SORN PC-28 Applications for Employment

MS 897, Attachment B
July 2006

PC-28 – Peace Corps
System name:
Applications for Employment.
System location:
Office of Management, Human Resources Management, 1111 20th Street NW.,
Washington DC 20526. Occasionally located on a temporary basis in domestic offices
and overseas Posts. Electronic records are stored offsite by a contracted agent of the
agency in a secure facility.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
All applicants for employment with the Peace Corps (including unsuccessful applicants).
Categories of records in the system:
To the extent that an agency utilizes an automated medium in connection with
maintenance of records in this system of records. Application forms, resumes and related
correspondence. Position vacancy announcement information such as position title, series
and grade level(s), office and duty location, opening and closing date of the
announcement, and dates of referral and return of lists of qualified candidates; applicant
personal data such as name, address, social security number, date of birth, sex, veterans'
preference and federal competitive status; and applicant qualification and processing
information such as qualifications, grade level eligibility, reason for ineligibility, referral
status, and dates of notification. Related correspondence may include referral letters and
memoranda relating to the application process; education and training related
documentation; employment history and earnings; honors, awards or fellowships;
military service; convictions or offenses against the law; names of relatives employed in
the Federal service; qualification determinations; employment consideration; priority
groupings; correspondence relating to the consideration of the individual for
employment. These records may also include copies of correspondence (electronic and
otherwise) between the applicant and the office or agency and other items provided by
applicants but not specifically requested by the agency. The system also includes any
Peace Corps employment application materials established for making appointments
outside a register; or reassignments, promotions, reinstatements, or transfers of Federal
employees into positions at Peace Corps. The records also contain information on the
ranking of an applicant, his or her placement on a list of eligibles, what
certificates/rosters applicant's names appeared on, requests for office approval of or
opposition to an eligible's qualifications and the office's decision in the matter, an office's
request for approval for the agency to pass over an eligible and the office's decision in the
matter, and an agency's decision to object/pass over an eligible when the agency has
authority to make such decisions. Reasons for when the objection/pass over decision
applies to a compensable preference eligible with 30 percent or more disability.
Records may also include:
Agency applicant file systems where the agency retains applications, resumes, and other
related records for hard-to-fill or unique positions for future consideration. Records and
statements related to an applicant's involvement in intelligence related activities.

MS 897, Attachment B
July 2006

Authority for maintenance of system:
The Peace Corps Act, 22 U.S.C. 2501, et seq., including 22 U.S.C. 2506 and 22 U.S.C.
3901 et seq. (Foreign Service Act of 1980).
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the
purposes of such uses:
General routine uses A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, and K apply to this system. Records may
also be disclosed to:
(a) Evaluate qualifications of potential candidates by the Director, Human Resource
Management and his/her delegates, Executive Staff, Hiring Managers and their
delegates, other supervisors and personnel security staff. These records also may be
reviewed by staff with internal audit responsibilities. The records are available to
personnel specialists who review the applicants' qualifications and consider them for
appropriate agency vacancies;
(b) Persons named as references, and present or former supervisors, for purposes of
commenting upon, rating or verifying information about past performance submitted
as part of job application;
(c) Other Federal agencies, state governments, foreign governments and international
organizations where employees are being considered for detail, assignment or
secondment;
(d) Attorneys, union representatives or other persons designated by employees in writing
to represent them in complaints, grievances, appeals, litigation cases, or
administrative processes;
(e) The Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs, Social Security
Administration, Department of Defense, or any other Federal agency that has special
civilian employee retirement and disability programs; or to a national, state, county,
municipal, or other publicly recognized charitable or income security, administration
agency (e.g., State unemployment compensation agencies), when necessary to
adjudicate a claim under the retirement, insurance, unemployment or health benefits
programs of the agency or an agency cited above, or to an agency to conduct an
analytical study or audit of benefits being paid or to be paid under such programs;
(f) Offices within Peace Corps with an official need to know;
(g) Other persons, entities, or organizations, as specified in the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C.
552a(b)(1)-(b)(12).
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records
in the system:
Storage: The records are stored by electronic means and hard copy. Records are
maintained on data storage devices, lists, forms and hard copy record files. Electronic
records are maintained within Peace Corps on proprietary systems or within an automated
application system on data storage devices. Information contained in the automated
system is housed offsite in a secure location as government owned and retrievable
information.

MS 897, Attachment B
July 2006

Retrievability: The records may be retrieved by the names of the individuals on whom
they are maintained or by vacancy announcement number. In the Personnel Office, the
records are recorded by name and vacancy announcement number. They can also be
retrieved, by any common identifier in the automated application. These may be by
individual name, social security number, vacancy announcement, demographic fields,
veteran's status, current grade, grade applied for, or any other data fields completed by
the applicant. Records are generally retrieved by the name with the social security
number or date of birth as a secondary identifier when necessary.
Accessibility/Safeguards: All Peace Corps employees have undergone background
investigations. Access to the Agency is controlled by security guards and admission is
limited to those individuals possessing a valid identification card or individuals under
proper escort. The Human Resource Management (HRM) office is in a secondary secured
area where even Peace Corps employees not within the HRM organization are required to
have escorts. All records containing personal information are maintained in secured file
cabinets or in restricted areas, access to which is limited to authorized personnel. Access
to computerized files is password-protected and under the direct supervision of the
system manager. The system manager and contractor have the capability of printing audit
trails of access through the computer media, thereby permitting regular and ad hoc
monitoring of system usage. Automated media is access limited to authorized personnel
whose duties require access. Access to and use of these records are limited to those
persons whose official duties require such access. Systems administered by contractors
are secured by password and through a permissions based system. Permission is granted
by a system administrator. Remote data storage facilities are secured through physical
and system-based safeguards. Electronic files are password protected and accessible only
by authorized personnel. Data maintained electronically at Peace Corps is on network
servers and located in a locked room with physical access limited to authorized
personnel.
Retention and Disposal: Applications from individuals who are selected for positions
with the Peace Corps are placed on the permanent side of the employee's Official
Personnel Folder. Paper applications rejected in the initial review because they do not
meet requirements for Agency employment and applications which appear to meet
requirements for Agency employment, but which are subsequently rejected, are retained
for two years and then destroyed. Electronic media files are maintained indefinitely.
These files remain available for the Agency when searching for qualified applicants for
the variety of positions available agency wide. Paper files on applicants may also be
retained indefinitely. In divisional or regional offices, the paper records may be retained
for an indefinite period of time. They are then forwarded to HRM or discarded. Applicant
records, whether electronic media or hard copy will be maintained until they become
inactive at which time they will be retired or destroyed in accordance with published
records schedules of the Peace Corps or as approved by the National Archives and
Records Administration. Most records are retained for a period of 2 years. Some records
are destroyed by shredding or burning while magnetic tapes or disks are erased.
System manager(s) and address:
Director, Human Resources Management or Records Management Officer Peace Corps
Headquarters, 1111 20th St., NW., Washington, DC 20526

MS 897, Attachment B
July 2006

Notification procedures:
Any individual who wants to know whether this system of records contains a record
about him or her, who wants access to his or her record, or who wants to contest the
contents of a record, should make a written request to the System Manager. Request
should be accepted for processing if they contain sufficient information to convince the
System Manager that the requester is the subject of the records, including identifying
information needed to locate your record and a brief description of the item or items of
information required. Requesters will be required to provide adequate information, such
as a driver's license, employment identification card, passport, or other identifying
documents. Requests for correction or amendment must identify the record to be changed
and the corrective action sought. Complete Peace Corps Privacy Act procedures are set
out in 22 CFR part 308.
Record access procedures:
Requests from individuals should be addressed as indicated in the notification section
above. Individuals who wish to amend records pertaining to themselves should also
address their requests as described in the Notification section above.
Contesting record procedures:
Individuals wishing to contest or amend information maintained in this system should
specify the information being contested, the reasons for contesting it, and the proposed
amendment to such information. Individuals have the right to request that we amend a
record pertaining to them when it is believed to be inaccurate, or lacks relevance,
timeliness, or completeness. At the time we grant access to a record, we will furnish
guidelines on how to make a request to amend a record. Requests for amendments to
records must be in writing and mailed or delivered to the FOIA/Privacy Act Officer,
FOIA/Privacy Act Office, Peace Corps Headquarters, 1111 20th St., NW., Washington,
DC 20526, who will coordinate the review of the request to amend the record with the
appropriate office(s). Such requests must contain, at a minimum, identifying information
needed to locate the record, a brief description of the item or items of information to be
amended, and the reason for the requested change. The requester should submit as much
documentation, arguments or other data as seems warranted to support the request for
amendment. We will review all requests for amendments to records within 20 working
days of receipt of the request and either make the changes or inform you of our refusal to
do so and the reasons.
Record source categories:
These records are normally submitted by the individuals seeking employment. Some
records could come from individuals or employment agencies sponsoring the
applications. Information in this system of records is provided by:
(a) The individual to whom the information pertains;
(b)

Peace Corps officials;

(c)

Other sources contacted to provide additional information about the individual.

MS 897, Attachment B
July 2006

System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(4), records contained within this system that are required by
statute to be maintained and used solely for statistical purposes are exempted from 5
U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and (I), and (f). Pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552a(k)(5), certain records contained within this system contain confidential source
information and are exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H) and
(I), and (f). Pursuant to 552a(k)(6), records that contain testing or examination material
the release of which may compromise testing or examination procedures are also
exempted from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d), (e)(1), (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I), and (f).