Notice2024-01515
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
Primary source
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Published
January 26, 2024
Effective
January 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC, Commission, or Agency) has modified an existing system of records, FCC/OWD-1, Reasonable Accommodation Requests, subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. This action is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character of records maintained by the agency. The FCC's Office of Workforce Diversity (OWD) uses this system to provide a method by which the FCC can identify Commission employees who have requested accommodations related to: religion; disability; or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Information on the disposition of each request is also maintained in this system.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 18 (Friday, January 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5233-5235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01515]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[FR ID: 198702]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC, Commission, or
Agency) has modified an existing system of records, FCC/OWD-1,
Reasonable Accommodation Requests, subject to the Privacy Act of 1974,
as amended. This action is necessary to meet the requirements of the
Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence
and character of records maintained by the agency. The FCC's Office of
Workforce Diversity (OWD) uses this system to provide a method by which
the FCC can identify Commission employees who have requested
accommodations related to: religion; disability; or pregnancy,
childbirth, or related medical conditions. Information on the
disposition of each request is also maintained in this system.
DATES: This modified system of records will become effective on January
26, 2024. Written comments on the routine uses are due by February 26,
2024. The routine uses in this action will become effective on February
26, 2024 unless comments are received that require a contrary
determination.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Brendan McTaggart, Attorney-Advisor, Office
of General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission, 45 L Street NE,
Washington, DC 20554, or to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9a9abb0afb8baa099bfbabaf7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7101031807101208311712125f161e07">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brendan McTaggart, (202) 418-1738, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a1a18031c0b09132a0c0909440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2050524956414359604643430e474f56">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice serves to update and modify FCC/
OWD-1 as a result of the various necessary changes and updates. The
substantive changes and modifications to the previously published
version of the FCC/OWD-1 system of records include:
1. Updating the name of the system of records from FCC/OWD-1,
Reasonable Accommodation Requests, to FCC/OWD-1, FCC Accommodation
Requests, to reflect the expansion of the system to include religious
and pregnancy/childbirth accommodations in addition to reasonable
accommodations related to disability.
2. Modifying the Authority for Maintenance of the System,
Categories of Individuals, Categories of Records, and Record Source
Categories sections to reflect expansion of the system of records.
3. Updating and/or revising language in six routine uses (listed by
current routine use number): (1) Litigation and (2) Adjudication (now
two separate routine uses); (3) Law Enforcement and Investigation; (4)
Congressional Inquiries; (5) Government-wide Program Management and
Oversight; and (7) Nonfederal Personnel.
The system of records is also updated to reflect various
administrative changes related to the system managers and system
addresses; policy and practices for storage, retention, disposal and
retrieval of the information; administrative, technical, and physical
safeguards; and updated notification, records access, and contesting
records procedures.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
FCC/OWD-1, FCC Accommodation Requests.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Office of Workplace Diversity (OWD), Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
SYSTEM MANAGERS:
Office of Workplace Diversity (OWD), Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554; and/or Security
Operations Center, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 45 L Street
NE, Washington, DC 20554.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Executive Order (E.O.) 13164, Establishing Procedures to Facilitate
the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation; EEOC, Enforcement Guidance
on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with
Disabilities Act, 29 CFR part 1615; Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.; 29 CFR 1630, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, as amended, 29 U.S.C. Part 1605; U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission's Compliance Manual, Section 12: Religious
Discrimination (January 15, 2021); U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission's Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the
Workplace (July 22, 2008); The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA),
Pub. L. 117-328, 136 Stat. 4459 (2022).
PURPOSES OF THE SYSTEM:
This system provides a method by which the FCC can identify
Commission employees who have requested accommodations related to:
religion; disability; or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical
conditions. Information on the disposition of each request is also
maintained in this system.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
The categories of records in this system are FCC employees
(including, but not limited to full-time and part-time Commission
employees, temporary hires, interns, and co-op students.) who have
requested accommodations.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
The categories of records in this system include but are not
limited to the information that FCC employees (including, but not
limited to full time, part time, temporary hires, interns, and co-op
students) provide when requesting accommodation, including through
submission of FCC Forms 5626, 5627, and 5652. These categories of
records include: applicant/employee's name, phone number, email
address; employee's office, supervisor's name and phone number; date of
request; types of accommodation(s) requested; reason(s) for request;
specific information, supporting documentation, and related materials
regarding medical condition, including but not limited to the
characteristics of impairment, job function difficulties, current
limitation(s), past accommodation(s), specific accommodation(s),
permanent or temporary condition(s); specific information, supporting
documentation, and related materials regarding pregnancy, childbirth,
or related conditions; specific information, supporting documentation,
and related materials regarding requests for religious accommodations;
signatures of applicant and receiving official; FCC-ACC Number
(reasonable accommodations number); and disposition of request.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
The sources for the information in this system include, but are not
limited to FCC employees and applicants (including, but not limited to
full-time and part-time Commission employees, temporary hires, interns,
and co-op students), who have requested accommodations.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C.
[[Page 5234]]
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or
information contained in this system may be disclosed to authorized
entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside the
FCC as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows.
1. Litigation--To disclose records to the Department of Justice
(DOJ) when: (a) the FCC or any component thereof; (b) any employee of
the FCC in their official capacity; (c) any employee of the FCC in
their individual capacity where the DOJ or the FCC has agreed to
represent the employee; or (d) the United States Government is a party
to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and by careful
review, the FCC determines that the records are both relevant and
necessary to the litigation.
2. Adjudication--To disclose records in a proceeding before a court
or adjudicative body, when: (a) the FCC or any component thereof; or
(b) any employee of the FCC in their official capacity; or (c) any
employee of the FCC in their individual capacity; or (d) the United
States Government, is a party to litigation or has an interest in such
litigation, and by careful review, the FCC determines that the records
are both relevant and necessary to the litigation.
3. Law Enforcement and Investigation--When the FCC investigates any
violation or potential violation of a civil or criminal law,
regulation, policy, executed consent decree, order, or any other type
of compulsory obligation and determines that a record in this system,
either alone or in conjunction with other information, indicates a
violation or potential violation of law, regulation, policy, consent
decree, order, or other compulsory obligation, the FCC may disclose
pertinent information as it deems necessary to the target of an
investigation, as well as with the appropriate Federal, State, local,
Tribal, international, or multinational agencies, or a component of
such an agency, responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing,
or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, or order.
4. Congressional Inquiries--To provide information to a
Congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an
inquiry from the Congressional office made at the written request of
that individual.
5. Government-wide Program Management and Oversight--To disclose
information to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain that
department's advice regarding disclosure obligations under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA); or to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB)to obtain that office's advice regarding obligations under the
Privacy Act.
6. Labor Relations--To officials of labor organizations recognized
under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71 upon receipt of a formal request and in
accord with the conditions of 5 U.S.C. 7114 when relevant and necessary
to their duties of exclusive representation concerning personnel
policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions.
7. Breach Notification--To appropriate agencies, entities, and
persons when (a) the Commission suspects or has confirmed that there
has been a breach of the system of records; (b) the Commission has
determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there
is a risk of harm to individuals, the Commission (including its
information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government,
or national security; and (c) the disclosure made to such agencies,
entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection
with the Commission's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
8. Assistance to Federal Agencies and Entities Related to
Breaches--To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the
Commission determines that information from this system is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in: (a) Responding
to a suspected or confirmed breach or (b) preventing, minimizing, or
remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or
entity (including its information systems, program, and operations),
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a
suspected or confirmed breach.
9. Non-Federal Personnel--To disclose information to non-Federal
personnel, including contractors, other vendors (e.g., identity
verification services), grantees, and volunteers who have been engaged
to assist the FCC in the performance of a contract, service, grant,
cooperative agreement, or other activity related to this system of
records and who need to have access to the records in order to perform
their activity.
POLICES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
This an electronic system of records that resides on the FCC's
network. Paper documents and files including paper copies of form email
correspondence, notes, and other related records are stored in file
cabinets in the OWD office suite.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Information in this system's paper document files and records is
retrieved by searching by the individual's last name or the
(corresponding) ACC number. Information in the electronic records and
files is retrieved by the individual's last name, ACC number, office/
workstation address, bureau/office, and accommodations request date.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
OWD staff maintains the information in this system in accordance
with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General
Records Schedule 2.3, Employee Relations Records (DAA-GRS-2018-0002),
specifically: DAA-GRS-2022-0001 (Religious Accommodations Revision);
DAA-GRS-2018-0002-0001 (Employee Relations Programs' Administrative
Records); and DAA-GRS-2018-0002-0002 (Reasonable Accommodation Case
Files).
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
The electronic records, files, and data are stored within FCC or a
vendor's accreditation boundaries and maintained in a database housed
in the FCC's or vendor's computer network databases. Access to the
electronic and paper files is restricted to authorized employees and
contractors; and in the case of electronic files to IT staff,
contractors, and vendors who maintain the IT networks and services.
Other employees and contractors may be granted access on a need-to-know
basis. The electronic files and records are protected by the FCC and
third-party privacy safeguards, a comprehensive and dynamic set of IT
safety and security protocols and features that are designed to meet
all Federal privacy standards, including those required by the Federal
Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA), OMB, and the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The paper
documents, files, and related materials are stored in approved security
containers, which are locked when not in use and/or at the end of the
business day. These paper documents are stored in locked file cabinets
in the OWD office suite, when not in use and/or at the end of day.
These paper documents are destroyed by shredding when no longer needed.
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RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals wishing to request access to and/or amendment of
records about themselves should follow the Notification Procedures
below.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Individuals wishing to contest information pertaining to him or her
in the system of records should follow the Notification Procedures
below.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Individuals wishing to determine whether this system of records
contains information about themselves may do so by writing to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2454564d5245475d644247470a434b52"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1767657e6176746e5771747439707861">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals requesting record access or amendment must
also comply with the FCC's Privacy Act regulations regarding
verification of identity as required under 47 CFR part 0, subpart E.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
84 FR 3163 (Feb. 11, 2019)
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-01515 Filed 1-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 26, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.