[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 108 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34477-34481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12067]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2020-0004]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
AGENCY: Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, Social Security
Administration (SSA).
ACTION: Notice of a modified system of records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act, we are issuing public
notice of our intent to modify an existing system of records entitled,
Electronic Disability Claim File (60-0320), hereinafter referred to as
the eDib Claim File, last published on December 22, 2003. This notice
publishes details of the modified system as set forth below under the
caption, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
DATES: The system of records notice (SORN) is applicable upon its
publication in today's Federal Register, with the exception of the
routine uses, which are effective July 6, 2020. We invite public
comment on the routine uses or other aspects of this SORN. In
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) and (e)(11), the public is given a
30-day period in which to submit comments. Therefore, please submit any
comments by July 6, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The public, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and
Congress may comment on this publication by writing to the Executive
Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the General
Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401, or through the Federal e-Rulemaking
Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, please reference docket number
SSA-2020-0004. All comments we receive will be available for public
inspection at the above address and we will post them to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Tookes, Government Information
Specialist, Privacy Implementation Division, Office of Privacy and
Disclosure, Office of the General Counsel, SSA, Room G-401 West High
Rise, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-6401,
telephone: (410) 966-5855, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are modifying the system of records name
from ``eDib Claim File, Social Security Administration, Deputy
Commissioner for Disability and Income Security Programs'' to
``Electronic Disability (eDib) Claim File'' to accurately reflect the
system. We are modifying the system manager to clarify the name of the
office.
In addition, we are clarifying the categories of individuals
covered by the system of records and expanding the categories of
records to include vendor information concerning medical examiners or
medical providers from whom SSA obtains medical records to support
medical disability determinations. Specific identifying information
concerning the vendor could include name, address, telephone number,
tax identification number or employer identification number.
We are modifying the categories of records to include beneficiary
notice control number (BNC). Section 2 of the Social Security Number
Fraud Prevention Act of 2017 (H.R. 624, Pub. L. 115-59, hereafter
referred to as P.L. 115-59), restricts the inclusion of Social
[[Page 34478]]
Security numbers (SSN) on documents the Federal government sends by
mail. Some of our mailed documents include a placeholder for the
responder to include the full SSN. Pursuant to P.L. 115-59, we will
retain the SSN for mailed documents that we determined are ``mission
critical'' and require an SSN to facilitate our business processes. The
remaining mailed documents that are not mission critical will have the
SSN removed and replaced with a BNC. We also clarified that this system
contains data from other SSA systems of records.
We are modifying the eDib Claim File to include the Disability Case
Processing System (DCPS). DCPS modernizes the technology infrastructure
that supports disability case processing nationwide. DCPS contains
information from SSA and Disability Determination Services (DDS)
personnel, disability applicants, disability claimants or individuals
authorized to represent them, beneficiaries, third parties (e.g.,
medical examiners and medical providers). DCPS interfaces with existing
SSA disability claims systems to gather information needed to process
disability claims and make final disability determinations.
The Disability Vendor Repository (DVR) is maintained within DCPS.
The DVR is where we maintain a list of medical examiners and medical
providers. The DVR contains vendor information that supports the
disability determination process; specifically, medical evidence
requests, consultative exam requests, medical and non-medical
assistance requests, and fiscal processes.
We are deleting routine use No. 17, of the prior version of the
SORN, as it is no longer applicable and no longer a condition of the
individual's eligibility for payment under section 1611(e)(3) of the
Social Security Act. This routine use permitted disclosures to
institutions or facilities approved for the treatment of drug addicts
or alcoholics. We are also adding a routine use to permit disclosures
to contractors, cooperative agreement awardees, Federal and State
agencies, and Federal congressional support agencies for research and
statistical activities. In the past, we disclosed information from this
system of records to the entities listed above under our efficient
administration routine use. We are establishing this new routine use to
distinguish disclosures that we make specifically for research
purposes. We are also modifying the policies and practices for the
retrieval of records to clarify that we will also retrieve records by
BNC.
Lastly, we are modifying the notice throughout to correct
miscellaneous stylistic formatting and typographical errors of the
previously published notice, and to ensure the language reads
consistently across multiple systems. We are republishing the entire
notice for ease of reference.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), we provided a report to OMB
and Congress on this modified system of records.
Matthew Ramsey,
Executive Director, Office of Privacy and Disclosure, Office of the
General Counsel.
SYSTEM NAME:
Electronic Disability (eDib) Claim File, 60-0320.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
The eDib Claim Files are virtually established in Social Security
Administration (SSA) field offices when claims for benefits are filed,
or a lead is expected to result in a claim. The electronic records are
maintained at: Social Security Administration, Office of Systems,
National Computer Center, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Social Security Administration, Deputy Commissioner of Retirement
and Disability Policy, Office of Disability Policy, 6401 Security
Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
Sections 202-205, 216, 221, 223, 226, 228, 1611, 1614, 1631, 1818,
1836, and 1840 of the Social Security Act, as amended.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
The eDib Claim File contains material related to the request for or
continuation of benefit payments under Titles II and XVI of the Social
Security Act. We will use the information in this system for purposes
of pursuing claims; collecting, documenting, organizing and maintaining
information and documents for making determinations of eligibility for
disability benefits, the amount of benefits, the appropriate payee for
benefits; reviewing continuing eligibility; holding hearings or
administrative review processes; ensuring that proper adjustments are
made based on events affecting entitlement; and answering inquiries. We
may also use eDib claim files for quality review, evaluation, and
measurement studies, and other statistical and research purposes. We
may maintain extracts as interviewing tools, activity logs, records of
claims clearance, and records of type or nature of actions taken.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains information about claimants and those acting
on their behalf, applicants, beneficiaries and potential claimants for
disability benefits and payments administered by SSA. The system also
maintains information about medical examiners and medical providers.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
This system maintains records that include, but are not limited to,
the name, Social Security number (SSN), and date of birth of the
claimant or potential claimant and may contain the application for
benefits; supporting evidence and documentation for initial and
continuing entitlement (e.g., diagnosis, beginning and end dates of
disability, basis for disability determination, copies of medical
reports, work history, educational level, reexamination date (if
applicable)); date of application; payment documentation;
correspondence to and from claimants or representatives; information
about representative payees; information received from third parties
regarding claimants' potential entitlement; BNC; vendor information
concerning medical examiners or medical providers from whom SSA obtains
medical records to support medical disability determinations; data
collected as a result of inquiries and complaints or evaluation and
measurement studies, which assess the effectiveness of claims policies;
records of certain actions entered directly into the computer
processes, which include reports of changes of address, work status and
other post-adjudicative actions; and abstracts used for statistical
purposes (e.g., disallowances, technical denials, and demographic and
statistical information relating to disability decisions).
The system may also include names and titles of persons making or
reviewing the determination and certain administrative data as well as
data relative to the location of the file and the status of the claim.
Finally, this system includes medical examiners' and medical
providers' names, address, tax identification number or employee
identification number, and an indicator when the medical examiner or
medical provider is listed on the Department of Health and Human
Services Office of Inspector
[[Page 34479]]
General's List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). The LEIE
list identifies medical providers or medical examiners who may provide
medical evidence to SSA that we cannot accept.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
We obtain information in this system from claimants, beneficiaries,
applicants and recipients; accumulated by SSA from reports of employers
or self-employed individuals; various local, State, and Federal
agencies, including from the LEIE; claimant representatives; and other
sources that support factors of entitlement and continuing eligibility,
(i.e., information received from third parties regarding claimant's
potential entitlement or eligibility). This system also contains data
from other SSA systems of records, including the Claims Folder (SORN
60-0089).
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
We will disclose records pursuant to the following routine uses;
however, we will not disclose any information defined as ``return or
return information'' under 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code
(IRC), unless authorized by statute, the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS), or IRS regulations.
1. To the Office of the President in response to an inquiry from
that office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of
the record or a third party acting on the subject's behalf.
2. To a congressional office in response to an inquiry from that
office made on behalf of, and at the request of, the subject of the
record or third party acting on the subject's behalf.
3. To the Department of Justice (DOJ), a court or other tribunal,
or another party before such court or tribunal, when:
(a) SSA, or any component thereof; or
(b) Any SSA employee in his or her official capacity; or
(c) Any SSA employee in his or her individual capacity where DOJ
(or SSA where it is authorized to do so) has agreed to represent the
employee; or
(d) The United States or any agency thereof where SSA determines
the litigation is likely to affect SSA or any of its components,
is a party to the litigation or has an interest in such litigation,
and we determine that the use of such records by DOJ, a court or other
tribunal, or another party before the tribunal is relevant and
necessary to the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, the
agency determines that disclosures of the records to DOJ, court or
other tribunal, or another party is a use of the information contained
in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the
records were collected.
4. To third party contacts (e.g., employers and private pension
plans) in situations where the party to be contacted has, or is
expected to have, information relating to the individual's capability
to manage his or her benefits or payments, or his or her eligibility
for or entitlement to benefits or eligibility for payments, under the
Social Security program when:
(a) The individual is unable to provide information being sought.
An individual is considered to be unable to provide certain types of
information when:
i. He or she is incapable or of questionable mental capability;
ii. He or she cannot read or write;
iii. He or she cannot afford the cost of obtaining the information;
iv. He or she has a hearing impairment, and contacts us via
telephone through a telecommunications relay system operator;
v. A language barrier exists; or
vi. The custodian of the information will not, as a matter of
policy, provide it to the individual; OR
(b) The data is necessary to establish the validity of evidence or
to verify the accuracy of information presented by the individual, and
it concerns one or more of the following:
i. His or her eligibility for benefits under the Social Security
program;
ii. The amount of his or her benefit or payment; or
iii. Any case in which the evidence is being reviewed as a result
of suspected abuse or fraud or concern for program integrity, quality
appraisal, or evaluation and measurement activities.
5. To third party contacts, where necessary, to establish or verify
information provided by representative payees or payee applicants.
6. To a person (or persons) on the rolls when a claim is filed by
an individual which is adverse to the person on the rolls, i.e.,
(a) An award of benefits to a new claimant precludes an award to a
prior claimant; or
(b) An award of benefits to a new claimant will reduce the benefit
payments to the individual(s) on the rolls, but only for information
concerning the facts relevant to the interest of each party in a claim.
7. To employers, current or former, for correcting or
reconstructing earnings records and for Social Security tax purposes.
8. To the Department of Treasury for:
(a) Collecting Social Security taxes, or as otherwise pertinent to
tax and benefit payment provisions of the Act, including SSN
verification services; and
(b) Investigating alleged theft, forgery, or unlawful negotiation
of Social Security checks.
9. To the United States Postal Service, for investigating the
alleged theft or forgery of Social Security checks.
10. To DOJ, for the purposes of:
(a) Investigating and prosecuting violations of the Act to which
criminal penalties attach;
(b) Representing the Commissioner of Social Security; and
(c) Investigating issues of fraud or violations of civil rights by
officers or SSA employees.
11. To the Department of State, for administration of the Social
Security Act in foreign countries through facilities and services of
that agency.
12. To the American Institute, a private corporation under contract
to the Department of State, for administering the Social Security Act
in Taiwan through facilities and services of that agency.
13. To the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Regional Office,
Manila, Philippines, for the administration of the Social Security Act
in the Philippines and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region through
services and facilities of that agency.
14. To the Department of Interior and its agents, for the purpose
of administering the Social Security Act in the Northern Mariana
Islands through facilities and services of that agency.
15. To State Social Security administrators, for administering
agreements pursuant to section 218 of the Act.
16. To private medical and vocational consultants, for use in
preparing for, or evaluating the results of, consultative medical
examinations or vocational assessments which they were engaged to
perform by SSA or a State agency, in accordance with sections 221 or
1633 of the Social Security Act.
17. To specified business and other community members and Federal,
State, and local agencies for verification of eligibility for benefits
under section 1631(e) of the Act.
18. To applicants, claimants, prospective applicants or claimants,
other than the data subject, their authorized representatives or
representative payees to the extent necessary to pursue Social Security
claims and to representative payees when the information pertains to
individuals for whom they serve as representative payees, for the
purpose of assisting SSA in administering its
[[Page 34480]]
representative payment responsibilities under the Social Security Act
and assisting the representative payees in performing their duties as
payees, including receiving and accounting for benefits for individuals
for whom they serve as payees.
19. In response to legal process or interrogatories relating to the
enforcement of an individual's child support or alimony obligations, as
required by sections 459 and 460 of the Social Security Act.
20. To Federal, State, or local agencies (or agents on their
behalf) for administering income or health maintenance programs,
including programs under the Social Security Act. Such disclosures
include the release of information to the following agencies, but are
not limited to:
(a) Railroad Retirement Board, for administering provisions of the
Railroad Retirement and Social Security Acts relating to railroad
employment, and for administering the Railroad Unemployment Insurance
Act;
(b) VA, for administering 38 U.S.C. 1312, and upon request, for
determining eligibility for, or amount of, veterans' benefits or
verifying other information with respect thereto pursuant to 38 U.S.C.
5106;
(c) Department of Labor, for administering provisions of Title IV
of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, as amended by the Black
Lung Benefits Act;
(d) State agencies for administering the Medicaid program;
(e) State agencies for making determinations of food stamp
eligibility under the food stamp program;
(f) State audit agencies for auditing State supplementation
payments and Medicaid eligibility considerations; and expenditures of
Federal funds by the State in support of the Disability Determination
Services (DDS);
(g) State welfare departments pursuant to agreements with SSA, for
administration of State supplementation payments; for enrollment of
welfare beneficiaries for medical insurance under section 1843 of the
Social Security Act; and for conducting independent quality assurance
reviews of SSI recipient records, provided that the agreement for
Federal administration of the supplementation provides for such an
independent review; and
(h) State vocational rehabilitation agencies, State health
departments, or other agencies providing services to disabled children,
for consideration of rehabilitation services, per sections 222 and 1615
of the Social Security Act.
21. To the Social Security agency of a foreign country, to carry
out the purpose of an international Social Security agreement entered
into between the United States and the other country, pursuant to
section 233 of the Social Security Act.
22. To the IRS, Department of the Treasury, for the purpose of
auditing SSA's compliance with the safeguard provisions of the IRC of
1986, as amended.
23. To third party contacts (including private collection agencies
under contract with SSA), for the purpose of their assisting us in
recovering overpayments.
24. To the Department of Homeland Security, upon request, to
identify and locate aliens in the United States pursuant to section
290(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1360(b)).
25. To contractors and other Federal agencies, as necessary, for
the purpose of assisting SSA in the efficient administration of its
programs. We disclose information under this routine use only in
situations in which we may enter into a contractual or similar
agreement with a third party to assist in accomplishing an agency
function relating to this system of records.
26. To the Department of Education, addresses of beneficiaries who
are obligated on loans held by the Secretary of Education or a loan
made in accordance with 20 U.S.C. 1071, et seq. (the Robert T. Stafford
Student Loan Program), as authorized by section 489A of the Higher
Education Act of 1965.
27. To student volunteers, individuals working under a personal
services contract, and other workers who technically do not have the
status of Federal employees, when they are performing work for SSA, as
authorized by law, and they need access to personally identifiable
information (PII) in SSA records in order to perform their assigned
agency functions.
28. To Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies and
private security contractors, as appropriate, information necessary:
(a) To enable them to protect the safety of SSA employees and
customers, the security of the SSA workplace, the operation of SSA
facilities, or
(b) To assist investigations or prosecutions with respect to
activities that affect such safety and security or activities that
disrupt the operations of SSA facilities.
29. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
under 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
30. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when:
(a) SSA suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of
the system of records;
(b) SSA has determined that as a result of the suspected or
confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, SSA (including
its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal
Government, or national security; and
(c) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is
reasonably necessary to assist in connection with SSA's efforts to
respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize,
or remedy such harm.
31. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when SSA
determines that information from this system of records is reasonably
necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in:
(a) Responding to a suspected or confirmed breach; or
(b) Preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to
individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information
systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national
security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.
32. To contractors, cooperative agreement awardees, State agencies,
Federal agencies, and Federal congressional support agencies for
research and statistical activities that are designed to increase
knowledge about present or alternative Social Security programs; are of
importance to the Social Security program or the Social Security
beneficiaries; or are for an epidemiological project that relates to
the Social Security program or beneficiaries. We will disclose
information under this routine use pursuant only to a written agreement
with us.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
We will maintain records in this system in electronic and paper
form.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
We will retrieve claim file records by SSN, name, or BNC. We will
retrieve medical examiner and medical provider records by name and
employer identification number.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
In accordance with NARA rules codified at 36 CFR 1225.16, we
maintain records in accordance with the approved NARA Agency-Specific
Records Schedule N1-47-05-1.
[[Page 34481]]
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
We retain electronic and paper files containing personal
identifiers in secure storage areas accessible only by our authorized
employees who have a need for the information when performing their
official duties. Security measures include, but are not limited to, the
use of codes and profiles, personal identification number and password,
and personal identification verification cards. We restrict access to
specific correspondence within the system based on assigned roles and
authorized users. We will use audit mechanisms to record sensitive
transactions as an additional measure to protect information from
unauthorized disclosure or modification.
We annually provide our employees and contractors with appropriate
security awareness training that includes reminders about the need to
protect PII and the criminal penalties that apply to unauthorized
access to, or disclosure of PII. See 5 U.S.C. 552a(i)(1). Furthermore,
employees and contractors with access to databases maintaining PII must
annually sign a sanction document that acknowledges their
accountability for inappropriately accessing or disclosing such
information.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
Individuals may submit requests for information about whether this
system contains a record about them by submitting a written request to
the system manager at the above address, which includes their name,
SSN, or other information that may be in this system of records that
will identify them. Individuals requesting notification of, or access
to, a record by mail must include: (1) A notarized statement to us to
verify their identity; or (2) must certify in the request that they are
the individual they claim to be and that they understand that the
knowing and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining
to another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
Individuals requesting notification of, or access to, records in
person must provide their name, SSN, or other information that may be
in this system of records that will identify them, as well as provide
an identity document, preferably with a photograph, such as a driver's
license. Individuals lacking identification documents sufficient to
establish their identity must certify in writing that they are the
individual they claim to be and that they understand that the knowing
and willful request for, or acquisition of, a record pertaining to
another individual under false pretenses is a criminal offense.
These procedures are in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR
401.40 and 401.45.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
Same as record access procedures. Individuals should also
reasonably identify the record, specify the information they are
contesting, and state the corrective action sought and the reasons for
the correction with supporting justification showing how the record is
incomplete, untimely, inaccurate, or irrelevant. These procedures are
in accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.65(a).
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
Same as record access procedures. These procedures are in
accordance with our regulations at 20 CFR 401.40 and 401.45.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
None.
HISTORY:
68 FR 71210, Electronic Disability Claim File
72 FR 69723, Electronic Disability Claim File
83 FR 54969, Electronic Disability Claim File
[FR Doc. 2020-12067 Filed 6-3-20; 8:45 am]
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