[Federal Register: August 27, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 166)] [Notices] [Page 45881] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Privacy Act of 1974; Publication of a Proposed New Routine Use AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management (OPM). ACTION: Notice of a proposed new routine use. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice proposes to add a new routine use to an existing Central System of Records. DATES: This proposed routine use will be effective without further notice October 6, 1998, unless comments received dictate otherwise. ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Office of Personnel Management, Attn: Mary Beth Smith-Toomey, Office of the Chief Information Officer, 1900 E Street NW, Room 5415, Washington, DC 20415-7900. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Beth Smith-Toomey, (202) 606- 8358. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM finds that it is in the Government's interest to add a new routine use to OPM's Central System of Records, OPM/Central-1, Civil Service Retirement and Insurance Records. This system of records is applicable to a number of OPM managed benefit programs, including the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program, the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, and two of the Federal Government's retirement programs, the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This new routine use will allow OPM to release information from OPM/Central-1, Civil Service Retirement and Insurance Records, where OPM has determined that the use of that information is compatible with proper disclosure and will directly benefit Federal employees, annuitants or their dependents, survivors, and beneficiaries. For example, OPM utilizes the services of contractors to send out annual income tax information to annuitants, to distribute to annuitants annual rate and benefit information regarding the FEHB Program, and to distribute open season and customer feedback information involving the FEGLI Program. Moreover, in certain circumstances, a private organization may undertake a project that results in Federal employees, annuitants or their dependents, survivors and beneficiaries obtaining important and timely information that is beneficial to that audience. Such a situation was anticipated by Congress in October 1991 as part of the debate on the legislation that would include OPM's Fiscal Year 1992 appropriation. In the Conference Report accompanying H.R. 2622, the conferees directed OPM to seriously consider requests from certain private organizations for ``blind mailings'' in which OPM would facilitate these organizations getting information to Federal annuitants and employees without the organizations ever actually seeing the addresses of the proposed recipients. A contractor to the private organization would then require access to certain OPM information in order to make the blind mailing possible. Any release of such information must also comply with section 626 of the Treasury, Postal, and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1998, P.L. 105-61, and any such successor law. Section 626 provides that none of the funds appropriated by that Act or any other Act may be used to provide a Federal employee's home address to any labor organization except where the employee has authorized such disclosure or that disclosure has been ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. OPM shall exercise its discretion under the new routine use in accordance with section 626, or any such successor law. The new routine use is added to the following Central System of Records: OPM/Central-1, Civil Service Retirement and Insurance Records. For Non-Federal Personnel--To disclose information to private organizations, contractors, grantees, volunteers, or other non-Federal personnel performing or working on a project, contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or job for, to the benefit of, or consistent with the interests of the Federal Government when OPM has determined that the use of that information is compatible with proper disclosure and will benefit Federal employees, annuitants or their dependents, survivors, and beneficiaries. Office of Personnel Management. Janice R. Lachance, Director. [FR Doc. 98-23011 Filed 8-26-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325-01-P