The Postal Service implemented modifications to System of Records (SOR) 100.400 to reflect a new benefit to allow employees, who voluntarily elect to be able to automatically upload information from their individual W-2 and 1095-C forms directly to a third-party tax preparation service. Employee tax information, such as their Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage information. The information will remain securely safeguarded within USPS computer information systems and only uploaded to third-party tax preparation services upon voluntary request and consent of the individual employee.
Uploading this information in a tax preparation service is considered an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) best practice. This will save employees from having to enter the information manually, providing convenience and reducing the risk of potential keying errors. Therefore, the SOR was revised to include an appropriate purpose, routine use for the transfer of tax information, and retention of the employee tax information.
In addition, other updates were included to account for separate administrative changes, which include the collection of employee’s ACE ID for computer access in the Time and Attendance System for employees entering payroll information. Similarly, Retention and Disposal times were updated to more accurately reflect record retention for monetary awards, ideas submitted by employees under the formal ideas program, and for overtime administrative records.
The revision became effective March 27, 2017.
Handbook AS-353 Revision: Personnel Compensation and Payroll Records
Effective September 28, 2017, the Postal Service™ is revising Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management, to include modifications published in the Federal Register on February 23, 2017 (82 FR 11489-11490).
The Postal Service is providing a new service for its employees by offering them the option to make their Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement and Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage, available to third-party tax preparation services. Postal Service employees will be able to voluntarily elect this application. We are updating USPS 100.400, Personnel Compensation and Payroll Records, to support this new service.
Other administrative updates include adding the ACE ID data element for time and attendance records and clarifying retention times for eAwards, employee ideas, and overtime administrative records.
Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management
Appendix — Privacy Act Systems of Records
Section E. Complete Text of Systems of Records
USPS 100.400
System Name: Personnel Compensation and Payroll Records
Categories of Records in the System
[Revise item 1. to read as follows:]
1. Employee and family member information: Name(s), Social Security Number(s), Employee Identification Number, ACE ID, date(s) of birth, postal assignment information, work contact information, home address(es) and phone number(s), finance number(s), occupation code, occupation title, duty location, and pay location.
[Add item 9. to read as follows:]
9. To generate W-2 and 1095-C information for use with external third-party tax preparation services at the request of the individual employee.
Routine Uses of Records Maintained in the System, Including Categories of Users and the Purposes of Such Uses
Add item k. to read as follows:]
k. Disclosure of W-2 and 1095-C tax information records to external third-party tax preparation services.
[Revise items 3. and 4. to read as follows:]
3. Records of monetary awards with a status that they have been processed, failed processing, cancelled, or reported (Service Award Pins, Retirement Service Awards, Posthumous Service Awards) are retained 7 years, as payroll records would have been affected. Records of award submissions with the status approved, deleted, or as a draft are retained 31 days, as payroll records would not have been affected.
4. Records of employee-submitted ideas are maintained for 2 years after being closed.
[Add items 8. and 9. to read as follows:]
8. Overtime administrative records are retained for 7 years.
9. Tax preparation records are limited to an employee’s previous year’s wages, tax documentation, and health insurance coverage as required by the Affordable Care Act.
We will incorporate these revisions into the next online update of Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management, which is available on the Postal Service PolicyNet website:
n Go to blue.usps.gov.
n In the left-hand column under “Essential Links,” click PolicyNet.
The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is blue.usps.gov/cpim.