pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), the Office must review the requested record to determine whether information in the record has been used or is being used to deny the individual any right, privilege, or benefit for which he would otherwise be eligible or to which he would otherwise be entitled under federal law. If so, the Office shall notify the requester of the existence of the record and disclose such information to the requester, except to the extent that the information would identify a confidential source. In cases when disclosure of information in a law-enforcement record could reasonably be expected to identify a confidential source, the record shall not be disclosed to the requester unless the Office is able to delete from such information all material that would identify the confidential source.

(b) Employee background investigations. When a requester requests access to a record pertaining to a background investigation and the record has been exempted from access pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(5), the record shall not be disclosed to the requester unless the Office is able to delete from such record all information that would identify a confidential source.

$700.16 Access to records.

(a) Manner of access. The Office, once it has made a determination to grant a request for access, shall grant the requester access to the requested record by

(1) Providing the requester with a copy of the record or

(2) Making the record available for inspection by the requester at a reasonable time and place.

The Office shall in either case charge the requester applicable fees in accordance with the provisions of $700.17. If the Office provides access to a record by making the record available for inspection by the requester, the manner of such inspection shall not unreasonably disrupt the operations of the Office.

(b) Accompanying person. A requester appearing in person to review his records may be accompanied by another individual of his own choosing. Both the requester and the accompanying person shall be required to

sign a form stating that the Office of Independent Counsel is authorized to disclose the record in the presence of both individuals.

$700.17 Fees for access to records.

(a) When charged. The Office shall charge fees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(f)(5) for the copying of records to afford access to individuals unless the Office, in its discretion, waives or reduces the fees for good cause shown. The Office shall charge fees only at the rate of $0.10 per page. For materials other than paper copies, the Office may charge the direct costs of reproduction, but only if the requester has been notified of such costs before they are incurred. Fees shall not be charged when they would amount, in the aggregate, for one request or for a series of related requests, to less than $3.00. However, the Office may, in its discretion, increase the amount of this minimum fee.

(b) Notice of estimated fees in excess of $25. When the Office determines or estimates that the fees to be charged under this section may amount to more than $25, the Office shall notify the requester as soon as practicable of the actual or estimated amount of the fee. unless the requester has indicated in advance his willingness to pay a fee as high as that anticipated. (If only a portion of the fee can be estimated readily, the Office shall advise the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total fee.) When the estimated fee exceeds $25 and the Office has so notified the requester, the Office will be deemed not to have received the request for access to records until the requester has agreed to pay the anticipated fee. A notice to a requester pursuant to this paragraph shall offer him the opportunity to confer with Office personnel with the object of reformulating his request to meet his needs at a lower cost.

(c) Form of payment. Requesters must pay fees by check or money order made payable to the Treasury of the United States.

(d) Advance deposits. (1) When the estimated fee chargeable under this section exceeds $25, the Office may require a requester to make an advance deposit of 25 percent of the estimated fee or an

advance payment of $25, whichever is greater.

(2) When a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged under this part, the requester must pay the Office the full amount owed and make an advance deposit of the full amount of any estimated fee before the Office shall be required to process a new or pending request for access from that requester.

$700.18 Appeals from denials of ac

cess.

(a) Appeals to Independent Counsel. When the Office denies in whole or part a request for access to records, the requester may appeal the denial to Independent Counsel within 30 days of his receipt of the notice denying his request. An appeal to Independent Counsel shall be made in writing, addressed to the Office of Independent Counsel, suite 701 West, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004. Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be clearly marked: "Privacy Act Appeal."

(b) Action on appeals. Unless Independent Counsel otherwise directs, he or his designee shall act on all appeals under this section, except that: A denial of a request for access by Independent Counsel, or his designee, shall constitute the final action of the Office on that request.

(c) Form of action on appeal. The disposition of an appeal shall be in writing. A decision affirming in whole or in part the denial of a request for access shall include a brief statement of the reason or reasons for the affirmance, including each Privacy Act exemption relied upon and its relation to each record withheld, and a statement that judicial review of the denial is available in the United States District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides or has his principal place of business, the judicial district in which the requested records are located, or the District of Columbia. If the denial of a request for access is reversed on appeal, the requester shall be so notified and the request shall be processed promptly in accordance with the decision on appeal.

$700.19 Preservation of records.

The Office shall preserve all correspondence relating to the requests it receives under this subpart, and all records processed pursuant to such requests, until such time as the destruction of such correspondence and records is authorized pursuant to title 44 of the U.S. Code. Under no circumstances shall records be destroyed while they are the subject of a pending request for access, appeal, or lawsuit under the Act.

$700.20 Requests for correction of records.

(a) How made. Unless a record is exempted from correction and amendment, an individual may submit a request for correction of a record pertaining to him. A request for correction must be made in writing. The request must identify the particular record in question, state the correction sought, and set forth the justification for the correction. Both the envelope and the request for correction itself must be clearly marked: "Privacy Act Correction Request."

(b) Initial determination. Within 10 working days of receiving a request for correction, the Office shall notify the requester whether his request will be granted or denied, in whole or in part. If the Office grants the request for correction in whole or in part, it shall advise the requester of his right to obtain a copy of the corrected record, in releasable form, upon request. If the Office denies the request for correction in whole or in part, it shall notify the requester in writing of the denial. The notice of denial shall state the reason or reasons for the denial and advise the requester of his right to appeal.

(c) Appeals. When a request for correction is denied in whole or in part, the requester may appeal the denial to Independent Counsel within 30 days of his receipt of the notice denying his request. An appeal to Independent Counsel shall be made in writing, shall set forth the specific item of information sought to be corrected, and shall include any documentation said to justify the correction. An appeal shall be addressed to the Office of Independent Counsel, suite 701 West, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004.

Both the envelope and the letter of appeal itself must be clearly marked: "Privacy Act Correction Appeal.”

(d) Determination on appeal. Independent Counsel, or his designee, shall decide all appeals from denials or requests to correct records. All such appeals shall be decided within 30 working days of receipt of the appeal, unless there is good cause to extend this period. If the denial of a request is affirmed on appeal, the requester shall be so notified in writing and advised of(1) The reason or reasons the denial has been affirmed,

(2) The requester's right to file a Statement of Disagreement, as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, and

(3) The requester's right to obtain judicial review of the denial in the United States District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides or has his principal place of business, the judicial district in which the record is located, or the District of Columbia.

If the denial is reversed on appeal, the requester shall be so notified and the request for correction shall be remanded to the Office for processing in accordance with the decision on appeal.

(e) Statements of disagreement. A requester whose appeal under this section is denied shall have the right to file a Statement of Disagreement with the Office of Independent Counsel, Suite 701 West, 555 Thirteenth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20004, within 30 days of receiving notice of denial of his appeal. Statements of disagreement may not exceed one typed page per fact disputed. Statements exceeding this limit shall be returned to the requester for condensation. Upon receipt of a statement of disagreement under this section, Independent Counsel, or his designee, shall have the statement included in the system of records in which the disputed record is maintained and shall have the disputed record marked so as to indicate

(1) That a statement of disagreement has been filed, and

(2) Where in the system of records the statement of disagreement may be found.

(f) Notices of correction or disagreement. Within 30 working days of the correc

tion of a record, the Office shall advise all agencies to which it previously disclosed the record that the record has been corrected. Whenever an individual has filed a statement of disagreement, the Office shall append a copy of the statement to the disputed record whenever the record is disclosed. The Office may also append to the disputed record any written statement it has made giving the Office's reasons for denying the request to correct the record.

$700.21 Records not subject to correction.

The following records are not subject to correction or amendment as provided in §700.20:

(a) Transcripts of testimony given under oath or written statements made under oath;

(b) Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, judicial proceedings, or quasi-judicial proceedings that constitute the official record of such proceedings;

(c) Presentence records that are the property of the courts, but may be maintained by the Office in a system of records; and

(d) Records duly exempted from correction pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) or 552a(k) by notice published in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

$700.22 Request for accounting of record disclosures.

(a) An individual may request the Office to provide him with an accounting of those other agencies to which the Office has disclosed the record, and the date, nature, and purpose of each disclosure. A request for an accounting must be made in writing and must identify the particular record for which the accounting is requested. The request also must be addressed to the Office and both the envelope and the request itself must clearly be marked: "Privacy Act Accounting Request."

(b) The Office shall not be required to provide an accounting to an individual to the extent that the accounting relates to

(1) Records for which no accounting must be kept pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(1),

revise the system to avoid future collection and use of the Social Security numbers.

(b) The Office shall take such measures as are necessary to ensure that employees authorized to collect information from individuals are advised that individuals may not be required to furnish Social Security numbers without statutory or regulatory authorization and that individuals who are requested to provide Social Security numbers voluntarily must be advised that furnishing the number is not required and that no penalty or denial of benefits will flow from the refusal to provide it.

$700.26 Employee standards of conduct.

(a) The Office shall inform its employees of the provisions of the Privacy Act, including the Act's civil liability and criminal penalty provisions. The Office also shall notify its employees that they have a duty to

(1) Protect the security of records, (2) Assure the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness

records,

of

(3) Avoid the unauthorized disclosure, either verbal or written, of records, and

(4) Ensure that the Office maintains no system of records without public notice.

(b) Except to the extent that the Privacy Act permits such activities, an employee of the Office of Independent Counsel shall:

(1) Not collect information of a personal nature from individuals unless the employee is authorized to collect such information to perform a function or discharge a responsibility of the Office;

(2) Collect from individuals only that information that is necessary to the performance of the functions or to the discharge of the responsibilities of the Office;

(3) Collect information about an individual directly from that individual, whenever practicable;

(4) Inform each individual from whom information is collected of

(i) The legal authority that authorizes the Office to collect such information,

(ii) The principal purposes for which the Office intends to use the information,

(iii) The routine uses the Office may make of the information, and

(iv) The effects upon the individual of not furnishing the information;

(5) Maintain all records that are used by the agency in making any determination about any individual with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as to assure fairness to the individual in the determination;

(6) Except as to disclosures to an agency or pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(2), make reasonable efforts, prior to disseminating any record about an individual, to assure that such records are accurate, relevant, timely, and complete;

(7) Maintain no record concerning an individual's religious or political beliefs or activities, or his membership in associations or organizations, unless

(i) The individual has volunteered such information for his own benefit,

(ii) A statute expressly authorizes the Office to collect, maintain, use or disseminate the information, or

(iii) The individual's beliefs, activities, or membership are pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law-enforcement or correctional activ

ity;

(8) Notify the head of the Office of the existence or development of any system of records that has not been disclosed to the public;

(9) When required by the Act, maintain an accounting in the prescribed form of all disclosures of records by the Office to agencies or individuals whether verbally or in writing;

(10) Disclose no record to anyone, except within the Office, for any use, unless authorized by the Act;

(11) Maintain and use records with care to prevent the inadvertent disclosure of a record to anyone; and

(12) Notify the head of the Office of any record that contains information that the Act or the foregoing provisions of this paragraph do not permit the Office to maintain.

(c) Not less than once a year, the head of each Office shall review the systems of records maintained by that Office to ensure that the Office is in