USPS

300.000

System Name:
Finance Records.

System Location

Computer Operations Service Centers, Integrated Business Solutions Services Centers, Accounting Service Centers, area and district facilities, personnel offices, Headquarters, Post Offices, and contractor sites.

Categories of Individuals Covered by the System

  1. Debtors of USPS, including suppliers, customers, payees of money orders, and current and former employees.
  2. Individuals or entities to whom USPS makes payments for materials and services received or expenses incurred in conjunction with official USPS business.

Categories of Records in the System

  1. Accounts receivable information: Debtor’s name, contact information; Social Security Number or Employee Identification Number; invoice number, other invoice or claim information, and records obtained from or disclosed to consumer reporting or credit reporting agencies.
  2. Accounts payable information: Creditors’ name, contact information; vendor identification number, tax identification number, Social Security Number, or Employee Identification Number; and other transaction details such as account, credit card, or financial institution numbers, dates, amounts, and batch numbers.

Authority for Maintenance of the System

39 U.S.C. 401, 404, 410, 1001, 1005, 1206, and 2008.

Purpose(s)

  1. To facilitate debt collection by USPS.
  2. To support payments to creditors of USPS.

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

Standard routine uses 1. through 10. apply. In addition:

  1. Disclosure of records about USPS customers who write insufficient funds checks for USPS services may be made to the permit holder or presenter of a mailing being made on the customer’s behalf. Disclosure is limited to the identity of the customer, the date of the mailing, and the date and amount of the check.
  2. Disclosure of records about individuals indebted to USPS may be made to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) under an approved computer matching program, but limited to those data elements considered relevant to determine whether the indebted individual has retirement funds available for setoff, collecting debts when funds are available for setoff, and writing off debts determined to be uncollectible.
  3. Disclosure of records about individuals indebted to USPS may be made to the Defense Manpower Data Center of the Department of Defense under an approved computer matching program to identify and locate such individuals in order to initiate collection of the debts through salary and/or administrative offset procedures.
  4. Disclosure of records about individuals indebted to USPS may be made to the Internal Revenue Service under an approved computer matching program to obtain the mailing address of a taxpayer in order to locate the taxpayer to collect a debt owed to USPS.
  5. Disclosure of records may be made to the Department of the Treasury under Treasury Offset Program computer matching to establish the identity of a current or former Postal Service Employee as an individual owing a delinquent debt to another federal agency and to offset the salary of or payments to the employee to repay that debt.

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

Storage

Automated database, computer storage media, and paper.

Retrievability

Accounts receivable records are retrieved by debtor name, Social Security Number, Employee Identification Number, or invoice number. Accounts payable records are retrieved by creditor name, creditor identification number, credit card number, financial institution account number, transaction date, or batch 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

Accounts receivable records are retained 3 years after the claim is paid. Accounts payable records are retained 3 years beyond the end of the fiscal year in which payment was made. 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

Vice President, Controller, United States Postal Service,
475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260.

Notification Procedure

Inquiries about accounts receivable records must be submitted to the pertinent USPS facility. Inquiries about accounts payable records must be submitted to the system manager. Inquiries must include the individual’s full name and tax identification number or Social Security Number.

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

Debtors and creditors; other systems of records; government travel card vendor; employee-designated financial institutions; and other federal agencies to which creditors have delinquent debts.