System of Records (SOR)

81VA01 - Representatives' Fee Agreement Records System-VA

System location:
Board of Veterans Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420. Categories of individuals covered by the system: Persons seeking, receiving, or who have received benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs who utilize the services of attorneys-at-law or accredited agents to represent them; such attorneys-at-law and accredited agents; and VA employees whose duties involve the processing of matters related to representatives' fee agreements.

Categories of records in the system:
Records in the system include copies of written fee agreements, documents relating to the filing and review of fee agreements, and magnetic media computer records. The computer data base records will include the names and addresses of both parties to the fee agreements, VA file identification numbers or social security numbers, information concerning fee arrangements, and information on various actions related to the review of the agreements by the Board.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
38 U.S.C. 5904.

Purpose(s):
Claims agents and attorneys-at-law who charge fees for representing veterans and their survivors and dependents in pursuing their claims for Federal veterans' benefits are required to file copies of their fee agreements with the Board. The Board, on its own motion or the motion of a party to the agreement, may then review the agreement and may order a reduction in the called for in the agreement if the Board finds that the fee is excessive or unreasonable, 38 USC 5904(c)(2). The Board gathers; or creates, these records in order to enable it to carry out these fee agreement filing and review functions.

Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

1. Disclosure may be made to the United States Court of Veterans Appeals when an order of the Board has been appealed to that Court in accordance with the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(2).
2. In the event that a system of records maintained by this agency to carry out its functions indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute or particular program statute, or by regulation, rule or order issued pursuant thereto, the relevant records in the system of records may be referred, as a routine use, to the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local or foreign, charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, or rule, regulation or order issued pursuant thereto.
3. Disclosure may be made to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made at the request of that individual.
4. Disclosure may be made to NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) in records management inspections conducted under authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.
5. A record from this system (other than the address of the beneficiary) may be disclosed to a former representative of a beneficiary to the extent necessary to develop and adjudicate a claim for payment of attorney fees to such representative from past-due benefits under 38 U.S.C. 5904(d) or to review a fee agreement between such representative and the beneficiary for reasonableness under 38 U.S.C. 5904(c)(2).
6. Where VA determines that there is good cause to questionthe legality or ethical propriety of the conduct of a person or organization representing a person in a matter before VA, a record from this system may be disclosed, on VA's initiative, to any or all of the following: (1) Applicable civil or criminal law enforcement authorities and (2) a person or entity responsible for the licensing, supervision, or professional discipline of the present or organization acting a representative. Names and home addresses of veterans and their dependents will be released on VA's initiative under this routine use only to Federal entities.

Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, and disposing of records in the system:

Storage:
File folders and computer storage media.

Retrievability:
Information is retrievable by the name of VA claimant or appellant, by the name of the attorney-at-law or agent, and by the VA file number.

Safeguards:
Files are under the custody of designated VA employees, with access limited to employees who have a need to know the contents of the system of records in order to perform their duties. No personal identifiers are used in statistical and management reports and personal identifiers are removed from all records in this system before they are made available to the public by VA. Retention and disposal

Records are retained in accordance with records retention standards approved by the Archivist of the United States, the National Archives and Records Administration, and published in Agency Records Control Schedules. Records are destroyed by shredding or burning paper documents, or by erasing the magnetic media. Automated storage media is retained and disposed of in accordance with disposition authorization approved by the Archivist of the United States.

System manager(s) and address:
Chairman (01), Board of Veterans Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420.

Notification procedure:
Individuals desiring to know whether this system of records contained a record pertaining to him or her, how he or she may gain access to such a record, and how he or she may contest the content of such a record may write to the following address: Privacy Act Officer (01C1), Board of Veterans Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420. The following information, or as much as is available, should be furnished in order to identify the record: Name of the veteran, name of appellant other than the veteran (if any), and the Department of Veterans Affairs file number.

Record access procedures:
Individual seeking information regarding access to information contained in this system of records may write, call or visit the Board of Veterans' Appeals Freedom of Information Act Officer whose address and telephone number are as follows: Freedom of Information Act Officer (01C1), Board of Veterans Appeals, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420, (202) 565-252.

Contesting record procedures:
(See notification procedures above.)

Record source categories:
Data and documents furnished by those seeking, or receiving, or who have received, benefits from VA and by their representatives; documents prepared by Board of Veterans Appeals employees, and data supplied by Board employees.

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