Dol/govt-1

Privacy Act Systems - DOL/GOVT-1

Office of the
Solicitor
July 28, 2009

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DOL/GOVT-1

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Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Federal Employees' Compensation Act File.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATIONS:
Most files and data are unclassified. Files and data in certain cases have Top Secret classification, but the
rules concerning their maintenance and disclosure are determined by the agency, which has given the
information the security classification of Top Secret.

SYSTEM LOCATION:
The central database for DOL/GOVT-1 is located at SUNGUARD, 600 Laurel Oak Road, Voorhees, New
Jersey, 08043. Paper claim files and local databases are located at the various OWCP district offices, and
in Kansas City (for imaged cases only); claim files of employees of the Central Intelligence Agency are
located at that agency. Records from this system of records may be temporarily located in the office of
health care providers and other individuals or entities with whom the Department contracts for such
services as examination or evaluation of claimants. Copies of claim forms and other documents arising
out of a job-related injury that resulted in the filing of a claim under the Federal Employees'
Compensation Act (FECA), may also be maintained by the employing agency (and where the forms were
transmitted to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) electronically, the original forms
are maintained by the employing agency). In addition, records relating to third-party claims of FECA
beneficiaries are maintained in the Division of Employee Benefits, Office of the Solicitor, United States
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210-0002, in the offices of the
Regional and Associate Regional Solicitors, and in various offices of the United States Postal Service,
which undertakes various duties relating to third party claims pursuant to an agreement with OWCP.
Pursuant to the Department of Labor's Flexiplace Programs, copies of records may be temporarily
located at alternative worksites, including employees' homes or at geographically convenient satellite
offices for part of the workweek. All appropriate safeguards will be taken at these sites.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals and/or their survivors who file claims seeking benefits under the FECA by reason of injuries
sustained while in the performance of duty. The FECA applies to all civilian federal employees, including
various classes of persons who provide or have provided personal service to the government of the
United States, and to other persons as defined by law such as state or local law enforcement officers,
and their survivors, who were injured or killed while assisting in the enforcement of federal law. In
addition, the FECA covers employees of the Civil Air Patrol, Peace Corps Volunteers, Job Corps students,
Volunteers in Service to America, members of the National Teacher Corps, certain student employees,

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members of the Reserve Officers Training Corps, certain former prisoners of war, and employees of
particular commissions and other agencies.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system may contain the following kinds of records:

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Legal Professionals

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Honors Attorney Program

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Veteran Preference

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reports of injury by the employee and/or employing agency; claim forms filed by or on behalf of injured
federal employees or their survivors seeking benefits under the FECA; forms authorizing medical care
and treatment; other medical records and reports; bills and other payment records; compensation
payment records; formal orders for or against the payment of benefits; transcripts of hearings
conducted; and any other medical, employment, or personal information submitted or gathered in
connection with the claim. The system may also contain information relating to dates of birth, marriage,
divorce, and death; notes of telephone conversations conducted in connection with the claim;
information relating to vocational and/or medical rehabilitation plans and progress reports; records
relating to court proceedings, insurance, banking and employment; articles from newspapers and other
publications; information relating to other benefits (financial and otherwise) the claimant may be entitled
to; and information received from various investigative agencies concerning possible violations of Federal
civil or criminal law.
The system may also contain consumer credit reports on individuals indebted to the United States,
information relating to the debtor's assets, liabilities, income and expenses, personal financial
statements, correspondence to and from the debtor, information relating to the location of the debtor,
and other records and reports relating to the implementation of the Federal Claims Collection Act (as
amended), including investigative reports or administrative review matters. Individual records listed here
are included in a claim file only insofar as they may be pertinent or applicable to the employee or
beneficiary.

AUTHORITY:
5 U.S.C. 8101 et seq., 20 CFR 1.1 et seq.

PURPOSE(S):
The FECA establishes the system for processing and adjudicating claims that federal employees and
other covered individuals file with the Department of Labor's OWCP, seeking monetary, medical and
similar benefits for injuries or deaths sustained while in the performance of duty. The records maintained
in this system are created as a result of and are necessary to this process. The records provide
information and verification about the individual's employment-related injury and the resulting
disabilities and/or impairments, if any, on which decisions awarding or denying benefits provided under
the FECA must be based.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
In addition to those Department-wide routine uses set forth above in the General Prefatory Statement to
this document, disclosure of information from this system of records may be made to the following
individuals and entities for the purposes noted when the purpose of the disclosure is both relevant and
necessary and is compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected:
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a. To any attorney or other representative of a FECA beneficiary for the purpose of assisting in a claim or
litigation against a third party or parties potentially liable to pay damages as a result of the FECA
beneficiary's FECA-covered injury and for the purpose of administering the provisions of §§ 8131-8132
of the FECA. Any such third party, or a representative acting on that third party's behalf, may be
provided information or documents concerning the existence of a record and the amount and nature of
compensation paid to or on behalf of the FECA beneficiary for the purpose of assisting in the resolution
of the claim or litigation against that party or administering the provisions of §§ 8131-8132 of the FECA.
b. To federal agencies that employed the claimant at the time of the occurrence or recurrence of the
injury or occupational illness in order to verify billing, to assist in administering the FECA, to answer
questions about the status of the claim, to consider rehire, retention or other actions the agency may be
required to take with regard to the claim or to permit the agency to evaluate its safety and health
program. Disclosure to federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, may be made where OWCP
determines that such disclosure is relevant and necessary for the purpose of providing assistance in
regard to asserting a defense based upon the FECA's exclusive remedy provision to an administrative
claim or to litigation filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
c. To other federal agencies, other government or private entities and to private-sector employers as
part of rehabilitation and other return-to-work programs and services available through OWCP, where
the entity is considering hiring the claimant or where otherwise necessary as part of that return-to-work
effort.
d. To federal, state or private rehabilitation agencies and individuals to whom the claimant has been
referred for evaluation of rehabilitation and possible reemployment.
e. To physicians, pharmacies, and other health care providers for their use in treating the claimant, in
conducting an examination or preparing an evaluation on behalf of OWCP and for other purposes relating
to the medical management of the claim, including evaluation of and payment for charges for medical
and related services and supplies.
f. To medical insurance or health and welfare plans (or their designees) that cover the claimant in
instances where OWCP had paid for treatment of a medical condition that is not compensable under the
FECA, or where a medical insurance plan or health and welfare plan has paid for treatment of a medical
condition that may be compensable under the FECA, for the purpose of resolving the appropriate source
of payment in such circumstances.
g. To labor unions and other voluntary employee associations from whom the claimant has requested
assistance for the purpose of providing such assistance to the claimant.
h. To a federal, state or local agency for the purpose of obtaining information relevant to a determination
concerning initial or continuing eligibility for FECA benefits, and for a determination concerning whether
benefits have been or are being properly paid, including whether dual benefits that are prohibited under
any applicable federal or state statute are being paid; and for the purpose of utilizing salary offset and
debt collection procedures, including those actions required by the Debt Collection Act of 1982, to collect
debts arising as a result of overpayments of FECA compensation and debts otherwise related to the
payment of FECA benefits.
i. To the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the purpose of obtaining taxpayer mailing addresses for the
purposes of locating a taxpayer to collect, compromise, or write-off a federal claim against such
taxpayer; and informing the IRS of the discharge of a debt owed by an individual. Records from this
system of records may be disclosed to the IRS for the purpose of offsetting a federal claim from any
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income tax refund that may be due to the debtor.
j. To the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the purpose of using injury reports
filed by Federal agencies pursuant to the FECA to fulfill agency injury reporting requirements.
Information in this system of records may be disclosed to OSHA by employing agencies as part of any
MIS system established under OSHA regulations to monitor health and safety.
k. To contractors providing services to DOL or any other federal agency or any other individual or entity
specified in any of these routine uses or in the Department's General Prefatory Statement who require
the data to perform the services that they have contracted to perform, provided that those services are
consistent with the routine use for which the information was disclosed to the contracting entity. Should
such a disclosure be made to the contractor, the individual or entity making such disclosure shall insure
that the contractor complies fully with all Privacy Act provisions, including those prohibiting unlawful
disclosure of such information.
l. To the Defense Manpower Data Center - Department of Defense and the United States Postal Service
to conduct computer matching programs for the purpose of identifying and locating individuals who are
receiving Federal salaries or benefit payments and are delinquent in their repayment of debts owed to
the United States under programs administered by the DOL in order to collect the debts under the
provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365) by voluntary repayment, or by salary or
administrative offset procedures.
m. To a credit bureau for the purpose of obtaining consumer credit reports identifying the assets,
liabilities, expenses, and income of a debtor in order to ascertain the debtor's ability to repay a debt
incurred under the FECA, to collect the debt, or to establish a payment schedule.
n. To consumer reporting agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.
C. 1681a(f)) or in accordance with section 3 (d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 as
amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of encouraging the repayment of an overdue debt, the
amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and address, taxpayer identification (SSN), and
other information necessary to establish the identity of a debtor, the agency and program under which
the claim arose, may be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a (b)(12)
o. To a Member of Congress or to a Congressional staff member in response to an inquiry made by an
individual seeking assistance who is the subject of the record being disclosed for the purpose of
providing such assistance.
p. To individuals, and their attorneys and other representatives, and government agencies, seeking to
enforce a legal obligation on behalf of such individual or agency, to pay alimony and/or child support for
the purpose of enforcing such an obligation, pursuant to an order of a state or local court of competent
jurisdiction, including Indian tribal courts, within any State, territory or possession of the United States,
or the District of Columbia or to an order of a State agency authorized to issue income withholding
notices pursuant to State or local law or pursuant to the requirements of section 666(b) of title 42,
United States Code, or for the purpose of denying the existence of funds subject to such legal obligation.

Note: Disclosure of information contained in this system of records to the subject of the record, a
person who is duly authorized to act on his or her behalf, or to others to whom disclosure is authorized
by these routine uses, may be made over the telephone or by electronic means. Disclosure over the
telephone or by electronic means will only be done where the requestor provides appropriate identifying
information. Telephonic or electronic disclosure of information is essential to permit efficient
administration and adjudication of claims under the FECA. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)(1),
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information from this system of records may be disclosed to members and staff of the Employees'
Compensation Appeals Board, the Office of Administrative Law Judges, the Office of the Solicitor and
other components of the Department who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties.

DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
The amount, status and history of overdue debts, the name and address, taxpayer identification (SSAN),
and other information necessary to establish the identity of a debtor, the agency and program under
which the claim arose, may be disclosed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12) to consumer reporting
agencies as defined by section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or in
accordance with section 3(d)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 as amended (31 U.S.
C. 3711(f)) for the purpose of encouraging the repayment of an overdue debt.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING AND
DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Paper case files are maintained in manual files, while security case files are in locked cabinets.
Automated data, including case files that have been transformed into electronic form, are stored in
computer discs or magnetic tapes, which are stored in cabinets. Microfiche is stored in cabinets.

RETRIEVABILITY:
Files and automated data are retrieved after identification by coded file number and/or Social Security
Number which is cross-referenced to employee by name, employing establishment, and date and nature
of injury. Since the electronic case management files were created in 1975, these electronic files are
located in District Offices which have jurisdiction over the claim, and (as noted above under "system
location"), a complete central data base is maintained at the location of the contractor. Prior to 1975, a
paper index file was maintained; these records were transferred to microfiche and are located in the
national office.

SAFEGUARDS:
Files and automated data are maintained under supervision of OWCP personnel during normal working
hours - only authorized personnel, with the appropriate password, may handle, retrieve, or disclose any
information contained therein. Only personnel having an appropriate security clearance may handle or
process security files. After normal working hours, security files are kept in locked cabinets. Access to
electronic records is controlled by password or other user identification code.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
All case files and automated data pertaining to a claim are destroyed 15 years after the case file has
become inactive. Case files that have been scanned to create electronic copies are destroyed after the
copies are verified. Automated data is retained in its most current form only, however, and as
information is updated, outdated information is deleted. Some related financial records are retained only
in electronic form, and destroyed 6 years and 3 months after creation or receipt.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
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Director for Federal Employees' Compensation, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, 200
Constitution Avenue, NW, Room S-3229, Washington, DC 20210-0002.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
An individual wishing to inquire whether this system of records contains information about him/her may
write or telephone the OWCP district office that services the state in which the individual resided or
worked at the time he or she believes a claim was filed. In order for the record to be located, the
individual must provide his or her full name, OWCP claim number (if known), date of injury (if known),
and date of birth.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Any individual seeking access to non-exempt information about a case in which he/she is a party in
interest may write or telephone the OWCP district office where the case is located, or the systems
manager, and arrangements will be made to provide review of the file. Access to copies of documents
maintained by the employing agency may be secured by contacting that agency's designated disclosure
officials.

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Specific materials in this system have been exempted from certain Privacy Act provisions regarding the
amendment of records. The section of this notice entitled "Systems Exempted From Certain Provisions of
the Act," indicates the kind of materials exempted, and the reasons for exempting them. Any individual
requesting amendment of non-exempt records should contact the appropriate OWCP district office, or
the system manager. Individuals requesting amendment of records must comply with the Department's
Privacy Act regulations at 29 CFR 71.1 and 71.9, and with the regulations found at 20 CFR 10.12 (1999).

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Injured employees; beneficiaries; employing Federal agencies; other Federal agencies; physicians;
hospitals; clinics; suppliers of health care products and services and their agents and representatives;
educational institutions; attorneys; Members of Congress; OWCP field investigations; State
governments; consumer credit reports; agency investigative reports; correspondence with the debtor
including personal financial statements; records relating to hearings on the debt; and other DOL systems
of records.

SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), investigative material in this system of records compiled for law
enforcement purposes is exempt from subsections (c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f) of 5
U.S.C. 552a, provided, however, that if any individual is denied any right, privilege, or benefit that he or
she would otherwise be entitled to by Federal law, or for which he or she would otherwise be eligible, as
a result of the maintenance of these records, such material shall be provided to the individual, except to
the extent that the disclosure of the material would reveal the identity of a source who furnished
information to the Government under an express promise that the identity of the source would be held in
confidence, or prior to January 1, 1975, under an implied promise that the identity of the source would
be held in confidence.
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