(a) Present and former Food and Drug Administration employees desiring access to personnel records about themselves should consult system notices applicable to the agency's personnel records that are published by the Office of Personnel Management and the Department as well as any notice issued by the Food and Drug Administration.

(b)(1) The procedures of the Office of Personnel Management at 5 CFR parts 293, 294, and 297 rather than the procedures in § 21.33 and subparts D through F of this part, govern systems of personnel records about Food and Drug Administration employees that are subject to notice published by the Office of Personnel Management, i.e., systems that:

(i) The Office of Personnel Management maintains.

(ii) Are maintained by the Division of Human Resources Management, Food and Drug Administration.

(iii) Are maintained by Department Regional Offices, concerning field employees.

(2) The Office of Personnel Management's procedures may, if necessary, be supplemented in the Food and Drug Administration Staff Manual Guide. Current Food and Drug Administration employees should mail or deliver written requests under the Privacy Act for access to personnel records described in this paragraph to the Office of Personnel Management in accordance with 5 CFR 297.106, the Director, Division of Human Resources Management HR-BETHPL RM7114, HFA-705, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., 7th & 8th floors, Bethesda, MD 20814, or the personnel officer in the servicing HHS Regional Personnel Office. An employee may consult with or direct his or her request to the FDA Privacy Act Coordinator (the Privacy Act Coordinator is part of the Freedom of Information Staff, the address for which is located on the Agency Web site at http://www.fda.gov). Requests for access to personnel records of former employees that are located in Federal Records Centers should be directed to the Office of Personnel Management. Requests under the Privacy Act for amendment of personnel records should be directed to these same officials who are responsible for access to personnel records under this paragraph.

(3) With respect to records subject to paragraph (b)(1) of this section:

(i) Refusal to grant access to a record, or refusal to amend a record upon request of an employee, shall only be made by the Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations or his or her designate; and

(ii) Appeals of refusals under paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section may be made to the Office of Personnel Management in accordance with 5 CFR 297.108(g)(3) and 297.113(b).

(c) Any other Privacy Act Record Systems that contain personnel records, or records that otherwise concern agency employees, that are maintained by offices of the Food and Drug Administration rather than the Division of Human Resources Management but which are not subject to the Department's notice for personnel records in operating offices are subject to this part, except that refusals under this part to grant access to or amend records about present or former employees shall be made by the Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations rather than the Associate Commissioner for Public Affairs.

(d) The following procedures shall govern requests under the Privacy Act for personnel records that are maintained by the operating offices of the Food and Drug Administration in which employees work:

(1) An employee shall upon request be told whether records about him are maintained. An employee shall be given access to records about himself that are subject to this paragraph in response to an oral or written request and through informal procedures, rather than the procedures specified in §§ 21.40 through 21.43.

(2) Employee identity may be verified, if necessary, by an FDA ID card rather than in accordance with § 21.44.

(3) Generally no fee shall be charged for records requested under this paragraph. However, in cases where the records requested are voluminous, a fee may be charged in accordance with § 21.45.

(4) Records that are subject to this paragraph shall be available for access to an individual, except to the extent that access is refused by the Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations or his or her designate on the grounds that the record is subject to an exemption under § 21.61 or 5 CFR 297.111.

(5) Requests under the Privacy Act for amendment of records subject to this paragraph should be directed to the Director, Division of Human Resources Management (HFA-400). Such requests shall be reviewed in accordance with subpart E of this part. Refusal to amend a record subject to this paragraph (d)(5) shall only be made by the Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations or his or her designate.

(6) Appeals of refusals under paragraph (d) (4) or (5) of this section may be made to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, except where the Associate Commissioner for Management and Operations or his or her designate indicates with his or her refusal that the appeal should be made to the Office of Personnel Management.

(7) Disclosures of records subject to this paragraph are subject to subpart G of this part.