WAIS Document RetrievalFrom the Privacy Act Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

RRB-43

System name: Office of Investigation Files.

     System location:
       Office of Inspector General, U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, 844 
   Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
     Categories of individuals covered by the system:
       Any of the following categories of individuals on whom a 
   complaint is made alleging a violation of law, regulation, or rule 
   pertinent to the administration of programs by the RRB, or, with 
   respect to RRB employees, alleging misconduct or conflict of interest 
   in the discharge of their official duties: Current and former 
   employees of the Retirement Railroad Board; contractors; 
   subcontractors; consultants, applicants for, and current and former 
   recipients of, benefits under the programs administered by the 
   Railroad Retirement Board; officials and agents of railroad 
   employers; members of the public who are alleged to have stolen or 
   unlawfully received RRB benefit or salary or assisted in such 
   activity; and others who furnish information, products, or services 
   to the RRB.
     Categories of records in the system:
       Letters, memoranda, and other documents alleging a violation of 
   law, regulation or rule, or alleging misconduct, or conflict of 
   interest; reports of investigations to resolve allegations with 
   related exhibits, statements, affidavits or records obtained during 
   the investigation; recommendations on actions to be taken; 
   transcripts of, and documentation concerning requests and approval 
   for, consensual monitoring of communications; photographs, video and 
   audit recordings made as part of the investigation; reports from law 
   enforcement bodies; prior criminal or noncriminal records as they 
   relate to the investigation; reports of actions taken by management 
   personnel regarding misconduct; reports of legal actions resulting 
   from violations referred to the Department of Justice or other law 
   enforcement agencies for prosecution.
     Authority for maintenance of the system:
       Inspector General Act of 1978; Pub. L. 95-452, 5 U.S.C. App., as 
   amended.
   Purpose(s):
       The Office of Inspector General maintains this system of records 
   to carry out its statutory responsibilities under the Inspector 
   General Act. These responsibilities include a mandate to investigate 
   allegations of fraud, waste, land abuse related to the programs and 
   operations of the RRB and to refer such matters to the Department of 
   Justice for prosecution.
     Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including 
   categories of users and the purposes of such uses:
       a. Records may be disclosed to the Department of Justice or other 
   law enforcement authorities in connection with actual or potential 
   criminal prosecution or civil litigation initiated by the RRB, or in 
   connection with requests by RRB for legal advice.
       b. Records may be disclosed to a Federal agency which has 
   requested information relevant or necessary to its hiring or 
   retention of an employee or the issuance of a security clearance, 
   provided that the subject individual is not an individual on whom the 
   RRB has obtained information in conjunction with its administration 
   of the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Unemployment Act, the 
   Milwaukee Railroad Restructuring Act, or the Rock Island Railroad 
   Transition and Employee Assistance Act.
       c. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the 
   record of an individual in response to an inquiry for the 
   congresssional office made at the request of that individual would 
   not be denied access to the requested information.
       d. Disclosure may be made to an attorney representing the subject 
   individual upon receipt of a written letter or declaration stating 
   the fact of representation, provided that the subject individual 
   would not be denied access to the requested information.
     Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, 
   retaining, and disposing of records in the system:
     Storage:
       Paper and electronic media.
     Retrievability:
       Name, SSN, RRB Clain Number, and assigned, all of which are 
   cross-referenced to the other information.
     Safeguards:
       General access is restricted to the Inspector General and members 
   of his staff; disclosure within the agency is on a limited need-to-
   know basis; files and paper documents are maintained in locked file 
   cabinets located in areas not accessible to the public. Office is 
   locked during non-business hours. Access to computers which store the 
   electronic index is restricted to authorized personnel, and on-line 
   query safeguards include a password unlock system.
     Retention and disposal:
       Paper files are retained for 10 years before they are destroyed 
   by shredding. They are destroyed by shredding in the fiscal year 
   following the expiration of the 10-year retention period. The 
   electronic index records are retained until no longer required for 
   any operational or administrative purposes.
     System manager(s) and address:
       Assistant Inspector General, Office of Inspector General, U.S. 
   Railroad Retirement Board, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
     Notification procedure:
       Requests for information regarding an individual`s record should 
   be in writing addressed to the System Manager identified above, 
   including the full name, claim number, and social security number of 
   the individual. Before information about any record will be released, 
   the System Manager may require the individual to provide proof of 
   identity or require the requester to furnish an authorization from 
   the individual to permit release of information. Many records in this 
   system are exempt from the notification requirements under 5 U.S.C. 
   552a(k). To the extent that records in this system of records are not 
   subject to exemption, they are subject to notification. A 
   determination whether an exemption applies shall be made at the time 
   a request for notification is received.
     Record access procedure:
       Requests for access to the record of an individual and requests 
   to contest such a record should be in writing addressed to the System 
   Manager identified above, including the full name, claim number, and 
   social security number of the individual. Before information about 
   any record will be released, the System Manager may require the 
   individual to provide proof of identity or require the requester to 
   furnish an authorization from the individual to permit release of 
   information. Many records in this system are exempt from the records 
   access and contesting requirements under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k). To the 
   extent that records in this system of records are not subject to 
   exemption, they are subject to access and contest requirements. A 
   determination as to whether an exemption applies shall be made at the 
   time a request for access or contest is received.
     Contesting record procedure:
       See notification section above.
     Record source categories:
       The subject; the complainant; third parties, including but not 
   limited to employers and financial institutions; local, state, and 
   federal agencies; and other RRB record systems.
     Systems exempted from certain provisions of the Act:
       Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) records in this system of records 
   which are compiled for the purposes of criminal investigations are 
   exempted from the requirements under 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3) and (4) 
   (Accounting of Certain Disclosures), (d) (Access to Records), (e)(1), 
   (2), (3), (4), (G), (H), and (I), (5) and (8) (Agency Requirements), 
   (f) (Agency Rules), and (g) (Civil Remedies) of 5 U.S.C. 552a.
       Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) records in this system of records 
   which consist of investigatory material compiled for law enforcement 
   purposes are exempted from the notice, access and contest 
   requirements under 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d) (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), 
   and (I) and (f); however, if any individual is denied any right, 
   privilege, or benefit to which the individual 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 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.
       The reasons why the head of the Railroad Retirement Board decided 
   to exempt this system of records under 5 U.S.C. 552a(k) are given in 
   a rule published elsewhere in this Federal Register.