[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 [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24087]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>