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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 15 (Friday, January 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8129-8132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01686]

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, notice 
is given that the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
(Board) proposes to modify an existing system of records, entitled 
BGFRS-4, ``FRB--General Personnel Records.'' This system of records 
contains personnel records and is designed to assist the Board in its 
personnel management and decisions and in the administration of its 
benefits programs.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 24, 2025. This 
new system of records will become effective February 24, 2025, without 
further notice, unless comments dictate otherwise.
    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which has oversight 
responsibility under the Privacy Act, requires a 30-day period prior to 
publication in the Federal Register in which to review the system and 
to provide any comments to the agency. The public is then given a 30-
day period in which to comment, in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) 
and (11).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by BGFRS-4 ``FRB--
General Personnel Records,'' by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/proposals/. Follow the instructions for submitting comments, including 
attachments. Preferred Method.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as mailing address.
     Other Means: [email protected]. You must include the 
docket number in the subject line of the message.
    Comments received are subject to public disclosure. In general, 
comments received will be made available on the Board's website at 
https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/proposals/ without change and will 
not be modified to remove personal or business information including 
confidential, contact, or other identifying information. Comments 
should not include any information such as confidential information 
that would be not appropriate for public disclosure. Public comments 
may also be viewed electronically or in person in Room M-4365A, 2001 C 
St. NW, Washington, DC 20551, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. during Federal 
business weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew C. Glover, Senior Counsel,

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(202) 736-1994 or [email protected]; Legal Division, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 
have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunication 
relay services.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Board is replacing its enterprise 
resource planning system and therefore is modifying this system of 
records to reflect the transition. The Board is making two principal 
modifications to the system--to the category of individuals and 
category of records sections. The Board is also making minor updates to 
other sections as described below.
    The Board is amending the category of individuals to expressly note 
that the system may contain information about past and present Federal 
Reserve System employees rather than only Board employees. The Board is 
also replacing the reference to surviving spouses and children with 
references to a broader range of individuals affiliated with employees 
to include their beneficiaries, dependents, survivor annuitants, and 
emergency contacts. In addition, the Board is specifying that 
applicants and contract workers are included in the category of 
individuals covered by the system.
    The Board is modifying the categories of records to (1) add new 
information that will now be collected; (2) describe the information 
associated with individuals newly added to the ``category of 
individuals'' section; and (3) remove references to information no 
longer collected and correct outdated terminology. First, the Board is 
amending the categories of records to include the collection of new 
information consisting of prior federal service information, military 
service and status information, information on relatives at the Board, 
passport and/or visa information, attendance tracking information, and 
gender, gender identity, and personal pronouns. Second, the system will 
now include associated information on beneficiaries, dependents, and 
survivor annuitants such as biographical information, marital or 
disability status information as applicable, relationship to employee, 
basic contact information, and benefits information. The system will 
also contain emergency contact information. Finally, the Board no 
longer retains employee records of jury duty in this system and 
therefore is deleting the reference to ``jury duty'' records from the 
categories of records. The Board is also updating the references to 
``PMP ratings,'' to refer to ``performance rating'' or ``performance 
evaluation''.
    The Board is also modifying the system's purpose as it is designed 
to assist the Board in personnel management rather than only personnel 
actions as well as updating the system manager and the system location. 
The Board is also amending the record retention schedule for certain 
records that have a longer retention requirement, modifying the 
policies and practices for retrieval of records as searches can be 
conducted using identifiers other than name and employee identification 
number, and modifying the record source categories to refer to gaining 
information from other government agencies or Reserve Banks rather than 
simply the personnel files of such entities.
    The Board is amending system specific Routine Use 3 to permit 
disclosures when necessary to adjudicate a claim under a thrift or 
health and welfare benefits program of the Board, a Federal Reserve 
Bank, or a listed federal agency. The Board is also amending the 
language in the routine use that permits disclosure to ``an agency to 
conduct an analytical study or audit of benefits being paid under such 
programs'' to instead qualify that such disclosure would be made only 
to ``an agency with governing authority over such programs.'' This 
change matches the Board's practice. In addition, the Board is updating 
the routine use section to incorporate a link to the Board's general 
routine uses.
    The Board is also making technical changes to BGFRS-4 consistent 
with the template laid out in OMB Circular No. A-108. Accordingly, the 
Board has made technical corrections and non-substantive language 
revisions to the following sections: ``Policies and Practices for 
Storage of Records,'' ``Policies and Practices for Retrieval of 
Records,'' ``Policies and Practices for Retention and Disposal of 
Records,'' ``Administrative, Technical and Physical Safeguards,'' 
``Record Access Procedures,'' ``Contesting Record Procedures,'' and 
``Notification Procedures.'' The Board has also created and populated 
the following new sections: ``Security Classification'' and 
``History.''

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
    BGFRS-4, ``FRB-General Personnel Records''.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
    Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
    Certain records will be maintained at the Board's central offices 
located at: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551. Records are 
also stored by the Board's supplier, Workday, Inc., whose main 
headquarters is located at 6110 Stoneridge Mall Road Pleasanton, CA 
94588. Additional records may be held by outside suppliers, including 
the Board's primary benefits provider Alight, whose main headquarters 
is located at 4 Overlook Point #4OP, Lincolnshire, IL 60069.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
    Lewis Andrews, Assistant Director, Division of Management, Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3082, or 
[email protected].

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
    Sections 10 and 11 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 244 and 
248), and Executive Order 9397.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
    These records are collected and maintained to assist the Board in 
its personnel management and decisions and in the administration of its 
benefits programs.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
    Past and present employees of the Board and the Federal Reserve 
System and their beneficiaries, dependents, survivor annuitants, and 
emergency contacts. The system also contains information on applicants 
and contract workers and their emergency contacts.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
    For past and present employees of the Board or the Federal Reserve 
System, this system contains information relating to employment 
determinations; salary and job classification actions; leave; 
placement; personnel actions; academic assistance; training and 
development activities; performance rating (but not the performance 
evaluation itself); minority group and medical disability designators; 
records relating to benefits and designation of beneficiary; emergency 
contact information; address and name changes; information concerning 
awards; prior federal service; military service and status; relatives 
at the Board; passport and/or visa information; time and attendance 
tracking information; and other information relating to the status of 
the individual while employed.

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    For past and present employees, information about the employee's 
beneficiaries, dependents, and survivor annuitants includes, but is not 
limited to, identifying and biographical information (e.g., name, 
address, birth date, Social Security number), marital status and 
disability status (as applicable), relationship to employee, contact 
information (address, phone number, etc.), and benefits information.
    For past and present employees, applicants, and contractors, the 
records may include identifying information, such as name, date of 
birth, home address, mailing address, Social Security number, gender, 
gender identity, personal pronouns, and personal telephone numbers. The 
system also contains emergency contact information for these 
individuals which includes, but is not limited to name, relationship to 
employee, and contact information (address, phone number, etc.).

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
    Information is provided by the individual to whom it applies (or is 
derived from the information the individual supplied); Board officials; 
the OPM Personnel Management Records System; other government agencies; 
Federal Reserve Banks; and official transcripts from schools when 
authorized by the employee.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES 
OF USERS AND PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
    General routine uses A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J apply to this 
system. These general routine uses are located at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/files/SORN page general-routine-uses-of-board-
systems-of-records.pdf and are published in the Federal Register at 83 
FR 43872 (August 28, 2018) at 43873-74. Records may also be used:
    1. to disclose information to government training facilities 
(federal, state, and local) and to nongovernment training facilities 
(private vendors of training courses or programs, private schools, 
etc.) for training purposes;
    2. to disclose information to educational institutions on 
appointment of a recent graduate to a position at the Board, and to 
provide college and university officials with information about their 
students who are working in internships or other similar programs 
necessary to a student's obtaining credit for the experience gained;
    3. to disclose information to a Federal Reserve Bank or the 
Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security 
Administration, Department of Defense, or any federal agencies that 
have special civilian employee retirement programs; or to a national, 
state, county, municipal, or other publicly recognized charitable or 
income security administration agency (e.g., state unemployment-
compensation agencies), when necessary to adjudicate a claim under the 
retirement, thrift, insurance, unemployment, or health and welfare 
benefits programs of the Board, a Federal Reserve Bank, or any agency 
cited above, or to an agency with governing authority over such 
programs to conduct an analytical study or audit of benefits being paid 
under such programs;
    4. to disclose to the Office of Personnel Management's Federal 
Employees Group Life Insurance Program or any contractor, information 
necessary to verify election, declination, or waiver of regular and/or 
optional life insurance coverage, eligibility for payment of a claim 
for life insurance, or a Thrift Savings Program (TSP) election change 
and designation of beneficiary;
    5. to disclose to an employee, agent, contractor, or administrator 
of any Board, Federal Reserve System, or federal government employee 
benefit or savings plan, any information necessary to carry out any 
function authorized under such plan, or to carry out the coordination 
or audit of a benefit or savings plan;
    6. to disclose information to any source from which additional 
information is requested (to the extent necessary to identify the 
individual, inform the source of the purpose(s) of the request, and to 
identify the type of information requested), when necessary to obtain 
information relevant to a Board decision to hire or retain an employee, 
issue a security clearance, conduct a security or suitability 
investigation of an individual, classify jobs, let a contract, or issue 
a license, grant, or other benefits;
    7. to disclose information to the executor of an individual's 
estate, the government entity probating a will, a designated 
beneficiary, or to any person who is responsible for the care of an 
individual to the extent necessary when the individual to whom a record 
pertains is deceased, mentally incompetent, or under other legal 
disability, and to disclose information to an individual's emergency 
contact, or, if the emergency contact is unavailable, to any person who 
the Board believes is assisting the individual, when necessary to 
assist that individual in obtaining any employment benefit or any 
working condition, such as an accommodation under the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973;
    8. to disclose information to a federal, state, or local agency to 
the extent necessary to comply with laws governing reporting of 
communicable diseases or when it is reasonably believed that an 
individual might have contracted an illness or been exposed to or 
suffered from a health hazard while employed in the federal work force;
    9. to disclose to prospective nonfederal employers the following 
information about a specifically identified current or former Board 
employee: (1) tenure of employment; (2) civil service status; (3) 
length of service at the Board and in the government; and (4) when 
separated, the date and nature of action as shown on the job action;
    10. to disclose information to a federal, state or local 
governmental entity or agency (or its agent) when necessary to locate 
individuals who are owed money or property either by a federal, state, 
or local agency, or by a financial or similar institution;
    11. to disclose to a spouse or dependent child (or court-appointed 
guardian thereof) of a Board employee enrolled in the Federal Employees 
Health Benefits Program when the employee has changed from a self-and-
family to a self-only health benefits enrollment and to disclose to a 
spouse information regarding the employee's pension and Thrift plan;
    12. to verify for an entity preparing to make a loan to an employee 
the individual's employment status and salary;
    13. to disclose information to officials of labor organizations 
recognized under applicable law, regulation, or policy when relevant 
and necessary to their duties of exclusive representation concerning 
personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working 
conditions;
    14. to disclose information to officials of foreign governments for 
clearance before a Board employee is assigned to that country;
    15. to disclose information to a federal, state, or local agency 
for determination of an individual's entitlement to benefits in 
connection with Federal Housing Administration programs or other 
federal programs;
    16. to consider and select employees for incentive awards and other 
honors and to publicize those granted (this may include disclosure to 
other public and private organizations, including news media, which 
grant or publicize employee awards);
    17. to disclose specific Board or civil service employment 
information required under law by the Department of Defense on 
individuals identified as members of the Ready Reserve to ensure 
continuous mobilization readiness of Ready Reserve units and members, 
and

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to identify demographic characteristics of Board or civil service 
retirees for national emergency mobilization purposes;
    18. to disclose relevant information with personal identifiers of 
Board employees to authorized federal agencies and nonfederal entities 
for use in computer matching. The matches will be performed to help 
eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in governmental programs; to help 
identify individuals who are potentially in violation of civil or 
criminal law or regulation; and to collect debts and overpayments owed 
to federal, state, or local governments and their components. The 
information disclosed may include, but is not limited to, the name, 
Social Security number, date of birth, gender, annualized salary rate, 
service computation date of basic active service, veteran's preference, 
retirement status, occupational services, health plan code, position 
occupied, work schedule (full time, part time, or intermittent), duty 
station location, standard metropolitan statistical area, special 
program identifier, and submitting office number of Board employees; 
and
    19. to disclose information to the Office of Child Support 
Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, Department of 
Health and Human Services, Federal Parent Locator System and Federal 
Offset System for use in locating individuals, verifying Social 
Security numbers, and identifying their incomes sources to establish 
paternity, establish and modify orders of support for enforcement 
action.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
    Paper records in this system are stored in locked file cabinets 
with access limited to staff with a need to know. Electronic records 
are stored on a secure server with access limited to staff with a need 
to know.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
    Records can be retrieved by name or employee identification number 
or other identifiers.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
    All records are retained for the appropriate period which ranges 
from when superseded or obsolete to 129 years old. The retention for 
Official Personal Files for employees separated prior to December 31, 
1973, is currently under review. Until review is completed these 
records will not be destroyed.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
    Paper records are secured by lock and key and electronic files are 
stored on secure servers. The system has the ability to track 
individual user actions within the system. The audit and accountability 
controls are based on NIST and Board standards which, in turn, are 
based on applicable laws and regulations. The controls assist in 
detecting security violations and performance or other issues in the 
system. Access to the system is restricted to authorized users who 
require access for official business purposes. Users are classified 
into different roles and common access and usage rights are established 
for each role. User roles are used to delineate between the different 
types of access requirements such that users are restricted to data 
that is required in the performance of their duties. Periodic 
assessments and reviews are conducted to determine whether users still 
require access, have the appropriate role, and whether there have been 
any unauthorized changes.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
    The Privacy Act allows individuals the right to access records 
maintained about them in a Board system of records. Your request for 
access must: (1) contain a statement that the request is made pursuant 
to the Privacy Act of 1974; (2) provide either the name of the Board 
system of records expected to contain the record requested or a concise 
description of the system of records; (3) provide the information 
necessary to verify your identity; and (4) provide any other 
information that may assist in the rapid identification of the record 
you seek.
    Current or former Board employees may make a request for access by 
contacting the Board office that maintains the record. The Board 
handles all Privacy Act requests as both a Privacy Act request and as a 
Freedom of Information Act request. The Board does not charge fees to a 
requestor seeking to access or amend his/her Privacy Act records.
    You may submit your Privacy Act request to the--Secretary of the 
Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street 
and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551.
    You may also submit your Privacy Act request electronically by 
filling out the required information at: https://foia.federalreserve.gov/.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
    The Privacy Act allows individuals to seek amendment of information 
that is erroneous, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete and is 
maintained in a system of records that pertains to them. To request an 
amendment to your record, you should clearly mark the request as a 
``Privacy Act Amendment Request.'' You have the burden of proof for 
demonstrating the appropriateness of the requested amendment and you 
must provide relevant and convincing evidence in support of your 
request.
    Your request for amendment must: (1) provide the name of the 
specific Board system of records containing the record you seek to 
amend; (2) identify the specific portion of the record you seek to 
amend; (3) describe the nature of and reasons for each requested 
amendment; (4) explain why you believe the record is not accurate, 
relevant, timely, or complete; and (5) unless you have already done so 
in a related Privacy Act request for access or amendment, provide the 
necessary information to verify your identity.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
    Same as ``Access procedures'' above. You may also follow this 
procedure in order to request an accounting of previous disclosures of 
records pertaining to you as provided for by 5 U.S.C. 552a(c).

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
    Certain portions of this system of records may be exempt from 5 
U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f) of the 
Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2) and (k)(5).

HISTORY:
    This SORN was previously published in the Federal Register at 73 FR 
24984 at 24989 (May 6, 2008). The SORN was also amended to incorporate 
two new routine uses required by OMB at 83 FR 43872 (August 28, 2018).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Benjamin W. McDonough,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2025-01686 Filed 1-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
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