Records Management

DR 3080-001 RECORDS MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1... PURPOSE................................................................................................................... 1

2 BACKGROUND........................................................................................................ 1

3 AUTHORITY.............................................................................................................. 1

4... REFERENCES............................................................................................................ 2

5... SPECIAL INSTUCTIONS.CANCELLATIONS........................................................ 2

6... SCOPE........................................................................................................................ 2

7... POLICY...................................................................................................................... 2

a. Identification of Records.............................................................. 3

b. Proper and Adequate Documentation........................................... 3

c. Control and Custody of Records.................................................. 4

d. Organization of Records.............................................................. 4

e. Mandatory Records Schedules.................................................... 4

f. Official File Directories................................................................ 4

g. Reference Material...................................................................... 4

h. Personal Records........................................................................ 4

i. Disposition of Inactive Records ................................................... 5

j. Vital Records.............................................................................. 5

8... TRAINING................................................................................................................. 6

9... ABBREVIATIONS..................................................................................................... 6

10. FORMS....................................................................................................................... 6

11. RESPONSIBILITIES.................................................................................................. 6

a. Secretary of Agriculture............................................................... 6

b. Chief Information Officer (CIO)................................................... 6

c. Departmental Records Officer...................................................... 7

d. Mission Area, Agency, Service and Staff Office Records Officer.. 8

e. Agency Heads and Staff Office Heads, Program Managers, and CIOs 9

f. Employees................................................................................. 11

12. CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.............................................. 12

a. Documentation.......................................................................... 12

b. Planning Procedures.................................................................. 12

c. Records Maintenance................................................................ 12

d. Official File Stations and Electronic Records Directories............. 13

13. SAFEGUARDING RECORDS................................................................................. 13

a. Definition of Record Materials.................................................... 13

b. Selection of Records Media....................................................... 13

c. Removal of Record or Non-record Materials............................. 14

d. Penalties for Improper Handling................................................. 14

14 DONATIONS, TRANSFER, AND LOAN OF RECORDS...................................... 15

a. Authority.................................................................................................. 15

b. Public Interest........................................................................................... 15

APPENDIXES

Appendix A – Scheduling Records................................................................................. A-1

Appendix B – Records Disposition Procedures............................................................... B-1

Appendix C – Electronic Records Management.............................................................. C-1

Appendix D – Vital Records Program............................................................................. D-1

Appendix E – Electronic Mail.......................................................................................... E-1

Appendix F – Glossary................................................................................................... F-1

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

WASHINGTON, DC 20250

DEPARTMENTAL REGULATION

Number:

3080-001

SUBJECT:

Records Management

Date: April 11, 2007

OPI: Office of the Chief Information Officer

1 PURPOSE

This regulation sets out and summarizes the policies, responsibilities, and procedures for the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of all records and other documentary materials throughout USDA in compliance with Title 44 U.S.C. Chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33, and Title 36 CFR, Parts 1220 through 1238, Records Management. It also sets out responsibilities of personnel in various USDA positions with respect to records. The term “record” encompasses documents in all media, regardless of physical form or characteristic, including records created, used, maintained, transmitted, or disposed of in electronic form; machine-readable records that require machine processing for conversion to human-readable form; magnetic tapes, disks and drums, video files, web sites, optical disks, and floppy disks. This includes records made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operation or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data in them.

2 BACKGROUND

The head of each agency (in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 3102 and 36 CFR 1220.30) is required to establish and maintain a records disposition program to ensure efficient, prompt, and orderly reduction in the quantity of records and to provide for the proper maintenance of records designated as permanent by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (36 CFR 1228.10).

3 AUTHORITY

This regulation is published in accordance with the authority vested in the Secretary of Agriculture under 44 U.S.C. 2104 and 3101; and 44 U.S.C. 3501-3548; and delegated to the Chief Information Officer (7 CFR 2.37).

4 REFERENCES

a. 44 U.S.C. Chapters 21, 29, 31, and 33 (Records Management), and 18 U.S.C. 2071 (Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally)

b. 44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq., (Records Management by Federal Agencies)

c. 44 U.S.C. 3506 (Federal Information Policy)

d. Title 7 CFR 2.37 (Delegations of Authority from the Secretary to the Chief Information Officer)

e. 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subchapter B (Records Management)

f. OMB Circular A-130, (Management of Federal Information Resources)

g. NARA records management handbook Disposition of Federal Records: A Records Management Handbook

h. NARA General Records Schedules

5 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS/CANCELLATIONS

This Departmental Regulation supersedes DR 3080-1 Records Disposition dated April 30, 2004.

6 SCOPE

Each USDA Mission Area, agency, and Staff Office is obligated to meet the minimum requirements of this policy. Each mission area, agency, and staff office is authorized to develop and implement more specific policies and procedures not inconsistent with this Departmental Regulation.

7 POLICY

Each USDA mission area, agency, and staff office shall create and maintain proper and adequate documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the Department of Agriculture (Department) to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of persons directly affected by the Department's activities (44 U.S.C. 3101).

a. Identification of Records

Records in all media are to be properly identified. The definition of records includes:

All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data in them. Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included. (44 U.S.C. 3301)

b. Proper and Adequate Documentation

Regardless of media, official records shall be:

(1) Accessible. The content or substance of the record, including the content or substance of the transaction, the processing of the transaction, the identities of the parties and specific individuals involved, and the intent of the parties, shall be accessible for the life of the record, despite changes to hardware, software, or business procedures.

(2) Legally Sufficient. When a transaction must contain a signature in writing in order to be legally enforceable, due care will be taken to ensure that documentation provides a record that is not subject to imperfect memory or competing claims as to what parties to the transactions intended.

(3) Reliable. Records in any media must be sufficiently reliable and persuasive to satisfy courts and others who must determine the facts underlying agency actions; and

(4) Legally Compliant. The methods used to obtain, send, disclose and store information must comply with applicable laws, such as those governing privacy, confidentiality, recordkeeping, and accessibility to persons with disabilities.

c. Control and Custody of Records

Agency records are the property of the Federal government, not the property of individual employees, and may not be removed from the Department without proper authority. All employees shall maintain records and non-record documentary materials separately from one another.

d. Organization of Records

Records shall be maintained so that they are easily retrievable. Record systems shall be designed to furnish information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and of persons directly affected by the Government's actions.

e. Mandatory Records Schedules

All records of the Department shall be listed and described in an approved records schedule, and shall be disposed of only as authorized by that schedule. (See Appendix A – Scheduling Records.) Schedules shall be reviewed annually. Agencies should update their records schedules when there are program changes that will result in the establishment of new types of records, the transfer or termination of records no longer required, or an increase or decrease in the retention time of the records, to ensure the schedules accurately reflect current records and the functions they document (36 CFR 1228.50(d)).

f. Official File Directories

Each mission area, agency, and staff office shall maintain a centralized list and description of its official records, including official electronic media. Mission areas, agencies and staff offices shall strive to standardize file arrangement systems, filing procedures, and filing techniques of official records. These shall be designed to enhance the current use of the files, the preservation of archival records, and the prompt and systematic disposition of temporary records according to the appropriate records schedule.

g. Reference Material

Reference material shall be clearly marked and maintained separately from the records of the office.

h. Personal Records (36 CFR 1222.36)

All employees shall clearly designate as personal, and maintain separately from the records of the office, those papers of a private or nonofficial nature that pertain to their personal affairs. Materials labeled “personal,” “confidential,” or “private,'” or similarly designated, and used in the transaction of public business, are Federal records subject to the provisions of pertinent laws and regulations. The use of a label such as “personal” is not sufficient to determine the status of documentary materials in a Federal office. Personal papers are excluded from the definition of Federal records and are not owned by the Government. Personal papers shall be clearly designated as such and shall at all times be maintained separately from the records of the office. If information about both private matters and Department business appear in the same document, the document shall be copied at the time of receipt, with the personal information deleted, and treated as a Federal record. (See Appendix B – Records Disposition Procedures.) Examples of personal papers include:

(1) Materials accumulated by an official before joining Government service that are not used subsequently in the transaction of Government business;

(2) Materials relating solely to an individual's private affairs, such as outside business pursuits, professional affiliations, or private political associations that do not relate to agency business, such as personal, family, or social correspondence and, insurance or medical papers;

(3) Diaries, journals, personal correspondence, or other personal notes that are not prepared or used for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business;

(4) Personal copies of personnel-related documents.

i. Disposition of Inactive Records

Records and other documents that are no longer sufficiently active to warrant retention in office space shall be removed as rapidly as possible by: (a) transfer to a Federal Records Center, or (b) transfer to a records retention facility meeting the requirements of 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subchapter B Records Management, Subpart K, 1228.224 through 1228.244, or (c) if authorized, by disposal. (See Appendix B – Records Disposition Procedures.)

Because permanent electronic, microform, and audiovisual records are relatively fragile and degrade in a shorter time than paper records, it is preferable to transfer them directly to the National Archives. (See Appendix C – Electronic Records Management.)

j. Vital Records

Mission area, agencies and staff offices shall maintain a program for the selection, protection, and reporting of vital records, in accordance with the provisions of 36 CFR 1236. (See Appendix D – Vital Records.)

8 TRAINING

Mission areas, agencies and staff offices shall provide records orientation training to new employees and adequate training to other employees to ensure they continue to be aware of their responsibilities to maintain and safeguard Department records.

9 ABBREVIATIONS

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

CIO Chief Information Officer

DR Departmental Regulation

FRA Federal Records Act

FOIA Freedom of Information Act

GAO Government Accountability Office

GPEA Government Paperwork Elimination Act

GPRA Government Paperwork Reduction Act

GRS General Records Schedules

IT Information Technology

NARA National Archives and Records Administration

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer

OMB Office of Management and Budget

Pub. L. Public Law

U.S.C. United States Code

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture, also referred to as the Department

10 FORMS

Standard Form 115 Request for Records Disposition Authority

Standard Form 135 Records Transmittal and Receipt

Standard Form 258 Request to Transfer, Approval, and Receipt of Records to

National Archives of the United States

Optional Form-11 Request to Retrieve Records

11 RESPONSIBILITIES

a. Secretary of Agriculture

As the head of the Department, the Secretary of Agriculture is vested with the authority to make and preserve records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency. (44 U.S.C. 3101.)

b. USDA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO)

The Secretary of Agriculture has delegated to the CIO oversight responsibility for the Department-wide records disposition program (7 CFR 2.37.11). Within the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the Associate CIO for Information and Technology Management is responsible for developing and managing the Department’s records management program. The Associate CIO carries out this responsibility in partnership with USDA’s business and technology communities. This responsibility includes the following:

(1) Review proposed Department reporting and record keeping requirements, including those contained in rules and regulations, to ensure that they impose the minimum burden upon the public and have practical utility for the Department;

(2) Assist the Office of Management and Budget in the performance of its functions assigned under the:

(a) Data Quality Act (Pub. L. No. 106-554 § 515) and under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), including review of Department information activities,

(b) E-Government Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-347, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 36;

(3) Administer the Departmental Records Management Program and coordinate the records management activities of the Office of the Secretary

c. Departmental Records Officer

The Departmental Records Officer, who is designated by the Associate CIO for Information and Technology Management, is responsible for the leadership, coordination, and oversight of the Department-wide records management program and operational responsibilities for the Office of the Secretary:

(1) Serves as the Department's representative with NARA, other Federal agencies, and external organizations on matters pertaining to records management.

(2) Provides leadership and guidance to the Records Officers of the Department's mission areas, agencies and staff offices to ensure reasonable uniformity in records management activities throughout the Department.

(3) Develops Department-wide policies, standards, and procedures for records management.

(a) Develops and implements management systems and procedures to ensure that officials and employees do not remove Federal records from Department custody without appropriate authorization.

(b) Establishes procedures for the participation of mission area, agency and staff office records officers in developing new or revised agency programs, processes, systems, and procedures to ensure that adequate recordkeeping requirements are established and implemented.

(4) Conducts reviews of mission area, agency and staff office programs to ensure conformance with Government-wide and Department-wide records management standards.

d. Mission Area, Agency and Staff Office Records Officers

As designated by the head of the mission area, agency, or staff office records officer is responsible for administering the mission area, agency, or staff office records management programs. Each Records Officer will:

(1) Develop and maintain the mission area, agency and staff office records management program in conformance with the Department's policies and standards.

(2) Develop and maintain current schedules for all mission area, agency, or staff office records. Review schedules when notified of program changes that will result in (a) establishing new types of records, (b) the transfer or termination of records no longer required, or (c) an increase or decrease in the retention time of the records.

(3) Establish and implement procedures to ensure that officials and employees do not remove records from the custody of the Department without prior authorization.

(4) Ensure that adequate recordkeeping requirements are established and implemented for new or revised programs, processes, systems, and procedures.

(5) Maintain a current descriptive list of all official file stations and electronic directories of official records, and the name of the responsible official for each.

(6) Conduct routine reviews of all official file stations and directories to ensure adequate and proper documentation is maintained, permanent records are preserved, and other records are disposed of in accordance with applicable schedules. Report to the Departmental Records Officer on the results of this review.

(7) Assist the Departmental Records Officer in administering the records management program to ensure reasonable uniformity throughout the Department. Provide the Departmental Records Officer with information and documentation requested for review of the mission area, agency, or staff office records management program. If requested, serve on the review team conducting an evaluation of the records management program of another mission area, agency, service, or staff office. As requested, report to the Departmental Records Officer on the status or particular aspects of the mission area, agency or staff office program.

(8) Report any unlawful or accidental removal, defacing, alteration, or destruction of Department records to the Departmental Records Officer and NARA (44 USC 3106).

(9) Ensure employees are aware of records management responsibilities and established recordkeeping requirements.

e. Agency Heads and Staff Office Heads, Program Managers, and CIOs

Agency heads and staff office heads, program managers, and CIOs are responsible for supporting and participating in records management. Heads and Staff Office Heads ensure that the organization makes and preserves records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency.

(1) Agency Heads and Staff Office Heads. Agency heads and staff office heads are responsible for establishing and maintaining active and continuing records management programs for their organizations which include:

(a) Assigning a Records Management Officer to develop and implement a comprehensive records management program that is consistent with all established Departmental records management guidelines and notifying the Departmental Records Officer of the assignment.

(b) Creating and maintaining supplemental records management directives and appropriately disseminating this information within their agency.

(c) Participating in the organization's development of new or revised programs, processes, systems, and procedures to ensure adequate recordkeeping requirements are established and implemented.

(d) Ensuring employees are aware of records management responsibilities and established recordkeeping requirements.

(e) Developing and implementing records schedules for all records created and received by the organization and obtaining NARA approval of the schedules in accordance with NARA and Departmental guidelines.

(f) Periodically reviewing the organization's recordkeeping requirements in order to validate their currency and to ensure that recordkeeping requirements are being implemented.

(2) Program Managers. Program officials have the primary responsibility for creating, maintaining, protecting, and disposing of records of their program area in accordance with Departmental policy. They will:

(a) Create those records needed to ensure adequate and proper documentation of their area of responsibility.

(b) Implement procedures to ensure that records are protected from theft, loss, and unauthorized access.

(c) Establish a filing system and implement procedures to ensure that records are maintained in such a manner that information and documents are readily retrievable in accordance with the established agency file plan.

(d) Cut off subject correspondence files on an annual basis and close out case files promptly on the completion of the case.

(e) Transfer or destroy inactive records according to the appropriate schedule.

(f) Cooperate with the Department and mission area, agency or staff office records officer in requests for information and the management of records.

(g) Notify the mission area, agency or staff office records officer of organization or program changes that will result in establishment of new types of records, the transfer or termination of records no longer required, or an increase or decrease in the retention time of the records.

(3) Agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs). CIOs have responsibility for ensuring that information technology systems provide adequate and cost effective records management and retention capabilities. As information systems are planned, the CIOs will:

(a) Ensure that the appropriate mission area, agency, or staff office records officer is included in the initial planning for new systems, and plans for migration or updates from existing systems;

(b) Provide cost estimates for the retention of the record copies in electronic media, including the migration of the records to new systems, as there are upgrades and changes in software and hardware systems. Retention issues must address the cost of appropriate storage facilities that meet the agency records facility requirements listed in 36 CFR Chapter 12, Subchapter B – Records Management, Subpart K, 1228.220 through 1228.244. Migration costs include the conversion, verification, and validation of the data for the life of the record;

(c) Provide guidance on the security of the record in electronic media over the life of the record. Records must be valid, authentic, and reliable in order to meet legal requirements in court of law.

f. Employees

Records management is a collective responsibility which all employees have an equal obligation to maintain. All employees should be aware of the policies, procedures, and tools for managing records and be capable of applying them to all records.

(1) All employees shall maintain record and non-record documentary material according to prescribed Department policy and procedures.

(2) All employees shall safeguard records until they are authorized for disposition. The unauthorized removal, concealment, falsification, mutilation, and/or disposition of official records is prohibited by law and is subject to penalty (18 U.S.C. 2071).

(3) All employees shall clearly designate as personal those papers of a private or nonofficial nature pertaining solely to their personal affairs. Those papers shall be filed separately from the records of the office.

(4) An employee shall report any apparent instances of unauthorized disposition to his/her supervisor and the mission area, agency, or staff office records officer.

12 CREATION AND MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS

a. Documentation

All program officials shall create and maintain adequate and proper documentation of the programs for which they are responsible. This means a record of the conduct of Government business that is complete and accurate to the extent required to document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the office and to protect the legal and financial interests of the Government and of persons directly affected by the activities of the office.

b. Planning Procedures

Each mission area, agency, and staff office shall establish procedures to ensure the participation of its Records Officer in developing new or revised programs, processes, systems, and procedures to ensure that adequate recordkeeping requirements are establish