Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 10 (Friday, January 15, 2021)

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 10 (Friday, January 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4107-4109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00927]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket Number DHS-2021-0004]

Agency Information Collection Activities: COVID-19 Contact
Tracing, COVID-19 Contact Tracing Scripts, COVID-19 Contact Tracing
Form

AGENCY: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

ACTION: 60-day notice and request for comments; extension without
change of a currently approved collection, 1601-0027.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security, will submit the following
Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted until March 16,
2021. This process is conducted in accordance with 5 CFR 1320.1

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number Docket
# DHS-1601-0027, at:
[cir] Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Please follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number Docket # DHS-1601-0027. All comments received will be
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
COVID-19 Contact Tracing information is necessary to support the
President's National Guidelines for all phases of Opening Up America
Again. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-20-23Memorandum for
Heads of Executive Department requires employers to develop and
implement policies and procedures for workforce contact tracing
following an employee's COVID-19 positive test. The M-20-23 Memorandum
requires symptomatic Federal employees and contractors to follow their
Agency's process if they are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19.
It specifies that the agency processes should protect the anonymity and
privacy of Federal employees and contractors, to the extent possible,
while disclosing only the information necessary for agencies to take
appropriate actions of notifying potentially affected employees and
cleaning the facility. Additionally, per the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidance entitled Get and Keep America Open,
COVID-19 Contact Tracing is essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Furthermore, in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, public health
leaders are calling for communities around the country to ramp up
capacity and implement a massive contact tracing effort to control
spread of the Coronavirus. The response and recovery from the effect of
COVID-19 will continue to present Federal agencies with unprecedented
challenges, as well as opportunities for improvement, that require new
processes and practices such as COVID-19 Contact Tracing to keep the
workforce and the public safe. As DHS plans to reconstitute the
workforce, it is

[[Page 4108]]

essential to have an internal DHS Contact Tracing Program that protects
the workforce and our families by preventing further spread of COVID-
19.
Note: In the following responses the term employee is used to
include federal employee, contractor, detailee, volunteer, and intern.

Authority

DHS is authorized to collect the information pursuant to Section
319 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42 U.S.C. 274d); DHS Chief
Medical Officer's authorities pursuant to 6 U.S.C. 350 and 6 U.S.C.
597; 6 U.S.C. 464; 21 U.S.C. 360bbb-3; 40 U.S.C. 1315; 42 U.S.C. 97;
American with Disabilities Act, including 42 U.S.C. 12112(d)(3), 29 CFR
1630.2(r), 1630.14(b), (c) Workforce safety federal requirements,
including the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Executive
Order 12196, 5 U.S.C. 7902; 29 U.S.C. Chapter 15 (e.g., 29 U.S.C. 668),
29 CFR part 1904, 29 CFR 1910.1020, and 29 CFR 1960.66.
This is a new collection for the agency. The contract tracing
process is triggered when an employee voluntarily self-reports to their
supervisor that they are COVID-19 positive. The supervisor will provide
the employee's name and contact information to a DHS Supervisory
Contact Tracer. The Supervisory Contact tracer will assign a Contact
Tracer to contact and interview the COVID-19 positive employee and
obtain a list of employees the COVID-19 positive employee was in close
contact with, as well as locations in the DHS worksite that the COVID-
19 positive employee visited for 15 minutes or more. The Contact Tracer
will call the exposed employees to inform them that were exposed by a
DHS COVID-19 positive employee so they can take appropriate precautions
in minimizing exposure to other DHS personnel and speak with their
supervisor to discuss their work status. The contact tracer will not
disclose the name or any other personally identifiable information
regarding the COVID-19 positive employee to the exposed employees. The
contact tracer will inform the exposed employee to notify their
supervisor, contracting company (contractors only), medical provider,
and local public health authorities to get instructions. The purpose of
contact tracing is to control the spread of COVID-19 in the workforce.
The following information will be collected from the respondent:

--Name (first and last)
--COVID-19 lab test result
--Component Name
--Office address
--Personal phone number (Mobile or Home)
--Work phone number
--Work email address
--Where is your primary site of work (e.g., department, floor, field
desk location)
--Supervisor Name (First and Last)
--Supervisor's Phone Number
--Supervisor's Email
--All activities, floors visited in the DHS work site, meeting attended
(including lunches, etc.) that the COVID-19 positive employee
participated in starting 48 hours before their first COVID-19 symptoms
began
--Last date worked in a DHS worksite
--Names (first and last) of federal employees, contractors, detailees,
interns, volunteers who the COVID-19 positive employee was in close
contact with, along with the close contacts' work email addresses, work
phone numbers, and the last dates of contact.

The collection of information will be automated using Service Now,
the existing DHS Information Technology Help desk ticketing platform.
Service Now will be modified to be used as the COVID-19 reporting tool.
The COVID-19 positive employee will voluntarily inform their supervisor
that they are COVID-19 positive. The COVID-19 positive employee or
their supervisor will create a new ticket in the COVID-19 reporting
tool and include locations in the office that they were in for 15
minutes or more (to initiate facility cleaning) and names of employees
they were in close contact with for 15 minutes or more (to identify
exposed individuals to notify). The COVID-19 reporting tool will create
a ticket and route this to the employee's supervisor and the
supervisory contract tracer. The supervisory contact tracer will assign
the case (ticket) to the contact tracer. The contact tracer will call
the COVID-19 positive employee to verify information submitted by the
employee. The Contact Tracer will call the exposed employees to inform
them that were exposed to a DHS COVID-19 positive employee so they can
take appropriate precautions in minimizing exposure to other DHS
personnel and speak with their supervisor to discuss their work status
as detailed in response #2.
The basis of the decision for adopting Service Now as a contact
tracing reporting/collection tool are: Service now is an existing
operating system with an approved Authority to Operate and is in
accordance with DHS IT policies, procedures, and controls. Using
information technology helps to streamline the process, adds
uniformity, and reduces the burden on the contact tracer. The system
includes an active directory for all DHS personnel, and contains the
data collection, routing, reporting, and tracking capability required
to automate contact tracing reporting, case (ticket) assignment and
disposition.
This information collection request will not impact small
businesses or other small entities.
In response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, public health leaders are
calling for communities around the country to ramp up capacity and
implement a massive contact tracing effort to control spread of the
Coronavirus. The response and recovery from the effect of COVID-19 will
continue to present Federal agencies with unprecedented challenges, as
well as opportunities for improvement, that require new processes and
practices such as COVID-19 Contact Tracing to keep the workforce and
the public safe. As DHS plans to reconstitute the workforce, it is
essential to have an internal DHS Contact Tracing Program that protects
the workforce and our families. It is also essential to comply with
requirements in the President's National Guidelines for all phases of
Opening Up America Again, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) M-
20-23 Memorandum for Heads of Executive Department, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention guidance entitled Get and Keep America
Open, and for DHS to fulfill its overall mission. If DHS does not
establish an internal COVID-19 Contact Tracing program capable of
quickly identifying, isolating, tracking, and being aware of potential
office outbreaks and workforce exposures, COVID-19 can unknowingly
spread throughout the DHS workspace and negatively impact mission
readiness and National Security.
As required by the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Script, the Contact
Tracer is required to read the following statement at the beginning of
the call with each respondent:

``Before we begin, I would like to provide you with the following
privacy notice: DHS is requesting information as part of this call for
the purpose of maintaining and ensuring a healthy workforce and a safe
DHS workspace. Further, this information will help the Department in
slowing down the spread of COVID-19 by notifying those individuals who
may have been exposed to the disease so that they can take appropriate
precautions in minimizing exposure to other DHS personnel and DHS-
affiliated personnel. As such, DHS may use the information

[[Page 4109]]

I collect from you to provide notifications to other potentially
exposed personnel. No personally identifiable information will be
shared on you to those personnel in an identifiable format. However,
information contained from this call may be shared with my supervisory
contact tracer to ensure data is appropriately collected. In addition,
if you report symptoms of COVID-19, this information may be shared with
your supervisor so that he or she may work with you on your work
status. Further, no personally identifiable information collected from
this call will be shared outside of DHS. This collection is voluntary.
However, your participation is requested because contact tracing is a
key strategy for preventing further spread of COVID-19.''

The following Privacy Notice is Imprinted on the COVID-19 Contact
Tracing Script and Form

WARNING: This document is FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO). It contains
information that may be exempt from public release under the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C 552a). It
is to be controlled, stored, handled, transmitted, distributed, and
disposed of in accordance with DHS policy relating to FOUO information
and is not to be released to the public or other personnel who do not
have a valid ``need-to-know'' without prior approval of an authorized
DHS official.

The Following Privacy Act Statement Is for the Service Now COVID-19
Contact Tracing Reporting Tool

Contact Tracing Privacy Act Statement

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(e)(3), this Privacy Act Statement serves
to inform you of why DHS is requesting the information that will be
collected by this information system.

Authority

Purpose

DHS will be collecting the information for the purpose of
maintaining and ensuring a healthy workforce and a safe DHS workspace.
This information will help the Department to prevent the spread of
infectious disease by notifying those individuals who may have been
exposed so they can take appropriate precautions in minimizing exposure
to other DHS personnel and DHS-affiliated personnel.

Routine Uses

The information will not be shared externally or with any third
parties. It will only be used by the DHS Component or Office who
employs the individual about whom the information will be collected.
Further, no personally identifiable information will be shared with
anyone other than the individual's supervisor and the assigned contact
tracer. A complete list of routine uses for the information this system
will collect can be found in the system of records notice associated
with the system ``Office of Personnel Management/GOVT--10--Employee
Medical File System Records.'' The Department's full list of system of
records notices can be found on the Department's website at http://www.dhs.gov/system-records-notices-sorns.

Consequences of Failure To Provide Information

Providing information via this system is completely voluntary and
no adverse action will be taken against individuals who refuse to
participate. However, participation is requested because contact
tracing is a key strategy in preventing further spread of infectious
disease among the DHS workforce.
The Contact Tracer is required to sign a DHS non-Disclosure
Agreement and take the following DHS Training--Privacy and Protecting
Personal Information, IT Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior,
Cybersecurity Awareness and one of the following Contact Tracer
Trainings offered by the Michigan Department of Public Health Michigan
Department of Public Health https://www.train.org/wv/course/1091008/.
Additional contact tracing will be available from the Association of
State and Territorial Health Officials https://learn.astho.org/p/ContactTracer and Johns Hopkins University https://www.coursera.org/learn/covid-19-contact-tracing?action=enroll&edocomorp=covid-19-contact-tracing.
The Supervisory Contact Tracer is required to review a minimum of
10% of interview calls with Contact Tracers to ensure comprehensive and
high-quality interviews and compliance with privacy and
confidentiality.
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments
reporting in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-I.
The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in
comments which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.

Analysis

Agency: Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Title: COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING.
OMB Number: 1601-0027.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: Affected Public.
Number of Respondents: 500.
Estimated Time Per Respondent: 1.
Total Burden Hours: 167.

Robert Dorr,
Acting Executive Director, Business Management Directorate.
[FR Doc. 2021-00927 Filed 1-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9112-FL-P