The Privacy Act Statement of 1974—Know Your Rights in the Workplace When it Comes to VA Record Requests From Human Resources Managers

The Privacy Act Statement of 1974

(9) the term ‘‘recipient agency’’ means any agency, or contractor thereof, receiving records contained in a system of records from a source agency for use in a matching program;

(10) the term ‘‘non-Federal agency’’ means any State or local government, or agency thereof, which receives records contained in a system of records from a source agency for use in a matching program;

(13) (b) CONDITIONS OF DISCLOSURE.—No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, unless disclosure of the record would be— (1) to those officers and employees of the agency which maintains the record who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties;

(d) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—Each agency that maintains a system of records shall— (1) upon request by any individual to gain access to his record or to any information pertaining to him which is contained in the system, permit him and upon his request, a person of his own choosing to accompany him, to review the record and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof in a form comprehensible to him, except that the agency may require the individual to furnish a written statement authorizing discussion of that individual’s record in the accompanying person’s presence; (2) permit the individual to request amendment of a record pertaining to him and— (A) not later than 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the date of receipt of such request, acknowledge in writing such receipt; and (B) promptly, either— (i) make any correction of any portion thereof which the individual believes is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete; or (ii) inform the individual of its refusal to amend the record in accordance with his request, the reason for the refusal, the procedures established by the agency for the individual to request a review of that refusal by the head of the agency or an officer designated by the head of the agency, and the name and business address of that official;

(i)(1) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Any officer or employee of an agency, who by virtue of his employment or official position, has possession of, or access to, agency records which contain individually identifiable information the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section or by rules or regulations established thereunder, and who knowing that disclosure of the specific material is so prohibited, willfully discloses the material in any manner to any person or agency not entitled to receive it, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000. (2) Any officer or employee of any agency who willfully maintains a system of records without meeting the notice requirements of subsection (e)(4) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000. (3) Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record concerning an individual from an agency under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000.

Official Document:

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2012-title5/pdf/USCODE-2012-title5-partI-chap5-subchapII-sec552a.pdf

Food for Thought:

Veterans do not need to produce records in fear of last chance agreements. You are now armed with the knowledge to defend yourself. My goal as a UW Whitewater Political Science-legal emphasis major is to protect disabled veterans from predatory practices by attorneys and human resources last chance agreements. They are against the law and am taking a stance to put a stop to it through undercover private investigations.