System of Records (SOR)

90VA194 - Call Detail Records-VA

System location:
Records are maintained at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. Address locations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities are listed in VA Appendix 1 of the biennial publication of the VA's systems of records.

Categories of individuals covered by the system:
Individuals who are assigned VHA telephone numbers or are authorized to use VHA telephone services, and individuals who receive or make calls billed to VHA.

Categories of records in the system:
Call detail records consist of information on Federal Telecommunication System (FTS) telephone calls placed from VHA telephones or otherwise billed to VHA including the originating and destination telephone numbers; states and cities called; date and time of call; duration of each call; cost of call; name and title of caller; request number; account code; deactivation code; authorization code records indicating the assignment of telephone numbers to organizations and individuals; and the organizational location of telephones.

Purpose(s):
The records are used to generate call detail records; to verify telephone usage; to allocate costs of telephone services to individual users; to identify unofficial telephone calls; and to justify action when individuals misuse or abuse VA telephone services.

Authority for maintenance of the system:
Title 38 United States Code, section 501.

Routine uses of records mainTAINED IN THE SYSTEM INCLUDING categories of users and the purposes of such uses:

1. Disclosure may be made to individuals to determine their responsibility for telephone calls.
2. Disclosure may be made to another Federal agency or a telecommunications company providing telephone services to permit maintenance and repair of the account.
3. Information from this system of records may be disclosed to a congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the congressional office made on behalf of that individual.
4. Disclosure may be made to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for records management inspections under Title 44 of United States Code.
5. Disclosure may be made at VA's initiative to the appropriate Federal, State, or local agency responsible for investigating, prosecuting, enforcing, or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, or order, where the agency becomes aware of an indication of a violation or potential violation of civil or criminal law or regulation.
6. A record from this system of records may be disclosed to a Federal agency, in response to its request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the conducting of a security or suitability investigation of an individual, the reporting of an investigation, the letting of a grant or other benefit, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the matter.
7. Records from this system of records may be disclosed in a proceeding before a court, adjudicative body, or other administrative body when the Agency, or any Agency component or employee (in his or her official capacity as a VA employee), is a party to litigation; when the Agency determines that litigation is likely to affect the Agency, any of its components or employees, or the United States has an interest in the litigation, and such records are deemed to be relevant and necessary to the legal proceedings; provided that the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.
8. Disclosure of relevant information may be made to individuals, organizations, private or public agencies, etc., with whom VA has a contract or agreement to perform such services as VA may deem practicable for the purposes of laws administered by VA, in order for the contractor or subcontractor to perform the services of the contract or agreement.
9. Disclosure may be made to officials of labor organizations recognized under 5 U.S.C. chapter 71 when relevant and necessary to their duties of exclusive representation concerning personnel policies, practices, and matters affecting working conditions.
10. Disclosure may be made to the VA-appointed representative of an employee, including all notices, determinations, decisions, or other written communications issued to the employee in connection with an examination ordered by VA under medical evaluation (formerly fitness-for-duty) examination procedures or Department-filed disability retirement procedures.
11. Disclosure may be made to officials of the Merit Systems Protection Board, including the Office of the Special Counsel, when requested in connection with appeals, special studies of the civil service and other merit systems, review of rules and regulations, investigation of alleged or possible prohibited personnel practices, and such other functions, promulgated in 5 U.S.C. 1205 and 1206, or as may be authorized by law.
12. Disclosure may be made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when requested in connection with investigations of alleged or possible discrimination practices, examination of Federal affirmative employment programs, compliance with the Uniform Guidelines of Employee Selection Procedures, or other functions vested in the Commission by the President's Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978.
13. Disclosure may be made to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, including its General Counsel, when requested in connection with investigation and resolution of allegations of unfair labor practices, in connection with the resolution of exceptions to arbitrator awards when a question of material fact is raised and matters before the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

Disclosure to consumer reporting agencies:
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12), VA may disclose records from this system to consumer reporting agencies as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)) or the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701(a)(3)).

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

Storage:
Records are maintained on electronic media (hard disk and floppy disks) and paper.

Retrievability:
Records may be retrieved by name, authorization code, VA organizational unit, originating telephone number, destination telephone number, location code, date, time, cost, and/or duration of call.

Safeguards:

1. Access to telecommunication areas at health care facilities is generally limited by appropriate locking devices and restricted to authorized VA employees and vendor personnel. Generally, VA telecommunication areas are locked at all times and the facilities are protected from outside access by the Federal Protective Service or other security personnel.
2. Access to file information or the user database is controlled by access codes. The system recognizes authorized VA employees by individually unique passwords or access codes. Contractors accessing the database remotely use encryption and access codes.

Retention and disposal:
Records are maintained and disposed of in accordance with record disposition authority approved by the Archivist of the United States. Destruction of hard copy (paper) records is by shredding or burning or some other method that will macerate the record content. Working disks are erased as soon as the purpose for which they have been established has been served.

System manager(s) and address:
Director, Implementation and Training Services, Communications Services Office (194D), Office of Information, State Route 9, Building 307A, Martinsburg, West Virginia 25401.

Notification procedure:
Individuals wishing to inquire whether this system of records contains information about themselves should contact the designated individual at the VHA facility where the records are maintained. Individuals must furnish the following information for their records to be located and identified: a. Full name; b. VA assigned telephone number or telephone service authorization number; and c. description of information being sought, including the time frame of information being sought.

Record access procedure:
Individuals wishing to request access to records about themselves should contact the designated individual at the VHA facility where the records are maintained. Individuals must furnish the following information for their records to be located and identified: a. Full name; b. VA assigned telephone number or telephone authorization number, and; c. Description of information being sought, including the time frame of information being sought. Individuals requesting access must also follow VA's Privacy Act regulations regarding verification of identify and access to records (38 CFR Part 1).

Contesting record procedure:
Individuals wishing to request amendment of records about themselves should contact the designated individual at the VHA facility where the records are maintained. Individuals must furnish the following information for their records to be located and identified: a. Full name; b. VA assigned telephone number or telephone service authorization number; and c. Description of information being sought, including the time frame of the information being sought. Individuals requesting amendment must also follow VA's Privacy Act regulations regarding verification identify and amendment of records (38 CFR part 1).

Record source categories:
The information in this system of records is obtained from the following sources: a. Local VA telephone directories and other telephone assignment records; b. call detail records provided by suppliers of telephone services; and c. the individual on whom the record is maintained.

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