the extent necessary to assist in obtaining any employment benefit or working condition for the current or former employee;

(13) The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other governmental entities that are authorized to tax employees' compensation with wage and tax information in accordance with a withholding agreement with the CFPB pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 5516, 5517, and 5520, for the purpose of furnishing employees with IRS Forms W-2 that report such tax distributions;

(14) Unions recognized as exclusive bargaining representatives under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 7111, 7114; and

(15) Carriers, providers and other federal agencies involved in administration of employee retirement and benefits programs and such agencies' contractors or plan administrators, when necessary to determine employee eligibility to participate in retirement and benefits programs, process employee participation in those programs, process claims with respect to individual employee participation in those programs, audit benefits paid under those programs, or perform any other administrative function in connection with those programs and federal agencies that perform payroll and personnel processing and employee retirement and benefits plan services under interagency agreements or contracts, including the issuance of paychecks to employees, the distribution of wages, the administration of deductions from paychecks for retirement and benefits programs, and the distribution and receipt of those deductions. These agencies include, without limitation, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, the Department of Defense, OPM, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Department of the Treasury, and the National Finance Center at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

Paper and electronic records.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Records are retrievable by a variety of fields including, without limitation, the individual's name, SSN, address, account number, transaction number, phone number, date of birth, or by some combination thereof.

SAFEGUARDS:

Access to electronic records is restricted to authorized personnel who have been issued non-transferrable access codes and passwords. Other records are maintained in locked file cabinets or rooms with access limited to those personnel whose official duties require access.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

The CFPB will maintain electronic and paper records under the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) schedules General Records Schedule (GRS) GRS 01, GRS 02, and GRS 18-15b.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Chief Operating Officer, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:

Individuals seeking notification and access to any record contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its content, may inquire in writing in accordance with instructions appearing the CFPB's Disclosure of Records and Information Rules, promulgated at 12 CFR part 1070 et seq. Address such requests to: Chief Privacy Officer, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

See “Notification Procedures” above.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

See “Notification Procedures” above.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Information in this system is obtained from current and former CFPB employees, their named dependents and/or beneficiaries, their named emergency contacts, individuals who have applied for a position or have been extended offers of employment by the CFPB, and from individuals and entities associated with federal employee benefits, retirement, human resource functions, accounting, and payroll systems administration.

EXEMPTIONS CLAIMED FOR THE SYSTEM:

None.

Footnotes

1.  Although pursuant to section 1017(a)(4)(E) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, the CFPB is not required to comply with OMB-issued guidance, it voluntarily follows OMB privacy-related guidance as a best practice and to facilitate cooperation and collaboration with other agencies.