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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 2 (Friday, January 3, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 335-338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31521]

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MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act), the 
U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) proposes to establish a 
modified system of records titled ``MSPB--3, Reasonable 
Accommodations.'' This system of records includes information that MSPB 
collects, maintains, and uses on applicants for employment, MSPB 
employees, and participants in MSPB programs who request and/or receive 
reasonable accommodations from MSPB for disability, medical, pregnancy-
related, or religious reasons.

DATES: Please submit comments on or before February 3, 2025. This 
modified system is effective upon publication in today's Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments to the Office of the Clerk 
of the Board by email to [email protected] or by mail to Clerk of the 
Board, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20419. All comments must reference ``MSPB--3, Reasonable 
Accommodations SORN.'' Regardless of the method used for submitting 
comments or material, all submissions will be posted, without change, 
to MSPB's website (https://www.mspb.gov) and will include any personal 
information you provide, such as your name, address, phone number, 
email address, or any other personally identifying information in your 
comment or materials. Therefore, any submissions will be made public 
and without change.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general questions or privacy 
issues, please contact: D. Fon Muttamara, Chief Privacy Officer, Office 
of the Clerk of the Board, 1615 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20419 at 
(202) 653-7200 or [email protected]. Please include ``Reasonable 
Accommodations SORN'' with your question(s).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 
552a, the MSPB proposes to modify an existing system of records titled 
``MSPB--3, Reasonable Accommodations.'' This system of records covers 
MSPB's collection, maintenance, and use of records on applicants for 
employment, employees, and participants in MSPB programs who request or 
receive reasonable accommodations or other appropriate modifications 
from MSPB for medical or religious reasons. MSPB is modifying this 
system of records to include a new category of individuals covered by 
the system--participants in official MSPB functions (parties and/or 
participants in MSPB appeals, respondents to surveys, and all other 
individuals engaged in activity conducted by the MSPB), who seek a 
reasonable accommodation; MSPB is updating the categories of 
individuals covered and records in the system to include pregnant and 
recently pregnant employees; and MSPB is updating the system location 
and system manager to include the Office of Information Resources 
Management and the Accessibility Program Manager.
    Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits 
discrimination in services and employment on the basis of disability, 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on 
the basis of religion; and Title VII, as amended by the Pregnancy 
Discrimination Act, prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
pregnancy.\1\ The Pregnancy Workers

[[Page 336]]

Fairness Act, which went into effect on June 27, 2023, requires the 
agency to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees and 
job applicants with temporary physical or mental limitations due to 
pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions. These statutes on 
discrimination and accommodations require Federal agencies to provide 
reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities, are 
pregnant or have been pregnant, and those with sincerely held religious 
beliefs; unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. In general, an 
accommodation is any change in the work environment or in the way 
things are customarily done that enables an individual with a 
disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.
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    \1\ Pregnancy includes current pregnancy; past pregnancy; 
potential pregnancy; medical condition(s) related to pregnancy or 
childbirth including breastfeeding/lactation; having or choosing not 
to have an abortion; and birth control (contraception).
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    Disability Accommodations. Reasonable accommodations on the basis 
of disability typically fall into the following categories: (1) 
modifications or adjustments to a job application process that enable a 
qualified applicant with a disability to be considered for a position; 
(2) modifications or adjustments to the work environment, or to the 
manner or circumstances under which the position held or desired is 
customarily performed, that enable a qualified individual with a 
disability to perform the essential functions of that position; and (3) 
modifications or adjustments that enable a qualified employee with a 
disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment as are 
enjoyed by other similarly-situated employees without disabilities; and 
(4) modifications to agency operating procedures to enable a qualified 
individual with a disability, full access to agency functions. In some 
instances, individuals may request modifications to their workspace, 
schedule, duties, or other requirements for documented medical reasons 
that may not qualify as a disability but may necessitate an appropriate 
modification to workplace policies and practices.
    Pregnancy-Related Accommodations. Reasonable accommodations on the 
basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, may 
include but are not limited to: providing the ability to sit or drink 
water; receiving parking at that is closer to the work site; having 
flexible hours; receiving additional break time to use the bathroom, 
eat, and rest; and taking leave or time off to recover from childbirth.
    Religious Accommodations. Applicants and employees may obtain 
exceptions to rules or policies in order to follow their sincerely held 
religious beliefs or practices, and employers may grant certain 
accommodations for religious reasons but still refuse to grant them for 
secular reasons. Religious Accommodations may include but are not 
limited to: having flexible hours to observe religious holidays; having 
flexible hours to observe religious practices, such as not working 
after sundown, or taking breaks for prayer throughout the day; and 
receiving an exemption from a Federal Government-mandated vaccine that 
conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief.
    MSPB's Office of Equal Employment Opportunity is responsible for 
processing requests for reasonable accommodations from applicants for 
employment and employees who seek an accommodation due to a medical, 
pregnancy-related, or religious reasons, as well as processing requests 
based on documented medical reasons that may not qualify as a 
disability but that may necessitate an appropriate modification to 
workplace policies and practices. For participants in MSPB programs who 
are not applicants for employment or MSPB employees, MSPB's 
Accessibility Program Manager, within the Office of Information 
Resources Management, is responsible for processing these requests.
    Pursuant to the Privacy Act, the system of records will include the 
following documentation: the request; any related records provided to 
support the request; any evaluation conducted internally, or by a third 
party under contract with MSPB; the decision regarding whether to grant 
or deny a request; and the details and conditions of the reasonable 
accommodation.
    The Privacy Act embodies fair information practice principles in a 
statutory framework governing how Federal agencies collect, maintain, 
use, and disseminate individuals' records. The Privacy Act applies to 
records about individuals that are maintained in a ``system of 
records.'' A system of records is a group of any records under the 
control of an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of 
an individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 
identifying particular assigned to the individual. The Privacy Act 
defines an individual as a United States citizen or lawful permanent 
resident. Individuals may request access to their own records that are 
maintained in a system of records in the possession or under the 
control of MSPB by complying with MSPB Privacy Act regulations at 5 CFR 
part 1205, and following the procedures outlined in the Records Access, 
Contesting Record, and Notification Procedures sections of this notice. 
The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal Register 
a description denoting the existence and character of each system of 
records that the agency maintains and the routine uses of each system. 
The modified Reasonable Accommodations System of Records Notice is 
published in its entirety below. In accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 
U.S.C. 552a(r), and OMB Circular A-108, ``Federal Agency 
Responsibilities for Review, Reporting, and Publication under the 
Privacy Act'' (Dec. 2016), MSPB has submitted a report of a modified 
system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and Congress.

Gina K. Grippando,
Clerk of the Board, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    MSPB--3, Reasonable Accommodations.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Records are maintained by the Office of Equal Employment 
Opportunity and the Office of Information Resources Management, U.S. 
Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 
20419. Records may be located in locked cabinets and offices, on MSPB's 
local area network, or in designated U.S. data centers for cloud 
service providers certified by the Federal Risk and Authorization 
Management Program or FedRAMP.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and 
Accessibility Program Manager, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 
1615 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20419, [email protected].

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 701, 791, 794; Title VII 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e; 29 CFR part 1605 
(Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Religion); 29 CFR part 1614 
(Federal Sector Equal Employment Opportunity); 29 CFR part 1630 
(Regulations To Implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the 
Americans With Disabilities Act); Executive Order 13164, Requiring 
Federal Agencies to Establish Procedures to Facilitate the Provision of 
Reasonable Accommodation (July 26, 2000); and Executive Order 13548, 
Increasing Federal Employment of Individuals with Disabilities (July 
26, 2010); The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (effective June 27, 2023), 
Pub. L.

[[Page 337]]

117-328, 42 U.S.C. 2000gg; Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for 
Nursing Mothers Act (effective December 29, 2022), Pub. L. 117-328, 29 
U.S.C. 218d.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    The purpose of this system of records is to allow MSPB to collect 
and maintain records on applicants for employment, MSPB employees, and 
participants in MSPB programs who request or receive reasonable 
accommodations or other appropriate modifications from MSPB for 
medical, pregnancy, or religious reasons; to process, evaluate, and 
make decisions on individual requests; and to track and report the 
processing of such requests MSPB-wide to comply with applicable 
requirements in law, regulation, and policy, and to maintain the 
confidentiality of the information provided in support of the 
accommodation.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Applicants for MSPB employment, former and current MSPB employees, 
and participants in MSPB programs who requested and/or received 
reasonable accommodations or other appropriate modifications from MSPB 
for medical, pregnancy, or religious reasons.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    Records include information concerning the requester and/or 
recipient as part of the request, review, and decision-making process. 
These records may include demographic information, information 
regarding the health condition or sincerely held religious belief, and 
other related information required to document and make a determination 
on the request.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is obtained from applicants for employment, MSPB 
employees, and participants in MSPB programs who request and/or receive 
a reasonable accommodation or other appropriate modification from MSPB, 
directly or indirectly from an individual's medical provider or another 
medical professional who evaluates the request, directly or indirectly 
from an individual's religious or spiritual advisors or institutions, 
and from management officials.

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, all or a portion of the records or 
information contained in this system may be disclosed outside MSPB as a 
routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:
    a. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), including Offices of the 
U.S. Attorneys; or another Federal agency conducting litigation or in 
actual or reasonably anticipated proceedings before any court, 
adjudicative, or administrative body; another party or potential party 
or the party's or potential party's authorized representative in 
litigation before a court, adjudicative, or administrative body; or to 
a court, adjudicative, or administrative body. Such disclosure is 
permitted only when it is relevant or necessary to the litigation or 
proceeding, and one of the following is a party to the litigation or 
has an interest in such litigation:
    (1) MSPB, or any component thereof;
    (2) Any employee or former employee of MSPB in his or her official 
capacity;
    (3) Any employee or former employee of MSPB in his or her 
individual capacity where DOJ or MSPB has agreed to represent the 
employee; or
    (4) The United States, a Federal agency, or another party in 
litigation before a court, adjudicative, or administrative body, upon 
the MSPB General Counsel's approval, pursuant to 5 CFR part 1216 or 
otherwise.
    b. To the appropriate Federal, State, or local agency responsible 
for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a statute, 
rule, regulation, or order, when a record, either on its face or in 
conjunction with other information, indicates or is relevant to a 
violation or potential violation of civil or criminal law or 
regulation.
    c. To a member of Congress or the White House from the record of an 
individual in response to an inquiry made at the request of the 
individual to whom the record pertains.
    d. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in 
records management inspections conducted under the authority of 44 
U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
    e. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) MSPB 
suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of 
records; (2) MSPB has determined that as a result of the suspected or 
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, MSPB 
(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 MSPB's efforts to respond to the suspected or 
confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
    f. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when MSPB 
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.
    g. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, or volunteers 
performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative 
agreement, or other assignment for MSPB when MSPB determines that it is 
necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of 
records. Individuals provided information under this routine use are 
subject to the same Privacy Act requirements and limitations on 
disclosure as are applicable to MSPB employees.
    h. To another Federal agency or commission with responsibility for 
labor or employment relations or other issues, including equal 
employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation issues, when that 
agency or commission has authority relating to reasonable 
accommodation.
    i. To an authorized appeal grievance examiner, formal complaints 
examiner, administrative judge or administrative law judge, equal 
employment opportunity investigator, arbitrator, or other duly 
authorized official engaged in investigation or settlement of a 
grievance, complaint, or appeal filed by an individual who requested a 
reasonable accommodation or other appropriate modification.
    j. To another Federal agency, including but not limited to the 
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Special 
Counsel, to obtain advice regarding statutory, regulatory, policy, and 
other requirements related to requests for reasonable accommodation, 
and to evaluate and report on the agency's performance responding to 
requests for reasonable accommodation.
    k. To a Federal agency or entity authorized to procure assistive 
technologies and services in response to a request for reasonable 
accommodation.
    l. To first aid, medical, and safety personnel if the individual's 
medical condition requires emergency treatment.
    m. To another Federal agency or oversight body charged with 
evaluating MSPB's compliance with the laws,

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regulations, and policies governing reasonable accommodation requests.
    n. To another Federal agency pursuant to a written agreement with 
MSPB to provide services (such as medical evaluations), when necessary, 
in support of reasonable accommodation decisions.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    The records in this system are stored electronically on MSPB's 
local area network or with FedRAMP-authorized cloud service providers. 
Access is limited to a small number of authorized personnel at MSPB. In 
addition, if paper records exist, they are stored in locked file 
cabinets and/or access-restricted offices.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records are retrieved by name or another unique personal 
identifier.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    The records maintained in this system of records are subject to 
NARA General Records Schedule (GRS) 2.3 (Employee Relations Records), 
Item 20 (Reasonable accommodation case files). NARA GRS 2.3 instructs 
disposition three 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.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Records in the system are protected from unauthorized access and 
misuse through various administrative, technical, and physical security 
measures, such as access controls, mandatory security and privacy 
training, encryption, multi-factor authentication, security guards, and 
locked offices.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    Individuals seeking notification of and access to their records in 
this system of records may submit a request in writing to the Office of 
the Clerk of the Board, U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20419. Individuals requesting access must 
comply with MSPB's Privacy Act regulations regarding verification of 
identity and access to records (5 CFR part 1205).

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    Individuals may request that records about them be amended by 
writing to the Office of the Clerk of the Board, U.S. Merit Systems 
Protection Board, 1615 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20419. Individuals 
requesting amendment must follow MSPB's Privacy Act regulations 
regarding verification of identity and amendment of records (5 CFR part 
1205).

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    See Record Access Procedures above.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    None.

HISTORY:
    MSPB--3, Reasonable Accommodations, 86 FR 73001 (Dec. 23, 2021).

[FR Doc. 2024-31521 Filed 1-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7400-01-P
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