12. RECORD OF USAGE No such record is maintained in any of our systems. In most cases the reports generated are evidence that various records have been accessed within the system. The only other type of access is via a remote typewriter terminal during file update operations. A log sheet is produced, but discarded after proofing the update. 13. DATA COLLECTION Please refer to item number 4. 14. ACCURACY Personnel, payroll and other owners of the files are responsible for the accuracy of their data files. Corrections result from use of the generated reports and several file audits that occur on a periodic basis. See also item number 10. 15. OUTSIDE ACCESS No other agencies have access to information or use information in these files except as it is provided by the owners of the files. Illustrations of this process would be the provision of pay tapes to Treasury so that checks may be cut, or the provision of reports to OMB or the Civil Service Commission by our Personnel staff. 16. DIRECT INTERFACE None. 17. SECURITY No devices per se exist, except that only the Data Systems Branch personnel and customer staffs have the knowledge required to operate the systems. Use of the information is closely controlled by the owners of the files, and the data maintained, being limited as it is, is not highly vulnerable to misuse. None. 18. LIAISON WITH CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 19. DISCUSSION OF SYSTEMS WITH OTHER COMMITTEES (a) The only discussions before Congressional Committees on the part of EPA staff have been in connection with legislation proposed by Representative Dingell. This proposal of course relates to large environmental data banks which could be considered to include information on EPA programs, grants, technical data, etc. In this case our grants system which contains grantee name, educational degree, and institution would be of interest to your Committee. (b) None to our knowledge. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION Subcommittee Analysis The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission maintains five data banks. All are computerized. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was extremely slow in responding to the Subcommittee's inquiry, and only after several followup letters did the Subcommittee receive sufficient information to write a summary. Even so, the information received was sparse in some areas, particularly with regard to security precautions, and failed to distinguish between the different data systems. III. Comments A. Statutory Authority Although the EEOC does not cite any specific statutory authority for the establishment of its five data systems, they could be considered necessary to implement the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972. B. Subject Notification and Access "The subject individual is not notified of the fact that he is in the data bank nor is he allowed to review the data on record about him or supplement or correct that record." The accuracy of the records is the responsibility of the Chief of the Control Division, Office of Management. C. Access by Other Agencies No other federal or state agency has direct access to the EEOC data banks. Information from the EEO Report forms is "used by the EEOC in its compliance, technical assistance, legal and research programs, by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the compliance agencies of the Federal government; the Department of Justice; and by the state and local fair employment practices committees." D. Public Access The public does not have direct access to information in the EEOC data systems but statistical data, purged of any information that would identify subjects, is made available to the public. E. Security Precautions The agency does not indicate what security precautions, if any, are taken to prevent unauthorized access to information in the data banks. F. Sources of Information Information in the complaints data bank is obtained from the party alleging discrimination. Information in the other data systems is collected from the employer establishments. IV. Evaluation The EEOC data banks appear to contain relatively little personal information on individuals. Most of the information is of a statistical nature and concerns the identification of employer establishments and a description of their work force. The lack of subject notice and review and the widespread dissemination of EEOC information suggest that steps should be taken to implement procedures which are more protective of the subject's privacy interests. Likewise, security measures should be instituted to prevent unauthorized access to information in the EEOC data banks. Agency Response The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission responded on January 24, 1973 to the subcommittee's December 9, 1971 request for replies to the standard subcommittee questionnaire. (See inside back cover.) After a further request for information by the subcommittee dated February 2, 1973, the EEOC submitted supplementary information on May 9, 1973. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Hon. SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., OFFICE OF THE CHAIRMAN, Washington, D.C., January 24, 1973. Chairman, Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, DEAR SENATOR ERVIN: Thank you for your request for information regarding this Commission's use of computers and data storage and retrieval systems in its operations. I greatly regret the delay in replying, but I hope the following information will be helpful to the Subcommittee. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission utilizes data storage and collection banks to only a very limited extent; therefore, we have not found all the subcommittee's questions to be totally applicable to our practices. For example, in response to the question regarding the maintenance of "law enforcementoriented or intelligence-type files" for surveillance of demonstrators and/or others involved in political activity, this Commission maintains no such files, nor does it have a need for, or plan to establish, such files. The Commission uses its data banks for essentially two purposes: 1) to collect and retrieve data provided by employment establishments under the provisions of Section 709 (c) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; and 2) for an inventory of cases representing charges filed with the Commission under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. A copy of the Act, as amended, is enclosed. The Commission has no plans for expanding this system beyond its present purposes nor for incorporating the files of any other agency into our own. The following numbered statements seek to answer each of the remaining questions individually: (1) The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission maintains an inventory of current cases in process, as represented by charges filed by complainants. Only the minimum necessary information relative to identification of the charging party is maintained, e.g. name, address, social security number, and date of birth. Data on employment is collected from establishments of employers with 100 or more employees, including information on total employment and for minority groups, by sex and for nine job categories; industry and area codes. This data is obtained through the Employer Information Report EEO-1. Apprenticeship Information Report EEO-2 supplies data on apprentices from joint labor-management apprenticeship committees, including number of apprentices by year of apprenticeship, trade or craft, total and four minorities, sex, dropouts and applicants; trade and area codes. The questionnaire includes inquiries on methods of selecting apprentices. The Local Union Report EEO-3 supplies data from local unions with 100 or more members. Local Unions defined as "referral unions" supply data on membership and numbers of referrals during a two-month period, totals, for minority groups, sex, and estimates applicants for membership and referral by minority group; international union and area codes. The sources of this data are: Report EEO-1 for establishments with 100 or more employees; Report EEO-2 for joint apprenticeship committees with 5 or more members, and at least one employer-sponsor with 25 or more members; Report EEO-2-E for employers with 100 or more members and 5 or more apprentices; and Report EEO-3 for labor organizations as indicated above with 100 or more members. The data is obtained annually. A copy of each of these Report forms is enclosed. (2) The EEOC "data bank" is solely a management tool to determine the status of cases, caseloads and for statistical reporting. No statutory authority was invoked in the establishment of the data base. (See EEOC Order No. 241, enclosed). (3) Statistical information is shared with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and the Department of Justice. (4) All data is stored in Magnetic Tape and processed on an S360-40 computer. Proprietary software packages are utilized for retrieval of information and generating reports. (5) The EEOC has no plans at this time for further computerization or mechanization of any of its programs. (6) and (7) Not applicable. (8) Only the minimum information necessary to identify the charging party in a Title VII complaint is maintained, i.e., name, address, social security number and date of birth. |