[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 34214-34215] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-16589] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records AGENCY: United States Information Agency. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(11)), the United States Information Agency (USIA) is issuing notice of our intent to amend the system of records entitled the Employee Payroll and Retirement System, USIA-20, to include a new routine use. The disclosure is required by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA, Pub. L. 104-193). We invite public comment on this publication. DATE: Persons wishing to comment on the proposed routine use must do so by July 23, 1998. EFFECTIVE DATES: The proposed routine use will become effective as proposed without further notice on [insert date 30 days from date of publication] unless comments dictate otherwise. ADDRESSES: Interested individuals may comment on this publication by writing to Lola L. Secora, FOIA/PA Officer, USIA, 301 4th Street, SW, Room M-29, Washington, DC 20547; fax number (202) 205-0374; or email address: [email protected]. All comments received will be available for public inspection at that address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lola L. Secora, FOIA/PA Officer, USIA, 301 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20547; telephone (202) 619-5499; fax number (202) 205-0374; or email address: [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Pub. L. 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the United States Information Agency will disclose data from its Employee Payroll and Retirement System of records to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services for use in the National Database of New Hires, part of the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) and Federal Tax Offset System, DHHS/OCSE No. 09-90-0074. A description of the Federal Parent Locator Service may be found at 62 FR 51663 (October 2, 1997). FPLS is a computerized network through which States may request location information from Federal and State agencies to find non- custodial parents and their employers for purposes of establishing paternity and security support. On October 1, 1997, the FPLS was expanded to include the National Directory of New Hires, a database containing employment information on employees recently hired, quarterly wage data on private and public sector employees, and information on unemployment compensation benefits. On October 1, 1998, the FPLS will be expanded further to include a Federal Case Registry. The Federal Case Registry will contain abstracts on all participants involved in child support enforcement cases. When the Federal Case Registry is instituted, its files will be matched on an ongoing basis against the files in the National Directory of New Hires to determine if an employee is a participant in a child support case anywhere in the country. If the FPLS identifies a person as being a participant in a State child support case, that State will be notified. State requests to the FPLS for location information will also continue to be processed after October 1, 1998. When individuals are hired by the United States Information Agency, we may disclose to the FPLS their names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, dates of hire, and information identifying us as the employer. We also may disclose to FPLS names, social security numbers, and quarterly earnings of each United States Information Agency employee, within one month of the end of the quarterly reporting period. Information submitted by the United States Information Agency to the FPLS will be disclosed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Social Security Administration for verification to ensure that the social security number provided is correct. The data disclosed by the United States Information Agency to the FPLS will also be disclosed by the Office of Child Support Enforcement to the Secretary of the Treasury for use in verifying claims for the advance payment of the earned income tax credit or to verify a claim of employment on a tax return. We are also making other changes required to update the Agency's system of records. From page 10659, FR Vol. 62, No. 45, Friday, March 7, 1997, Notices, change USIA-34 to read: USIA-41, System Name: Office of Civil Rights Complaint Files--OCR. Accordingly, the USIA-20. Employee Payroll and Retirement System--M/CF, originally published in the FR's Privacy Act Issuances, 1995 Compilation, and most recently amended at FR, Vol. 62, No. 45, March 7, 1997 is further amended by addition of the following routine use: Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses: * * * * * The names, social security numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, dates of hire, quarterly earnings, employer [[Page 34215]] identifying information, and State of hire of employees may be disclosed as a routine use to the Office of Child Support Enforcement, Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of locating individuals to establish paternity, establishing and modifying orders of child support, identifying sources of income, and for other child support enforcement actions as required by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Welfare Reform law, Pub. L. 104-193). Dated: June 17, 1998. Les Jin, General Counsel. Narrative Statement The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 requires Federal agencies and instrumentalities to transmit information about employees newly hired and quarterly earnings to a National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Pub. L. 104-193, SS316(f), codified at 42 U.S.C. 653. Agencies must publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that a new ``routine use'' will be added to the agency's Privacy Act system of records covering payroll information. [FR Doc. 98-16589 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8230-01-?