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An official website of the United States government

About the U.S. Access Board

Privacy Policy and Program

Also on this page is our website privacy policy.

The Access Board’s privacy program aims to preserve and enhance privacy protections for all individuals whose personal information is handled by the agency, and to promote transparency of agency policies, practices, and activities concerning personal information. This page provides information about systems of records maintained by the Access Board, measures taken by the agency to ensure that individuals’ personal information is protected, and the agency’s privacy policies and other related materials. Also provided are instructions on requesting records under the Privacy Act and contact information for Access Board privacy officials.

Overview of the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act of 1974, in essence, establishes a code of fair information practices that govern the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information that is maintained in a system of records (i.e., a group of records controlled by the agency from which information is retrieved by a unique, personal identifier) by federal agencies. The Privacy Act balances the government’s need to collect or maintain personal information with the right of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasions of their privacy. Under the Privacy Act, federal agencies must:

  • inform you why personal information is being collected and how it is going to be used;
  • ensure that personal information is accurate, relevant, complete, and up-to-date before disclosing to others;
  • allow you to find out about disclosures of your records to other agencies or persons; and
  • provide you with an opportunity to correct inaccuracies in your records.

As technology has evolved, subsequent legislation (such as the E-Government Act of 2002) and Executive Branch guidance has expanded on these privacy protections for digital information and called on federal agencies to better integrate information security and privacy.

Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)

The E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal agencies to prepare Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) for information systems that process personal information from or about members of the public. PIAs help identify and limit privacy risks, and serve as additional notice to the public about agency activities that may affect individuals’ personal information. The Access Board has conducted the following PIAs:

System of Records Notices (SORNs)

The Privacy Act requires federal agencies to publish System of Records Notices (SORN) notifying the public about their respective “systems of records.” SORNs describe the type of personal information collected, the basis and purpose for the information collection, third-party disclosure practices or limitations, and information security and retention methods. The Access Board, like most federal agencies, maintains (or uses) two types of records systems: (1) government-wide systems that are used by most or all agencies throughout the federal government; and (2) Access Board-specific systems. Links to SORNs for both types of records systems are provided below.

Government-wide SORNs

DOL/GOVT-1 Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, Federal Employees’ Compensation Act File 81 FR 25766 (April 29, 2016).

EEOC/GOVT-1 Equal Opportunity in the Federal Government Complaint and Appeal Records 81 FR 81135 (November 17, 2016).

EPA/GOVT-2 Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) 70 FR 15086 (March 24, 2005).

GSA/GOVT-2 Employment Under Commercial Activities Contracts 48 FR 6175 (February 10, 1983).

GSA/GOVT-3 Travel Charge Card Program 78 FR 20108 (April 3, 2013).

GSA/GOVT-4 Contracted Travel Services Program (E-TRAVEL) 41 FR 26700 (June 3, 2009).

GSA/GOVT-6 GSA SmartPay Purchase Card 73 FR 22376 (April 25, 2008).

GSA/GOVT-7 Federal Personal Identity Verification Identity Management System (HSPD-12 US Access) 80 FR 64416 (10 FR 64416).

GSA/GOVT-9 System for Award Management (SAM) 78 FR 11648 (February 19, 2013).

GSA/GOVT-10 Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Data Collection System 82 FR 12353 (March 2, 2017)

MSPB/GOVT-1 Appeals and Case Records 77 FR 65206 (October 25, 2012)

OGE/GOVT-1 Executive Branch Personnel Public Disclosure Reports and other Name-Retrieved Ethics Program Records.

OGE/GOVT-2 Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Disclosure Reports

OPM/GOVT-1 General Personnel Records 77 FR 73694 (December 11, 2012).

OPM/GOVT-2 Employee Performance File System Records 71 FR 35342 (June 19, 2006).

OPM/GOVT-3 Records of Adverse Actions, Performance-Based Reduction in Grade and Removal Actions, and Termination of Probationers 71 FR 35342 (June 19, 2006).

OPM/GOVT-5 Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records 79 FR 16834 (March 26, 2014).

OPM/GOVT-6 Personnel Research and Test Validation Records 71 FR 35342 (June 19, 2016).

OPM/GOVT-7 Applicant Race, Sex, National Origin, and Disability Status Records 71 FR 35342 (June 19, 2006).

OPM/GOVT-9 File on Position Classification Appeals, Job Grading Appeals, Retained Grade or Pay Appeals, Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) Claims and Complaints, and Settlement Accounts for Deceased Civilian Officers and Employees 78 FR 60331 (October 1, 2013).

OPM/GOVT-10 Employee Medical File System of Records 75 FR 35099 (June 21, 2010).

OSC/GOVT-1 OSC Complaint Litigation and Political Activity Files 82 FR 45076 (September 17, 2017).

Access Board SORNs

Privacy Act Exemptions

Sections (j) and (k) of 5 U.S.C. 552a exempt certain types of systems of records from some of the provisions of the Privacy Act. The Access Board does not have any systems of records that are exempted from the Privacy Act.

Matching Notices and Agreements

Under the Privacy Act, federal agencies must provide notice in the Federal Register when participating in a program involving computerized comparison of the public’s personal information using two or more automated federal records systems or a federal system of records with non-federal records, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 552a(a)(8). The Access Board does not participate in any matching programs.

Privacy Act Regulations

As required by the Privacy Act, the Access Board has published regulations implementing its privacy program and detailing the Privacy Act records request process. Our Privacy Act regulations are codified at 36 CFR part 1121.

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) has primary authority for privacy policy at the Access Board. OGC works to ensure that the use of technology sustains and does not erode privacy protections relating to the collection, use, dissemination, and maintenance of personal information. All Access Board personnel, including federal employees, consultants, and contractors, must comply with Access Board privacy policies.

Submitting Privacy Act Requests

Under the Privacy Act, you are entitled to ask the Access Board to confirm whether we have records about you, access such records, and request their amendment or correction. If you wish to submit a Privacy Act request, you may send a written request through one of the methods listed below. Please note that, in addition to describing the records sought, you will need to provide verification of your identity, such as a copy of your state-issued driver’s license or identification card, or passport. If you want to request information on another’s behalf, you must submit proof that you are an authorized representative and proof of your identity and the identity of the person whose records are being sought. For additional information on requesting records under the Privacy Act, see the Access Board Privacy Act Regulations.

The Access Board very rarely maintains records that fall under the Privacy Act. Most records containing information about individuals are records pertaining to:

  • past employees of the Access Board;
  • current employees of the Access Board;
  • contractors of the Access Board;
  • applicants for employment of the Access Board; or
  • complainants who have filed a complaint under the Architectural Barriers Act and have chosen to provide their contact information.

Make requests to:

Via Mail:

Office of General Counsel
Attn: Privacy Act
U.S. Access Board
1331 F Street NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC  20004

Via Electronic Mail:

If you would prefer to submit your Privacy Act request via e-mail, your request and verification of identity must be sent with encryption. Most e-mail applications offer a method of sending e-mails via encryption. Gmail refers to encryption as confidential mode. E-mail Privacy Act requests can be sent to privacy@access-board.gov.

Note: Access Board records that do not relate to a specific individual (either yourself or someone on whose behalf you are authorized to request them) should be obtained by submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to foia@access-board.gov.

Privacy Questions or Complaints

If you have any questions or complaints about the Access Board’s privacy program in general, please contact:

Agency Privacy Officer

Wendy Marshall, Attorney Advisor
202-272-0043 (voice)
202-272-0082 (TTY)
privacy@access-board.gov

Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP)

Christopher J. Kuczynski, General Counsel
1-202-272-0042 (voice)
kuczynski@access-board.gov (email)

Website Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting the Access Board’s website and reviewing our privacy policy. Our privacy policy is clear: We collect no personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us. Here is how we handle information about your visit to our website:

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

You do not have to give us personal information to visit our site. If you do nothing during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. We automatically collect and store only the following information about your visit:

  • the Internet domain (for example, “xcompany.com” if you use a private Internet access account, or “yourschool.edu” if you connect from a university’s domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website;
  • the type of browser (including brand and version) and operating system used to access our site;
  • the date and time you accessed our site and the amount of time spent on our site;
  • the pages you visited; and
  • if you linked to our website from another website or through a search engine, the address of that website or the name of search engine.

We use this information to make our site more useful to visitors and to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We do not track or record information about individuals and their visits.

If You Send Us Personal Information

Our website permits you to send us information through several on-line forms. These forms allow you to:

  • sign up to receive our free newsletter;
  • file a complaint under the Architectural Barriers Act.

You have the option of signing up for email notification of important events or when new content is added to our site by providing us with your email address. This information is not used for any other purpose. This information is added to email distribution lists maintained by the Board (using GovDelivery) and used only for these purposes. We do not request or store any information other than the mailing or email information requested in our forms. The Board does not collect information for commercial marketing.

The Access Board is responsible for enforcing the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), which requires access to facilities designed, built, altered, or leased with federal funds. The Board enforces this law through the investigation of complaints filed by the public about the lack of access to a facility. Our enforcement regulations prohibit us from disclosing the identity of complainants without their written permission. We do not create individual profiles with the information you provide or give it to any private organizations.

The only other means of submitting information to us is by sending us an email message. A posted email directory lists the various Access Board mailboxes noted on our website. If you choose to provide us with personal information in an email message, we will use such information only to respond to your message and to get you the information you have requested. However, comments which are emailed to the Board in response to notices of proposed rulemaking are placed in a docket for public inspection at the Board’s office and may be posted on the Board’s website as well.

Our website has links to many other federal agencies and non-commercial sites. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of the other site.

Access Board Information Posted on Third-Party Websites (Including Social Media)

In order to better serve the public, the Access Board maintains accounts on several third-party social media websites (including Twitter and YouTube), as tools for communicating with the public and increasing awareness of agency-issued accessibility guidelines and standards. The Access Board does not own or operate these third-party websites. Consequently, the information practices and privacy policies of each third-party website applies to your activity on these sites. You may wish to review the privacy policies for Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn before using them so that you understand how your information may be used and, if desired, may adjust the privacy settings on your account to match your preferences. (Please note that, when using social media websites, the Access Board does not collect or use visitors’ personally identifiable information.)

Contact for Further Information

If you have questions or comments about the Board’s website privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@access-board.gov.