USPS

600.000

System Name:
Legal Records Related to Mail.

System Location

Law Department, USPS Headquarters and field offices; Prohibitory Order Processing Center (POPC).

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System

  1. Complainants, respondents, and opposing parties in cases of false representations, lotteries, or nonmailable matter; prohibitory orders; mail withheld from delivery; and denial or termination of Post Office box or caller service.
  2. USPS attorneys, attorneys representing parties, subjects of investigations, and postal inspectors involved in such cases.
  3. Addressees who request orders prohibiting further mailings to them by mailers of pandering advertisements, and the mailers against whom such orders are issued.

Categories of Records in the System

  1. False representation, mailability, and lotteries information: Records related to administrative proceedings and litigation involving false representation, mailability, and lotteries, including names of involved individuals.
  2. Prohibitory order information: Applications for prohibitory orders, issued orders, applications for order enforcement, complaints issued to alleged violators, and notices of court action, including names of involved individuals.
  3. Withholding of mail information: Records related to the withholding of mail from delivery, including names of involved individuals.
  4. Denial or termination of Post Office box or caller service information: Records related to the denial or termination of a Post Office box or caller service, including names of involved individuals.

Authority for Maintenance of the System

39 U.S.C. 204, 401, 404, and 3001 et seq.; 18 U.S.C. 1301, 1302, 1341, and 1342.

Purpose(s)

  1. To investigate and enforce USPS statutes about false representations, lotteries, and mailability.
  2. To process applications for orders prohibiting mailers of pandering advertisements from making further mailings to the applicants, to determine whether violations of such orders have occurred, and to prevent them.
  3. To enable representation of USPS in administrative proceedings when customers petition for review of cases in which USPS has withheld mail from delivery or refused or terminated Post Office box or caller service.

Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses

Standard routine uses 1. through 9. apply.

Policies and Practices for Storing, Retrieving, Accessing, Retaining, and Disposing of Records in the System

Storage

Automated database, computer storage media, and paper.

Retrievability

By individual name, USPS docket number, or prohibitory order number.

Safeguards

Paper records, computers, and computer storage media are located in controlled-access areas under supervision of program personnel. Access to these areas is limited to authorized personnel, who must be identified with a badge. Access to records is limited to individuals whose official duties require such access. Contractors and licensees are subject to contract controls and unannounced on-site audits and inspections. Computers are protected by mechanical locks, card key systems, or other physical access control methods. The use of computer systems is regulated with installed security software, computer logon identifications, and operating system controls including access controls, terminal and transaction logging, and file management software.

Retention and Disposal
  1. Records about false representations, lotteries, or nonmailable matter through the mails are retained 20 years.
  2. Records about prohibitory orders against pandering advertisers are retained 5 years following issuance of order or last application for enforcement.
  3. Records about an appeal of withholding of mail are retained 1 year after final disposition of the case.
  4. Records about refusal to provide, or involuntary termination of, Post Office box or caller service are retained 1 year after final disposition of the case.

Records existing on paper are destroyed by burning, pulping, or shredding. Records existing on computer storage media are destroyed according to the applicable USPS media sanitization practice.

System Manager(s) and Address

General Counsel and Executive Vice President, United States Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260.

Notification Procedure

Individuals wanting to know if information about them is maintained in this system of records must address inquiries to the system manager, and provide the following information: the full name of the subject individual; and, if applicable, the names of respondents, appellants, plaintiffs, attorneys or agents; and dates of appeals, filings, or proceedings.

Record Access Procedures

Requests for access must be made in accordance with the Notification Procedure above and USPS Privacy Act regulations regarding access to records and verification of identity under 39 CFR 266.6.

Contesting Record Procedures

See Notification Procedure and Record Access Procedures above.

Record Source Categories

Subject individuals; their counsel or other representative; postal inspectors; Prohibitory Order Processing Center personnel; members of the Judicial Officer Department; attorneys for USPS; attorneys for mailers; witnesses; and postmasters.

Systems Exempted From Certain Provisions of the Act

Records in this system that have been compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or proceeding are exempt from individual access as permitted by 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(5). The USPS has also claimed exemption from certain provisions of the Act for several of its other systems of records at 39 CFR 266.9. To the extent that copies of exempted records from those other systems are incorporated into this system, the exemptions applicable to the original primary system continue to apply to the incorporated records.