Effective September 5, 2013, the Postal Service™ is revising Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy and the Freedom of Information Act, to include the following modifications, which were published in the Federal Register on July 18, 2013 (78 FR 43247 – 43249).
The U.S. Postal Service® is amending systems of records (SOR) 100.000, General Personnel Records, and 100.100, Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records, to account for the current practice of collecting the personal email addresses of applicants and potential applicants for Postal Service employment. Additionally, SOR 100.300, Employee Development and Training Records, is being updated to facilitate the assessment services of contractors as part of its continued effort to develop and hire talent into leadership positions. Employee assessments will now be included among the record categories for that system. Lastly, the Postal Service is amending SOR 100.600, Personnel Research Records, to enable Human Resources to contact former employees via their personal email addresses for the purpose of obtaining feedback so that the Postal Service may continuously improve its processes. Additionally, the category of “veterans status” is being added to the existing categories of personnel research information. A minor change is also being made to clarify that Employee Identification Numbers, which are used to identify Postal Service employees in other records systems, will be a category of records in this system.
Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy and the Freedom of Information Act
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Appendix — Privacy Act Systems of Records
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Section E. Complete Text of Systems of Records
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USPS 100.000 — General Personnel Records
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Categories of Records in the System
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1. Employee, former employee, and family member information: Name(s), Social Security Number(s), Employee Identification Number, date(s) of birth, place(s) of birth, marital status, postal assignment information, work contact information, home address(es) and phone number(s), personal email address, finance number(s), duty location, and pay location.
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USPS 100.100 — Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records
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Categories of Records in the System
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1. Applicant, potential applicants with candidate profiles, and employee information: Name(s), Social Security Number(s), Candidate Identification Number, Employee Identification Number, date(s) of birth, postal assignment or vacancy/job posting history information, work contact information, home address(es) and phone number(s), personal email address, finance number(s), duty location, and pay location.
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USPS 100.300 — Employee Development and Training Records
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System Location
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Management training centers, Integrated Business Solutions Services Centers, other USPS facilities where career development and training records are stored, and contractor sites.
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Categories of Records in the System
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2. Employee development and training information: Records related to career development, work history, assessments, skills bank participation, USPS- and non-USPS-sponsored training, examinations, evaluations of training, and USPS lodging when a discrepancy report is filed against the student about unauthorized activities while occupying the room.
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USPS 100.600 — Personnel Research Records
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Categories of Individuals Covered by the System
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Potential applicants for USPS employment, applicants for USPS employment, USPS employee applicants for reassignment and/or promotion, employees whose work records or solicited responses are used in research projects, and former USPS employees.
Categories of Records in the System
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1. Applicant, potential applicant with candidate profile, and employee information: Name, Social Security Number, Candidate Identification Number, Employee Identification Number (EIN), or respondent identification code, place of birth, postal assignment or vacancy/posting information, work contact information, home address and phone number(s), personal email address, finance number(s), duty location, and pay location.
2. Personnel research information: Records related to race, ethnicity, sex, tenure, age, veteran status, and disability status (only if volunteered by the individual); research project identifiers; and other information pertinent to personnel research.
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Purpose(s)
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2. To assess the impact of selection decisions on applicants in race, ethnicity, sex, tenure, age, veteran status, and disability categories.
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Retrievability
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By individual name, Social Security Number, Candidate Identification Number, Employee Identification Number, personal email address, respondent identification code, research project identifiers, postal assignment or vacancy/posting information, duty or pay location, or location where data were collected.
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Notification Procedure
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Individuals wanting to know if information about them is maintained in this system of records must address inquiries to the Vice President, Employee Resource Management, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260. In cases of studies involving information not collected through an examination, individuals must address inquiries to the system manager. Inquiries must contain full name; Candidate Identification Number, Employee Identification Number, or respondent identification code, and subject or purpose of research/survey; and date and location of their participation.
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Record Source Categories
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USPS employees, former employees, applicants, and potential applicants with candidate profiles who provide information to personnel research programs and other systems of records.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next online issue of Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy and the Freedom of Information Act, which is available on the Postal Service PolicyNet website:
n Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
n Under “Essential Links” in the left-hand column, click PolicyNet.
n On the PolicyNet page, click HBKs.
(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)
— Privacy Office,
General Counsel and Executive Vice President, 9-5-13
