Attachment 6 - Secretary_s Order 39-72 Control of Data and Information Collected by the BLS 1 .pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

SECRETARY OF LABOR

WASHINGTON, D.C.

DATE: 12/29/72

SECRETARY'S ORDER 39-72

SUBJECT : Control of Data and Information Collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

1. Purpose. To establish policy and procedures for the handling of data and information collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and employed or processed either by the Bureau, by or for some other Administration or Office within the Department, or by persons or agencies outside the Department in order to protect the confidentiality of information regarding specific firms or individuals. Among other things, this Order is intended to centralize and clarify the authority and responsibility for application to such data and information of the provisions of 5 U.&.C.

552 and 29 CFR Part 70.

2. Background. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor (referred to hereinafter as BLS) collects a large quantity of individual and establishment data in the course of its operations. A great deal of this data is provided voluntarily by individuals and establishments who would not themselves make it available to members of the public. This voluntary cooperation is facilitated by informants' understanding that information supplied by them will not be publicly disclosed or used in such a way as to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, a serious financial disadvantage to such informant, or a disclosure of privileged or confidential trade secrets and commercial or financial information. The continuing availability of such information furnished voluntarily and accepted under a pledge of confidentiality is essential to the maintenance of BLS and various other Departmental programs. In recent years there has been a growth in the number of Federal-State and intra and interdepartmental cooperative programs as well as an expanded use of contractors and of computer technology in information processing. Consequently, t~e application of the Department of Labor's policy on confidentiality needs to be clarified in the light of these changed circumstances.

3. Policy. It is the policy of the Department of Labor:

(a) That all data collected by BLS shall, at all times, be subject to the primary jurisdiction and control of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics in regard to any matter involving the public or intragovernmental disclosure of such data.

(b) That all employees of the Department shall be subject to rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor Statistics governing the disclosure of confidential data and information collected by BLS.

(Commissioner's Administrative Order No. 6-2)

(c) That no official or employee of the Department regardless of the subdivision he represents who, under rules promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, has access to or knowledge of data collected by BLS, shall disclose any information from or pertaining to such data in such a way as to identify any individual respondent or other data source to any person except pursuant to the written approval of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics.

4. Scope. This policy applies to all Administrations and Offices of the Department of Labor and to all programs and projects including Federal-State cooperative programs sponsored or participated in by the Department in which BLS data is processed or employed.

5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Secretary's Order:

(a) Data includes, but is not limited to, information provided by individuals subject to a pledge of confidentiality.

(b) Individual includes, but is not limited to, a person, household, corporation, or other business or public service enterprise.

6. Assignment of Responsibilities

(a) The Commissioner of Labor Statistics is responsible for approving the confidentiality policies and procedures relating to the protection of BLS data in connection with any activities of non-BLS organizations within or outside the Department of Labor which provide collection or processing support services to BLS programs or are otherwise allowed access to such data. The Commissioner will certify that all relevant activities of such an organization meet the appropriate standards of confidentiality before any BLS data is entrusted to that organization for any purpose. In addition, he will have the responsibility- pursuant to 29 CFR Part 70 for passing upon all requests for public -disclosure of data collected by BLS, whether the data requested is in the physical possession of that Bureau or not.

(b) The Solicitor of Labor is responsible for reviewing and approving the confidentiality policies and procedures promulgated by the Commissioner of Labor Statistics in the light of the Department's general disclosure regulations, 29 CFR Part 70, The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and any other pertinent provisions of law.

(c) The Heads of Administrations and Offices of the Department of Labor are assigned the responsibility for promulgating, implementing, and insuring continued compliance with procedures and policies consistent with this Secretary's Order.

7. Directives Affected. Secretary's Order No. 25-72 is cancelled by this Order.

8. Effective Date. This Secretary's Order is effective immediately.

JAMES D. HODGSON

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