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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 95773-95775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28247]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, all agencies are 
required to publish in the Federal Register a notice of their systems 
of records. Notice is hereby given that the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC) is publishing a notice of modifications to an 
existing FERC system of records titled ``Commission Equal Employment 
Opportunity (EEO) Discrimination Complaint Records (FERC-19)'' 
previously titled ``Commission Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) 
Discrimination Complaints File''.

DATES: Comments on this modified system of records must be received no 
later than 30 days after the date of publication in the Federal 
Register. If no public comment is received during this period or unless 
otherwise published in the Federal Register by FERC, the modified 
system of records will become effective a minimum of 30 days after date 
of publication in the Federal Register. If FERC receives public 
comments, FERC shall review the comments to determine whether any 
changes to the notice are necessary.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing to Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426 or 
electronically to [email protected]. Comments should indicate that they 
are submitted in response to ``Commission Equal Employment Opportunity 
(EEO) Discrimination Complaint Records (FERC-19)''.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mittal Desai, Chief Information 
Officer & Senior Agency Official for Privacy, Office of the Executive 
Director, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426, [email protected], (202) 502-6432.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 
and to comply with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum 
M-17-12, ``Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally 
Identifiable Information'', January 3, 2017, this notice has twelve 
(12) modified and new routine uses,

[[Page 95774]]

including two new routine uses that will permit FERC to disclose 
information as necessary in response to an actual or suspected breach 
that pertains to a breach of its own records or to assist another 
agency in its efforts to respond to a breach that was previously 
published separately at 87 FR 35543 (June 10, 2022).
    The following sections have been updated to reflect changes made 
since the publication of the last notice in the Federal Register: 
dates; addresses; for further contact information; system location; 
system manager; purpose of the system; categories of individuals 
covered by the system; categories of records in the system; routine 
uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users 
and the purpose of such; policies and practices for storage of records; 
policies and practices for retention and disposal of records; 
administrative, technical, physical safeguards; records access 
procedures; contesting records procedures; notification procedures; and 
history.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    Commission Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Discrimination 
Complaint Records (FERC-19).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Office of the Executive 
Director, Equal Employment Opportunity and Civil Rights Organization, 
888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Director, Equal Employment Opportunity and Civil Rights 
Organization, Office of the Executive Director, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    29 CFR part 1614--Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system of records is to track and to maintain 
documentation of FERC EEO complaints filed. It is also used to create 
EEOC Form 462, Annual Report on the Federal Workforce, that includes, 
among other data, information on Federal equal employment opportunity 
complaints and Alternative Dispute Resolution activities, and reports 
on the No Fear Act.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    The categories of individuals covered by the system include current 
and former FERC employees, contractors, applicants, witnesses, 
investigators, mediators, legal counsel, and FERC counsel.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    The categories of records in this system include name, personal and 
work contact information (such as telephone number, mailing address, 
and email address), date of birth, office, role, supervisor 
information, grade level, status of a person's race, color, religion, 
sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, gender 
identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability or 
genetic information, associated auto-generated case number, allegation, 
information on the requested remedy, written complaint, witness 
statements, pictures, screenshots of emails and messages, copies of the 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filing orders, investigative 
reports, decision documents, signature, and appeal documentation.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Records are obtained from Equal Employment Opportunity 
investigators, subjects filing the complaint, witnesses, Equal 
Employment Opportunity Director, Equal Employment Opportunity 
Counselors, Office of the General Counsel staff, the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission, mediators, legal counsel, Human Resources, and 
courts.

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. 
552a(b) of the Privacy Act, information maintained in this system may 
be disclosed to authorized entities outside FERC for purposes 
determined to be relevant and necessary as a routine use pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    1. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) FERC 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (2) FERC 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 (3) 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.
    2. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when FERC 
determines that information from this system of records is reasonably 
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to 
a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or 
remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or 
entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), 
the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a 
suspected or confirmed breach.
    3. To a congressional office from the record of an individual in 
response to an inquiry from that congressional office made at the 
request of that individual.
    4. To the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when requested in 
connection with investigations of alleged or possible discriminatory 
practices, examination of Federal affirmative employment programs, or 
other functions of the Commission as authorized by law or regulation.
    5. To the Federal Labor Relations Authority or its General Counsel 
when requested in connection with investigations of allegations of 
unfair labor practices or matters before the Federal Service Impasses 
Panel.
    6. To disclose information to another Federal agency, to a court, 
or a party in litigation before a court or in an administrative 
proceeding being conducted by a Federal agency, when the Government is 
a party to the judicial or administrative proceeding. In those cases 
where the Government is not a party to the proceeding, records may be 
disclosed if a subpoena has been signed by a judge.
    7. To the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its use in providing 
legal advice to FERC or in representing FERC in a proceeding before a 
court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body, where the use 
of such information by the DOJ is deemed by FERC to be relevant and 
necessary to the advice or proceeding, and such proceeding names as a 
party in interest: (a) FERC; (b) any employee of FERC in his or her 
official capacity; (c) any employee of FERC in his or her individual 
capacity where DOJ has agreed to represent the employee; or (d) the 
United States, where FERC determines that litigation is likely to 
affect FERC or any of its components.
    8. To non-Federal Personnel, such as contractors, agents, or other 
authorized individuals performing work on a contract, service, 
cooperative agreement,

[[Page 95775]]

job, or other activity on behalf of FERC or Federal Government and who 
have a need to access the information in the performance of their 
duties or activities.
    9. To the National Archives and Records Administration in records 
management inspections and its role as Archivist.
    10. To the Merit Systems Protection Board or the Board's Office of 
the Special Counsel, when relevant information is requested in 
connection with appeals, special studies of the civil service and other 
merit systems, review of Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rules and 
regulations, and investigations of alleged or possible prohibited 
personnel practices.
    11. To appropriate Federal, State, or local agency responsible for 
investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, 
regulation, or order, if the information may be relevant to a potential 
violation of civil or criminal law, rule, regulation, order.
    12. To appropriate agencies, entities, and person(s) that are a 
party to a dispute, when FERC determines that information from this 
system of records is reasonably necessary for the recipient to assist 
with the resolution of the dispute, and the information may include the 
name, address, telephone number, email address, and affiliation of the 
agency, entity, and/or person(s) seeking and/or participating in 
dispute resolution services, where appropriate.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Records are stored electronically on a FedRAMP-authorized cloud 
service provider, and on a FedRAMP-authorized SharePoint site. In 
addition, all FERC employees and contractors with authorized access 
have undergone a thorough background security investigation. Data 
access is restricted to agency personnel or contractors whose 
responsibilities require access. Access to electronic records is 
controlled by the organization's Single Sign-On and Multi-Factor 
Authentication Solution. Role based access is used to restrict 
electronic data access and the organization employs the principle of 
least privilege, allowing only authorized users with access necessary 
to accomplish assigned tasks in accordance with organizational missions 
and business functions.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by employee name and associated case number.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR THE RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retained in accordance with the applicable National 
Archives and Records Administration Schedules, with the following 
applicable General Records Schedules:
    1. General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3: Employee Relations Records, 
Item 010, DAA-GRS-2022-0001-0001. Temporary. Destroy when 3 years old, 
but longer retention is authorized if required for business use.
    2. General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3: Employee Relations Records, 
Item 020, DAA-GRS-2022-0001-0002. Temporary. Destroy 3 years after 
employee separation from the agency or all appeals are concluded, 
whichever is later, but longer retention is authorized if required for 
business use.
    3. General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3: Employee Relations Records, 
Item 110, DAA-GRS-2018-0002-0012. Temporary. Destroy 3 years after 
resolution of case, but longer retention is authorized if required for 
business use.
    4. General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3: Employee Relation Records, 
Item 111, DAA-GRS2018-0002-0013. Temporary: Destroy 7 years after close 
of case, but longer retention is authorized if required for business 
use.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    See Policies and Practices for Storage of Records.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals requesting access to the contents of records must 
submit a request through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) office. 
The FOIA website is located at: https://www.ferc.gov/foia. Requests may 
be submitted through the following portal: https://www.ferc.gov/enforcement-legal/foia/electronic-foia-privacy-act-request-form. 
Written requests for access to records should be directed to: Director, 
Office of External Affair, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    See Records Access Procedures.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Generalized notice is provided by the publication of this notice. 
For specific notice, see Records Access Procedure, above.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    65 FR 21745 (April 24, 2000).

    Dated: November 25, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-28247 Filed 12-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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