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Notices
Federal Register Vol. 86, No. 213
Monday, November 8, 2021

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records Office of the Secretary OSEC, Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice of new system of records.
AGENCY:

Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 and Office of Management and Budget OMB Circular No. A108, notice is hereby given that the Office of the Secretary OSEC, a component within the United States Department of Agriculture USDA or the Department, proposes to develop a new system of records notice titled, USDA Personnel Public Health Emergency Records System. USDA/
OSEC01 proposes to establish this system of records to protect the Departments workforce and respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 COVID19, a declared public health emergency, and other high-consequence public health threats.
DATES: In accordance with 5 U.S.C.
552ae4 and 11, this notice is effective upon publication, subject to a 30-day period in which to comment on the routine uses, described below.
ADDRESSES: The public, OMB, and Congress are invited to submit any comments by mail to the United States Department of Agriculture, Privacy Office, ATTN: Privacy Analyst, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250; by telephone at 202384
5026; or by email at SM.OCIO.CIO.UsdaPrivacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sullie Coleman, Chief Privacy Officer, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250, 2026040467.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This system of records covers information necessary and relevant to Department activities responding to and mitigating COVID19 and other high-consequence public health threats, and diseases or
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illnesses relating to a public health emergency. Such information may include information on Department personnel, including employees, interns, contractors, and cooperators, who have contracted or may have been exposed to a suspected or confirmed disease or illness that is the subject of a declared public health emergency or who undergo preventative testing for, or receive a vaccination to prevent, a disease or illness that is the subject of a declared public health emergency, in accordance with federal, state, or local public health orders. The information collected may include identifying and contact information of individuals who have been suspected or confirmed to have contracted a disease or illness, or who have been exposed to an individual who had been suspected or confirmed to have contracted a disease or illness, related to a declared public health emergency; individual circumstances and dates of suspected exposure; testing results, symptoms, and treatments;
vaccination records; health status information; and other information necessary and relevant to Department activities responding to and mitigating COVID19 and other high-consequence public health threats and diseases or illnesses relating to a public health emergency. The Department maintains this information to understand the impact of an illness or disease on the Department workforce, and to assist in reducing the spread of the disease or illness among Department personnel. In certain instances, depending on the type of record collected and maintained, records maintained in this system of records may also be covered by Office of Personnel Management/Government10 Employee Medical File System Records, 75 FR 35,099 June 21, 2010.
However, USDA/OSEC01 covers additional recordsspecifically records collected in response to COVID19, a high-consequence public health threat, as well as other declared public health emergencies.
When collecting information on Department employees, there are several employment laws that govern the collection, dissemination, and retention of employee medical information. These employment laws include the Americans with Disability Act ADA, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Rehab Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 OSH Act.

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Generally, under federal employment laws, medical information pertaining to employees is confidential and may be obtained by an employer only for certain reasons and only at certain points in the employment relationship.
In response to a high-consequence public health threat such as COVID19, or relating to other public health emergencies, an employer may be permitted to collect certain employee medical information that it would not otherwise be permitted to collect, depending upon the circumstances.
This system of records will apply if it is determined that the circumstances permit the Department to legally collect the employee medical information at issue.
Further, this system of records notice SORN includes a reference to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 GINA, 42 U.S.C. 2000ff to ff11. Title II of GINA prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information, including family medical history; restricts the circumstances under which employers may lawfully acquire applicants and employees genetic information; and prohibits the disclosure of applicants and employees genetic information, with limited exceptions, including those stated in 42 U.S.C. 2000ff5b and 29
CFR 1635.9b. The Department may request the circumstances of an individuals suspected or actual exposure to a disease or illness, including the source of exposure.
Although it is not the intent for the Department to collect family medical information, an individual may indicate that they were exposed to specific family members who have been diagnosed with, or are suspected to have, the disease or illness in question.
To the extent this information may be acquired inadvertently, such information will be kept as a confidential medical record and maintained separately from an employees general medical files, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 2000ff5a and 29
CFR 1635.9a.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552ar, the Department has provided a report to OMB and Congress on this new system of records. Dated: November 1, 2021.
Sullie Coleman, Chief Privacy Officer United States Department of Agriculture.

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