4 Records Notification, Access, and Disclosure Procedures Under the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act
4 Records Notification, Access, and Disclosure Procedures Under the Privacy Act and Freedom of Information Act
4-1 General
4-1.1 Privacy Act of 1974
4-1.2 Freedom of Information Act
4-1.3 Additional Guidance for Responding to Requests Under the Privacy Act and FOIA
4-1.3.1 Additional Postal Service Resources
4-1.3.2 Department of Justice Guidance
4-1.3.3 Office of Management and Budget Guidance
4-2 Public Records and Information Under FOIA
4-2.1 Records Available in Reading Rooms
4-2.1.1 Responsibilities of Records Custodians
4-2.1.2 Reading Rooms
4-2.2 Other Information Available to the Public
4-2.2.1 Public Information About Postal Service Customers
4-2.2.2 Public Information About Postal Service Employees
4-3 Responding to Notification, Access, and Disclosure Requests Under the Privacy Act
4-3.1 Responsibility for Responding to Notification, Access, or Disclosure Requests Under the Privacy Act
4-3.2 Responding to Requester’s Request for Notification of or Access to Records About Himself or Herself Under the Privacy Act
4-3.2.1 Evaluating Under the FOIA a Request for Access by Requester to His or Her Records
4-3.2.2 Determining Qualification as a Covered Individual, Record, and System of Records
4-3.2.3 Determining Sufficiency of Form of Request
4-3.2.4 Determining Sufficiency of Content of Request
4-3.2.5 Verifying Requester’s Identity for Access Request
4-3.2.6 Searching for Responsive Records
4-3.2.7 Determining Whether Records Responsive to Access Request Are Also About Someone Other Than the Requester
4-3.2.8 Considering Postal Reorganization Act Exemptions for an Access Request
4-3.2.9 Considering Privacy Act Exemptions
4-3.2.10 Handling Medical or Psychological Records Responsive to an Access Request
4-3.2.11 Assessing and Collecting Fees for Access Request
4-3.2.12 Responding to the Requester
4-3.2.13 Creating and Retaining the Administrative File
4-3.2.14 Preserving the Responsive Records
4-3.3 Responding to Request by Third Party for Disclosure of Records About an Individual Under the Privacy Act
4-3.3.1 Determining Qualification as a Covered Individual, Record, System of Records, Person, and Agency
4-3.3.2 Making Internal Disclosures
4-3.3.3 Making External Disclosures
4-3.3.4 Validating Records Before Making Certain External Disclosures
4-3.3.5 Notification to Certain External Third Parties of Correction of Records or Notation of Dispute
4-3.4 Administrative Appeals Relating to Notification and Access Requests Under the Privacy Act
4-3.4.1 Responsibility for Deciding Appeal
4-3.4.2 Form and Content of Appeal
4-3.4.3 Time Period for Filing Appeal
4-3.4.4 Form and Content of Appeal Decision
4-3.4.5 No Adjudication if Privacy Act Suit Filed
4-3.4.6 Final Decision on Issues Appealed
4-3.5 Accounting for Disclosures to External Third Parties Under the Privacy Act
4-3.5.1 Keeping Accounting of Disclosures
4-3.5.2 Preparing Accounting of Disclosure Record
4-3.5.3 Filing and Retention of Accounting of Disclosure Record
4-3.5.4 Request for Accounting of Disclosures and Response
4-4 Responding to Requests Under the Freedom of Information Act
4-4.1 Records Required by FOIA to be Made Available to the Public
4-4.2 Assigning FOIA Tracking Number to and Acknowledgment of Request
4-4.3 Responsibility for Responding to a Request Under the FOIA
4-4.4 Evaluating First Under the Privacy Act a Request for Disclosure to the Requester of His or Her Records
4-4.5 Determining Qualification as a Covered Person and Record
4-4.6 Determining Sufficiency of Form of Request
4-4.7 Determining Whether a Request Asks for Disclosure of Records
4-4.8 Determining Whether a Request Provides the Requester’s Full Name and Mailing Address
4-4.9 Determining Sufficiency of Content of Request
4-4.10 Requesting Additional Information About the Request
4-4.11 Verifying the Requester’s Identity
4-4.12 Determining Whether to Neither Confirm Nor Deny the Existence of Records
4-4.13 Assessment and Collection of Fees
4-4.14 Time Limits
4-4.15 Time Extensions
4-4.16 Multitrack Processing
4-4.17 Expedited Processing
4-4.18 Searching for Responsive Records
4-4.19 Referral to or Consultation or Coordination With Another Postal Service Component or Agency
4-4.20 Coordinating Response With Another Postal Service Component or Agency
4-4.21 Procedures Upon Receipt of a Consultation from Another Agency
4-4.22 Considering FOIA Exclusions
4-4.23 Considering Postal Reorganization Act Exemptions
4-4.24 Considering FOIA Exemptions
4-4.24.1 General
4-4.24.2 Exemptions
4-4.25 Determining Segregable Portions of Records and Marking PRA/FOIA Exemptions
4-4.26 Writing the Response
4-4.27 Documentation and Preservation of Records
4-4.28 Administrative Appeals
4-4.29 After the Final Decision
