Rule2024-24087
Office of Inspector General Exemptions to the Privacy Act
Primary source
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Published
October 18, 2024
Effective
November 17, 2024
Issuing agencies
Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
Abstract
The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (Committee, U.S. AbilityOne Commission, Commission), Office of Inspector General (OIG) is finalizing without change its Privacy Act exemption regulations for the system of records OIG's AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management System which were published as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on June 22, 2023. This Final Rule makes the OIG's AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management System, system of records be exempt from certain sections of the Privacy Act of 1974 pursuant to the general and specific exemptions listed in the act. The law enforcement and investigatory nature of the system of records makes it inappropriate to allow individual access to records under the Privacy Act.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 202 (Friday, October 18, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 83788-83789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24087]
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COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR SEVERELY DISABLED
41 CFR Chapter 51
Office of Inspector General Exemptions to the Privacy Act
AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, Office of Inspector General.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or
Severely Disabled (Committee, U.S. AbilityOne Commission, Commission),
Office of Inspector General (OIG) is finalizing without change its
Privacy Act exemption regulations for the system of records OIG's
AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management System which were published as a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on June 22, 2023. This Final Rule makes
the OIG's AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management System, system of records
be exempt from certain sections of the Privacy Act of 1974 pursuant to
the general and specific exemptions listed in the act. The law
enforcement and investigatory nature of the system of records makes it
inappropriate to allow individual access to records under the Privacy
Act.
DATES: Effective November 17, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions, please contact:
Kamil Ali, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. AbilityOne Commission Office of
Inspector General, 355 E Street SW (OIG Suite 335), Washington, DC
20024. Phone: (202) 603-2248, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#771c161b1e37181e105916151e1b1e030e18191259101801"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6c070d00052c03050b420d0e0500051815030209420b031a">[email protected]</span></a>. For
privacy questions, please contact: Ms. Kamil Ali, Attorney-Advisor,
U.S. AbilityOne Commission Office of Inspector General, 355 E Street SW
(OIG Suite 335), Washington, DC 20024. Phone: (202) 603-2248, Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a1cac0cdc8e1cec8c68fc0c3c8cdc8d5d8cecfc48fc6ced7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3e555f52577e515759105f5c5752574a4751505b10595148">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 401-24, governs how the Federal
Government collects, maintains, and uses personally identifiable
information in systems of record. The Privacy Act requires that Federal
agencies publish in the Federal Register a system of records notice
(SORN) that identifies purpose of data collection, the routine use of
its disclosures, and how individuals may get access to their own
records and contest it.
The Inspector General Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. 401-24, allows the U.S.
AbilityOne Commission/OIG to maintain the system to fulfill its
mission. The U.S. AbilityOne Commission OIG is responsible for
conducting and supervising independent and objective audits,
inspections, and investigations of the programs and operations of the
Committee. OIG promotes economy, efficiency, and effectiveness within
the U.S. AbilityOne Commission/OIG and prevents and detects fraud,
waste, and abuse in its programs and operations. OIG's Office of
Investigations investigates allegations of criminal, civil, and
administrative misconduct involving U.S. AbilityOne Commission
employees, contractors, grantees, and Departmental programs and
activities. This includes investigating for violations of criminal laws
by entities regulated by U.S. AbilityOne Commission, regardless of
whether they receive Federal funds. These investigations can result in
criminal prosecutions, fines, civil monetary penalties, and
administrative sanctions.
The investigative and law enforcement nature of the system of
records makes it necessary for the system to be exempt from the notice
and access requirements. The Privacy Act contains general and specific
exemptions for law enforcement purposes that grant these exemptions.
The general exemption, 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), allows exemptions for
system of records that are ``maintained by an agency or component
thereof which performs as its principal function any activity
pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws, including police
efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals,
and the activities of prosecutors, courts, correctional, probation,
pardon, or parole authorities, and which consists of (A) information
compiled for the purpose of identifying individual criminal offenders
and alleged offenders and consisting only of identifying data and
notations of arrests, the nature and disposition of criminal charges,
sentencing, confinement, release, and parole and probation status; (B)
information compiled for the purpose of a criminal investigation,
including reports of informants and investigators, and associated with
an identifiable individual; or (C) reports identifiable to an
individual compiled at any stage of the process of enforcement of the
criminal laws from arrest or indictment through release from
supervision.'' Similarly the specific exemption in 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2)
allows exemptions for systems of records for ``investigatory material
compiled for law enforcement purposes, other than material within the
scope of subsection (j)(2) of this section: Provided, however, that if
any individual is denied any right, privilege, or benefit that he would
otherwise be entitled by Federal law, or for which he would otherwise
be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of such material, such
material shall be provided to such individual, except to the extent
that the disclosure of such material would reveal the identity of a
source who furnished information to the Government under an express
promise that the identity of the source would be held in confidence,
or, prior to the effective date of this section, under an implied
promise that the identity of the source would be held in confidence.''
The data collected by the AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management
[[Page 83789]]
System falls under these categories by its nature as investigatory
material, and for this reason, U.S. AbilityOne Commission is adding 41
CFR 51-9.6.
Summary of Comment and Response
The Commission received one comment on the proposed rule.
Comment: One comment argued that the OIG should not be able to use
the 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) exemption because its function is not
sufficiently criminal and sought more clarification on the nature of
the system of records and how the exemptions apply.
Response: The IG Act outlines the authorities of the Inspector
General under 5 U.S.C. 404(a) and grants it the ability to conduct,
supervise, and coordinate investigations related to the program and to
manage identification and prosecution of fraud and abuse. 41 CFR 51-
9.601(c) explains the reasons the exemptions are justified to operate
an investigatory system of records. Details about the system of
records, such as what information it contains and how it is collected,
are under the AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case Management System SORN, 88 FR
40223.
List of Subjects in 41 CFR Part 51-9
Privacy.
For reasons stated in the preamble, the Committee amends 41 CFR
part 51-9 as follows:
PART 51-9--PRIVACY ACT RULES
0
1. The authority citation for part 51-9 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552a.
0
2. Revise subpart 51-9.6, consisting of Sec. 51-9.601, to read as
follows:
Subpart 51-9.6--Exemptions
Sec. 51-9.601 Office of Inspector General exemptions.
(a) Pursuant to section (j) of the Privacy Act of 1974, the
Committee has deemed it necessary to adopt the following exemptions to
specified provisions of the Privacy Act:
(1) Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2), the AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case
Management System, System of Records is exempt from the following
provisions of the Privacy Act: 5 U.S.C. 552a (c)(3)-(4); (d); (e)(1)-
(3); (e)(4)(G)-(I); (e)(5); (e)(8); and (f)-(g) and from 41 CFR 51-9.1,
51-9.2, 51-9.3, 51-9.4, and 51-9.7.
(2) [Reserved]
(b) Pursuant to section (k) of the Privacy Act of 1974, the
Committee has deemed it necessary to adopt the following exemptions to
specified provisions of the Privacy Act:
(1) Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), AbilityOne/OIG-001 Case
Management System, System of Records is exempt from the following
provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the limitations set forth in
those subsections: 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(4)(G)-(I), and (f) and
from 41 CFR 51-9.1, 51-9.2, 51-9.3, 51-9.4, and 51-9.7.
(2) [Reserved]
(c) Exemptions from the subsections are justified because
application of these provisions would present a serious impediment to
law enforcement. Access to the records contained in this system of
records could inform the subject of an investigation of an actual or
potential criminal, civil, or regulatory violation, of the existence of
that investigation; of the nature and scope of the information and
evidence obtained as to his activities; of the identity of confidential
sources, witnesses, and law enforcement personnel, and of information
that may enable the subject to avoid detection or apprehension. These
factors would present a serious impediment to effective law enforcement
where they prevent the successful completion of the investigation,
endanger the physical safety of confidential sources, witnesses, and
law enforcement personnel, and/or lead to the improper influencing of
witnesses, the destruction of evidence, or the fabrication of
testimony. In addition, granting access to such information could
disclose security-sensitive or confidential business information or
information that would constitute an unwarranted invasion of the
personal privacy of third parties. Finally, access to the records could
result in the release of properly classified information which would
compromise the national defense or disrupt foreign policy. Amendment of
the records would interfere with ongoing investigations and law
enforcement activities and impose an impossible administrative burden
by requiring investigations to be continuously reinvestigated. It is
not possible to detect relevance or necessity of specific information
in the early stages of a civil, criminal or other law enforcement
investigation, case, or matter, including investigations in which use
is made of properly classified information. Relevance and necessity are
questions of judgment and timing, and it is only after the information
is evaluated that the relevance and necessity of such information can
be established.
Michael R. Jurkowski,
Director, Business Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024-24087 Filed 10-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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