PRC Proposes USPS Be Prohibited from Using PRC Employee Data
The Postal Rate Commission has proposed that the U.S. Postal Service be prohibited from using any information about PRC officials and employees without permission, except for payroll purposes. The USPS prepares the PRC’s payroll.
The PRC said it included the prohibition against the unauthorized use of information about its officials and employees because “it is possible that the postal service might use information about Commission personnel in a computer-matching activity.”
The PRC noted that computer-matching occurs when personal and payroll information is cross-matched to handle a variety of arrangements, such as salary garnishes to following up outstanding criminal warrants.
The prohibition is mentioned in a series of changes the PRC is proposing to its records policy to bring it into line with recent changes in federal privacy laws.
None of the proposed changes would affect public access to other documents files or records relating to various proceedings before the PRC, which will “be disclosed to any person upon request.”
Public proceedings identify individuals or organizations participating in PRC proceedings, as well as the “filings, answers, exhibits and other submissions” that are filed with the commission.
By law, the PRC must–when requested–provide private information about its officials and employees to various federal, state and local authorities, to Congress and to numerous consumer credit-reporting agencies.
