5 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Provisions
Title 5 - Administrative Personnel
Title 5: Administrative Personnel
PART 297—PRIVACY PROCEDURES FOR PERSONNEL RECORDS
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 297.101 Purpose and scope.
This part sets forth the regulations of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (the Office) to govern the maintenance, protection, disclosure, and amendment of records within the systems of records as defned by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), Public Law 93–579.
§ 297.102 Definitions.
In this part, the terms agency, individual, maintain, record, statistical records, and systems of records have the same meanings as defined in the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a. In addition:
Access means providing a copy of a record to, or allowing review of the original record by, the data subject or the data subject's authorized representative, parent, or legal guardian;
Act means the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93–579, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as amended;
Agency means any department or independent establishment in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, including a Government corporation, of Government-controlled corporation, except those specifically excluded from the Office recordkeeping requirements by statute, this title, or formal agreement between the Office and the agency.
Amendment means the correction, addition, deletion, or destruction of a record or specific portions of a record;
Data subject means the individual to whom the information pertains and by whose name or other individual identifier the information is retrieved;
Disclosure means providing personal review of a record, or a copy thereof, to someone other than the data subject or the data subject's authorized representative, parent, or legal guardian;
Office means the U.S. Office of Personnel Management;
Personnel record means any record concerning an individual which is maintained and used in the personnel management or personnel policy-making process; and
System manager means the Office or agency official, designated by the head of the agency, who has the authority to decide Privacy Act matters relative to each system of records maintained by the Office.
§ 297.103 Designations of authority by system manager.
The responsible Office system manager having jurisdiction over a system of records may designate in writing an Office employee to evaluate and issue the Office's decision on Privacy Act matters relating to either internal, central, or Governmentwide systems of records.
§ 297.104 Types of records.
The Office manages three generic types of personnel records systems:
(a) Internal systems of records are under the Office's physical control and are established and maintained by the Office solely on its own employees and, when appropriate, on others in contact with the Office regarding matters within its authority.
(b) Centralized systems of personnel records are physically established and maintained by the Office with regard to most current and former Federal employees and some applicants for Federal employment.
(c) Governmentwide systems of personnel records are maintained by the Office, and through Office delegations of authority, by Federal agencies with regard to their own employees or applicants for employment. Although they are Office records, they are in the physical custody of those agencies. Though in the physical custody of agencies, the Office retains authority under its record management authority and under the Privacy Act to decide appeals of initial agency determinations regarding access to and amendment of material in these systems.
§ 297.105 Agency and Office responsibilities for systems of records and applicability of the regulations.
(a) These regulations apply to processing requests from both current and former Office employees for records contained in internal, central, and Governmentwide systems of records managed by the Office.
(b) Agencies are solely and totally responsible for processing requests regarding records maintained in their internal systems of records. Agency regulations, and not these Office regulations, govern the implementation of the Privacy Act for agency internal systems; there is no right of appeal to the Office from an agency's determination regarding its internal agency records.
(c) For records maintained in the Office's central systems of records, the data subject should contact the appropriate Office system manager concerning Privacy Act matters. These regulations will apply to inquiries regarding records located in the central systems of records.
(d) For records maintained within the Office's Governmentwide systems of records, each agency is responsible, unless specifically excepted by the Office, for responding to initial Privacy Act access and amendment requests from its own current employees. For records in Office Governmentwide systems, including those in Official Personnel Folders, Employee Performance Folders, and Employee Medical Folders, the Office is responsible for responding to initial Privacy Act access and amendment requests from former Federal employees.
(e) The procedures in this part apply to all such requests. The procedures in this part also apply to appeals from an agency initial determination regarding access to or amendment of records contained in the Office's Governmentwide systems of records.
(f) The Office follows the procedures in this part when—
(1) Processing initial requests regarding access to or amendment of records by its own employees and others that the Office is maintaining information on in its systems of records, including requests from former employees of an agency whose records properly reside in an Office Governmentwide system of records.
(2) Processing Privacy Act appeals regarding access to and amendment of records generated by another Federal agency, but which are contained in the Office's Governmentwide systems of records, after an agency has issued the initial decision.
(3) Processing initial requests and appeals concerning access to and amendment of records contained in the central systems of records.
(g) For requests concerning records and material of another agency that are in the custody of the Office, but not under its control or ownership, the Office reserves the right to either refer the request to the agency primarily responsible for the material or to notify the individual of the proper agency that should be contacted.
§ 297.106 Contact point for Privacy Act matters.
To determine what records the Office maintains in its system of records, requesters must write to the Assistant Director for Workforce Information, Personnel Systems and Oversight Group, Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E Street, NW., Washington, DC 20415. Using the Office's response, requesters can contact the particular system manager indicated in the Office's notices of its systems published in the
