Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
| Published date | 24 June 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 38021 |
| Record Number | 2020-12898 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Internal Revenue Service |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38021-38024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12898]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended
AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.
ACTION: Notice of proposed modification to Privacy Act system of
records.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act of
1974, as amended, the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue
Service, gives notice of proposed modifications to system of records
entitled: Treasury/IRS 60.000 Employee Protection System Records.
[[Page 38022]]
DATES: Submit comments on or before July 24, 2020. The new and modified
routine uses will be applicable on July 24, 2020. This altered system
of records will be effective October 1, 2020, unless the IRS receives
comments that would result in a contrary determination.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of Privacy,
Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, Internal Revenue Service, 1111
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224. Members of the public
desiring specific information concerning this notice may request
information at the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John J. Walker, Associate Director,
Incident Management & Employee Protection, IRS Office of Privacy,
Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, (267) 466-2416 (not a toll-free
number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed revisions will enable better
awareness of potential risks and will increase safety and security for
current and former IRS employees. The Potentially Dangerous Taxpayer
(PDT) designation improves the Service's ability to identify
individuals who represent a potential danger to employees, including
individuals who have physically assaulted, threatened, or intimidated
employees or are of members of groups that advocate violence against
IRS employees or other federal employees. The Caution Upon Contact
(CAU) designation is used when the threat is less severe, the taxpayer
threatens suicide, or when the taxpayer files or threatens to file a
frivolous lien or a frivolous criminal or civil legal action. Continual
program introspection and the current landscape for IRS staff having
contact with the public, including self-radicalization, prompted the
IRS to reevaluate the Office of Employee Protection (OEP) program and
institute a higher level of protection for its employees. To accomplish
this the IRS is planning to (1) add information about individuals who
threaten former IRS employees related to their prior work performing
official IRS duties, (2) add information about individuals who are
advocating violence against U.S. Government employees in general or
demonstrating violent tendencies against U.S. Government employees of
other federal agencies, (3) remove the ``active'' qualifier, as it
applies to membership in group(s) advocating violence, and (4) add a
specific time-period during which the individual's activity will be
considered (within the past 10 years) to ensure an accurate,
comprehensive, and complete analysis is completed before a potentially
dangerous taxpayer (PDT) or caution upon contact (CAU) designation is
assigned. The purpose statement is amended to reflect these revisions.
Pursuant to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum M-17-12,
an additional routine use is added to ensure that IRS can assist
another agency in responding to a confirmed or suspected breach, as
appropriate. As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a(r),
a report of altered system of records has been provided to the
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate, and the Office of Management and Budget. The
proposed modifications to the system of records are published below.
Ryan Law,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Privacy, Transparency, and Records.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
Department of the Treasury, IRS 60.000--Employee Protection System
Records
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Information contained in this system is unclassified.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Records are maintained at the Internal Revenue Service Headquarters
in Washington, DC and field and campus offices at the following
addresses, 1111 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20224; 500
Woodward Avenue, Detroit, MI 48226; and 2970 Market Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19104.
SYSTEM MANAGER(S):
Chief, Office of Employee Protection, 500 Woodward Avenue, Detroit,
MI 48226, (313) 628-3742.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
5 U.S.C. 301 and 26 U.S.C. 7801.
PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:
This system of records maintains records that reflect attempts or
intention to obstruct or impede current or former IRS employees or
contractors in the performance of their official duties, including
records of investigations into the individual's actions and records of
conclusions as to whether an individual should be considered
potentially dangerous to any such employee, contractor, or their
immediate family members, or should otherwise be approached with
caution.
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
Individuals attempting to interfere with the administration of
internal revenue laws through assaults, threats, suicide threats,
filing or threats of filing frivolous criminal or civil legal actions
against Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees, (current for former)
or IRS contractors or the employees' or contractors' immediate family
members, or through forcible interference against any officer,
government contractor or employee while discharging the official duties
at his/her position. An individual is designated as a PDT based on
reliable information furnished to the IRS or Treasury Inspector General
for Tax Administration (TIGTA), that fits any of the criteria (1)
through (6) below: (1) Individuals who, within the past 10 years, have
physically assaulted an IRS employee, a former employee, a contractor,
or an immediate family member of an IRS employee, a former employee or
a contractor; (2) Individuals who, within the past 10 years, have
intimidated or threatened an IRS employee, a former employee, a
contractor, or an immediate family member of an IRS employee, a former
employee, or a contractor through specific threats of bodily harm, a
show of weapons, the use of animals, or through other specific
threatening behavior (e.g., stalking, etc.); (3) Individuals who,
within the past 10 years, have advocated violence against IRS employees
where advocating such violence could reasonably be understood to
threaten the safety of Service employees and/or impede the performance
of Service duties; (4) Individuals who, within the past 10 years, have
been members of, or affiliated with groups that advocate violence
against IRS employees, where advocating such violence could reasonably
be understood to threaten the safety of Service employees or impede the
performance of Service duties; (5) Individuals who, within the past 10
years, have committed the acts set forth in any of the preceding
criteria, but whose acts have been directed against employees or
contractors of other governmental agencies; (6) Individuals who are not
classified as PDTs through application of the above criteria, but whose
acts within the past 10 years have demonstrated a propensity for
violence. An individual is designated as an individual who should be
approached with caution (CAU) based on reliable information furnished
to the IRS or the TIGTA that fits any of the criteria (1) through (3)
below: (1) Individuals who, within the
[[Page 38023]]
past 10 years, have threatened physical harm that is less severe or
immediate than necessary to satisfy PDT criteria. (2) Individuals who,
within the past 10 years, have threatened suicide, (3) Individuals who,
within the past 10 years, have filed or threatened to file a frivolous
lien or a frivolous civil or criminal legal action against an IRS
employee, a former employee, a contractor, or an immediate family
member of an IRS employee, a former employee, or contractor.
PDT and CAU designations will be reviewed at or near every five
years from the date of the initial or the last renewal of the
designation to determine whether the circumstances leading to the
designation, and any new relevant information about the individual's
conduct, continue to indicate potential danger to IRS employees, former
employees, contractors, or their family members. If these facts and
circumstances continue to indicate potential danger, the designation
will be renewed for, and subject to review after, an additional five
years.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Individual's name;
Business name;
Date of birth;
Date of death;
Gender;
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (e.g., Social
Security Number (SSN), Employer Identification Number (EIN), or similar
number assigned by the IRS);
Centralized Authorization Files (CAF) numbers;
Addresses;
Documentary evidence of the incident (e.g., threatening
correspondence, copies of liens and legal actions, and contact
recording transcripts);
Documentation of investigation of incident (report of
investigation, statements, affidavits, and related tax information);
Records of any legal action resulting from the incident;
FBI or Police records of individual named in the incident;
Newspaper or periodical items or information from other
sources provided to the IRS or TIGTA for investigation of individuals
who have demonstrated a clear propensity toward violence;
Correspondence regarding the reporting of the incident,
referrals for investigation, investigation of the incident; and result
of investigation (i.e. designation as PDT or CAU).
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Records are obtained from other IRS offices and the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
ROUTINE USES: OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES
OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USE:
Disclosure of returns and return information may be made only as
provided by 26 U.S.C. 6103. Material covered by rule 6(e) of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure may be disclosed only as permitted
by that rule. All other records may be used as described below if the
IRS deems that the purpose of the disclosure is compatible with the
purpose for which IRS collected the records, and no privilege is
asserted.
(1) Disclose information to the Department of Justice (DOJ) when
seeking legal advice, or for use in any proceeding, or in preparation
for any proceeding, when: (a) The IRS or any component thereof; (b) any
IRS employee in his or her official capacity; (c) any IRS employee in
his or her individual capacity if the IRS or the DOJ has agreed to
provide representation for the employee; or (d) the United States is a
party to, has an interest in, or is likely to be affected by the
proceeding, and the IRS determines that the records are relevant and
useful.
(2) Disclose information in a proceeding (including discovery)
before a court, administrative tribunal, or other adjudicative body
when: (a) The IRS or any component thereof; (b) any IRS employee in his
or her official capacity; (c) any IRS employee in his or her personal
capacity if the IRS or DOJ has agreed to provide representation for the
employee; or (d) the United States is a party to, has an interest in,
or is likely to be affected by, the proceeding and the IRS or DOJ
determines that the information is relevant and necessary to the
proceeding. Information may be disclosed to the adjudicative body to
resolve issues of relevancy, necessity, or privilege pertaining to the
information.
(3) Disclose information to a Federal, state, local, or tribal
agency, or other public authority, which has requested information
relevant or necessary to hiring or retaining an employee, or issuing or
continuing a contract, security clearance, license, grant, or other
benefit.
(4) Disclose information to an appropriate Federal, state, local,
tribal, or foreign agency, or other public authority, responsible for
implementing or enforcing, or for investigating or prosecuting the
violation of, a statute, rule, regulation, order, or license, when a
record on its face, or in conjunction with other records, indicates a
potential violation of law or regulation and the information disclosed
is relevant to any regulatory, enforcement, investigative, or
prosecutorial responsibility of the receiving authority.
(5) Disclose information to the news media as described in the IRS
Policy Statement P-1-183, News Coverage to Advance Deterrent Value of
Enforcement Activities Encouraged, IRM 1.2.1.2.41.
(6) Disclose information to third parties during the course of an
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent
to the investigation.
(7) To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) the
Department of the Treasury and/or Treasury bureau suspects or has
confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records; (2)
the Department of the Treasury and/or Treasury bureau has determined
that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk
of harm to individuals, the Department of the Treasury and/or Treasury
bureau (including its information systems, programs, and operations),
the Federal Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure
made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to
assist in connection with the Department of the Treasury's and/or
Treasury bureau's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed
breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.
(8) To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when the
Department of the Treasury and/or Treasury bureau determines that
information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to
assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected
or confirmed breach or (2) 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.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:
Records in this system are stored electronically or on paper in
secure facilities in a locked drawer behind a locked door.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:
Records may be retrieved by name or Social Security Number (SSN) of
individual with respect to whom the PDT or CAU designation is being
considered and by administrative case control number.
[[Page 38024]]
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:
Records are managed in accordance with National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule 5.6 item 170 &
171.
ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:
Records in this system are safeguarded in accordance with
applicable rules and policies, including all applicable Treasury
automated systems security and access policies. Strict controls have
been imposed to minimize the risk of compromising the information that
is being stored. Access to the computer system containing the records
in this system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know
the information for the performance of their official duties and who
have appropriate clearances.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
See ``Notification Procedures'' below.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
See ``Notification Procedures'' below.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:
The Secretary of Treasury has exempted this system from the
notification, access, and amendment procedures of the Privacy Act
because it is a law enforcement system. However, Treasury, IRS will
consider individual requests to determine whether information may be
released. Thus, individuals seeking notification of and access to any
record contained in this system of records, or seeking to contest its
content, may inquire in writing in accordance with instructions
appearing at 31 CFR part 1, subpart C, appendices A-M. Requests for
information and requests for records should be marked ``Privacy Act
Request'' on the outside and mailed to the following address: Internal
Revenue Service, Disclosure Scanning Operation--Stop 93A, Post Office
Box 621506, Atlanta, GA 30362-3006.
When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or
any other Departmental system of records your request must conform with
the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 31 CFR 1.36. You must first
verify your identity, meaning that you must provide your full name,
current address and date and place of birth. You must sign your
request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted under
28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty
of perjury as a substitute for notarization. No specific form is
required. In addition you should provide the following:
An explanation of why you believe the Department would
have information on you;
Identify which bureau(s) of the Department you believe may
have the information about you;
Specify when you believe the records would have been
created;
Provide any other information that will help the Bureau or
Freedom Of Information Act staff determine which Treasury Bureau may
have responsive records; and
If your request is seeking records pertaining to another
living individual, you must include a statement from that individual
certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.
Without this bulleted information the Bureau(s) may not be able to
conduct an effective search, and your request may be denied due to lack
of specificity or lack of compliance with applicable regulations.
EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:
The Secretary of Department of the Treasury has exempted this
system from the following provisions of the Privacy Act, subject to the
limitations set forth in 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d)(1)-(4), (e)(1),
(e)(4)(G)-(I) and (f) of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552a(k)(2). (See 31 CFR 1.36.).
HISTORY:
Notice of this system of records was last published in full in the
Federal Register on Sept. 8, 2015 (80 FR 54063) as the Department of
the Treasury, IRS 60.000--Employee Protection System Records.
[FR Doc. 2020-12898 Filed 6-23-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P
