Billing Code 6732-01P

FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE

PRIVACY ACT OF 1974; SYSTEM OF RECORDS

AGENCY: Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

ACTION: Notice of a New System of Records.

SUMMARY: To fulfill its conflict resolution, training, and outreach mission, Federal 

Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) uses surveys to provide training and 

education, conduct interactive exercises, and create consensus during mediation and 

training meetings. For engagements with FMCS clients in meetings of all types, FMCS 

uses a collection of online engagement activity tools that includes Survey Monkey, Poll 

Everywhere, Microsoft Forms, and FacilitatePro, all of which are online licensed 

software platforms, for customers’ meeting effectiveness, electronic flip charting, project 

management, requests for assistance, event registration, needs assessments, and surveys.

FMCS will use surveys from clients to evaluate services and employee performance.

DATES: This system of records will be effective without further notice on [INSERT 

DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER] unless otherwise revised pursuant to comments received. New routine uses 

will be effective on [INSERT DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION 

IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER]. Comments must be received on or before [INSERT 

DATE 30 DAYS AFTER DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL 

REGISTER]. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by FMCS-0002, by any of the 

following methods:
• Mail: Office of General Counsel, 250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20427. 

• E-mail: ogc@fmcs.gov. Include FMCS-0002 on the subject line of the message.

• Fax: (202) 606-5444.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Davis, Acting General Counsel,

at adavis@fmcs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This describes a new system for FMCS and its 

customers for meeting effectiveness, electronic flip charting, project management, 

requests for assistance, event registration, and surveys.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER: FMCS-0002 Survey Records.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified. 

SYSTEM LOCATION: Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 250 E Street, SW, 

Washington, DC 20427.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S): Doug Jones, Director of Information Technology, email

djones@fmcs.gov , or send mail to Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 250 E 

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20427, Attn: Doug Jones.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM: Federal Mediation and 

Conciliation Service, 29 U.S.C. 172, et seq.; The National Labor Relations Act, 29 

U.S.C. 151, et seq.; Administrative Dispute Resolution Act, 5 U.S.C. 571-584; 

Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1990, 5 U.S.C. 561-570; the Federal Labor Relations Act, 

5 U.S.C. 7119; and Departmental Regulations, 5 U.S.C. § 301.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM: This system is maintained for the purposes of 

assessing parties’ needs, engaging parties to a dispute in finding resolution, collecting and 

handling data for use in negotiations and mediations, engaging parties in virtual meetings, 
teaching problem-solving skills, and creating and receiving evaluations from parties on 

the quality of services they receive from FMCS by collecting information used during 

live training sessions for educational purposes. 

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM: The system 

encompasses all individuals participating in training and evaluation sessions, both 

virtually and in-person, with an FMCS Mediator, the FMCS staff referenced in the 

evaluations, and FMCS staff processing the evaluations. Also, this includes parties to 

mediation.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM: The system consists of records 

created or compiled during live training sessions and for purposes of evaluating FMCS’s 

services. The system also includes FMCS employee and client responses to questions, 

surveys, and scenarios. These records include contact information for participants, and 

participant responses. System access records are also included (login information for 

users and FMCS staff). Specifically, these engagement programs might collect 

information names, participant responses to open-ended questions, contributions to a 

brainstorming activity in training or mediation, ideas that represent possible dispute 

resolution options, and other data. In short, the data that arrives through these 

engagement tools is the same or similar information that would be available to an FMCS 

mediator in any in-person meeting with clients and is handled with the same degree of 

confidentiality as a mediator would handle paper or traditional written data-gathering 

methods.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES: Information in this system of records is provided 

by FMCS clients or training registrants, conference attendees, and FMCS staff assigned 

to help process the survey results. 

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 to 

authorized entities, as is determined to be relevant and necessary, outside the FMCS as a 

routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

a) To disclose pertinent information to the appropriate Federal, State, or local 

agency responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a 

statute, rule regulation or order where the record, either alone or in conjunction 

with other information creates an indication of a violation or potential violation of 

civil or criminal laws or regulations.

b) To the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for oversight purposes; to the 

Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain that department’s advice regarding 

disclosure obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA); or to the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to obtain that office’s advice regarding 

obligations under the Privacy Act. 

c) To disclose information to the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) or the General Services Administration in records management 

inspections conducted under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

d) To a former employee of the Agency for purposes of responding to an
official inquiry by a federal, state, or local government entity or professional 

licensing authority, in accordance with applicable Agency regulations; or 

facilitating communications with a former employee that may be necessary for 

personnel-related or other official purposes where the Agency requires 

information and/or consultation assistance from the former employee regarding a 

matter within that person’s former area of responsibility.

e) To disclose information to contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, detailees, 

and other non-Government employees performing or working on a contract, 

service, or other assignment for the Federal Government when necessary to 

accompany an agency function related to this system of records.

f) To officials of labor organizations recognized under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 71 upon 

receipt of a formal request and in accordance with the conditions of 5 U.S.C. 7114 

when relevant and necessary to their duties of exclusive representation concerning 

personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions.

g) To disclose information to a Member of Congress or a congressional office in 

response to an inquiry made on behalf of, and at the request of, an individual who 

is the subject of the record. 

h) To the Department of Justice, including Offices of the U.S. Attorneys; another 

Federal agency conducting litigation or in proceedings before any court, 

adjudicative, or administrative body; another party 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 and 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) FMCS, or any component thereof;

2) Any employee or former employee of FMCS in their official capacity;

3) Any employee or former employee of FMCS in their capacity where the 

Department of Justice or FMCS has agreed to represent the employee;

4) The United States, a Federal agency, or another party in litigation before a 

court, adjudicative, or administrative body, upon the FMCS General 

Counsel's approval, pursuant to 5 CFR part 295 or otherwise.

i) To any federal agency, organization, or person for the purposes of performing 

audit or oversight operations related to the operation of this system of records as 

authorized by law, but only information necessary and relevant to such audit or 

oversight function.

j) To disclose to FMCS clients who participate in trainings and presentations to 

collect survey results and information during educational sessions to facilitate

group discussions and learning.

k) To disclose to FMCS clients to facilitate mediation. 

l) To disclose to another Federal agency or Federal entity, when FMCS 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.

m) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) FMCS suspects or has 

confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records, (2) FMCS has 

determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of 

harm to individuals, FMCS (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 FMCS’s efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach 

or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

n) To disclose aggregate data from the surveys in support of research activities 

conducted by FMCS employees, other agencies, and educational institutions who 

collaborate with FMCS.

o) To distribute and present aggregate data received from the surveys for news, 

public relations, official agency social media, community affairs, and client 

services purposes.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS: After the project is 

completed, data collected for the project is transferred to a Microsoft document or 

spreadsheet and sent to the project manager for determination of sharing, temporary 

storage, or destruction. Data collected is accessed through agency internal drives which 

require a username and password. Upon FMCS client request, these documents may be 

created in hard copy and provided to the client then destroyed when FMCS closes the 

case or ends the training or service.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS: Records are 

retrieved by the name or other programmatic identifier, including the date of the training 

or FMCS service. 

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF 

RECORDS: Temporarily stored data or records received by the project manager is 

deleted by the end of the fiscal year unless there is a specific need to retain it longer.

Records are retained and disposed of in accordance with General Records Schedule 4.2, 

issued by the National Archives and Records Administration.

ADMINSTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS: FMCS 

maintains the FacilitatePro data and user profiles on its own servers and have an 

electronic backup system in place in the event of a system failure, as well as an 

alternative system consistent with requirements of Continuing of Operations Plan. The 

system requires a username and password which can only be created by FMCS. FMCS 

employee access to these systems is on a limited license basis and requires use of internal 

agency network and drives. Access is restricted, and accessible to limited FMCS 

Personnel such as the Project Manager, System Administrator, IT, and/or individuals in a 

need-to-know capacity. The other platforms mentioned above are web-based programs 

and require either FMCS Office 365 credentials, usernames and passwords, or both, in 

order to be used by an employee of FMCS.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES: FMCS employees, both current and former, may 

request access to their own records used as the basis for their performance evaluations 

through the Office of Human Resources. For external users, Privacy Act requests may be 

completed pursuant to 29 CFR 1410.3, Individual access requests. Individuals must 
provide the following information for their records to be located and identified: (1) Full 

name, (2) Address, and (3) A specific description of the record content requested. Also, 

see https://www.fmcs.gov/privacy-policy/.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES: See 29 CFR 1410.6, Requests for 

correction or amendment of records, on how to contest the content of any records. 

Privacy Act requests to amend or correct records may be submitted to the Privacy Office 

at privacy@fmcs.gov or via mail at Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, 250 E 

Street, SW, Washington, DC 20427. Also, see https://www.fmcs.gov/privacy-policy/. 

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES: See 29 CFR 1410.3(a), Individual access requests.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM: None.

HISTORY: None.

Dated: May 25, 2022.

Anna Davis, 

Acting General Counsel.