FERC Updates Privacy Rules for Employee Transit Subsidies
Published Date: 1/23/2025
Notice
Summary
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is updating its Transit Subsidy Program records to improve privacy and transparency. These changes add new ways your info might be used and update how records are stored and protected. If you want to comment, you’ve got 30 days from January 23, 2025, before the new rules kick in—no extra costs involved!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Expanded routine disclosures of records
FERC added three new routine uses (numbers 10, 12, and 13) and revised others so your transit subsidy records may be shared in more situations. New permitted disclosures include sharing with the Merit Systems Protection Board or Office of Special Counsel, parties to dispute resolution where FERC determines it is necessary, and the Office of Personnel Management or Government Accountability Office during on-site inspections or HR audits; other routine uses list disclosures for breach response, DOJ, contractors, and law enforcement where relevant.
FERC collects transit subsidy personal data
If you are a FERC employee enrolled in the transit benefits program, FERC collects personal data to run the program. That includes name, supervisor, office and home addresses, office and personal phone numbers, senior/disabled status, number of commuting days, monthly commuting cost, SmarTrip card number, and mode of transportation.
Set retention and disposal schedules
FERC will retain transit subsidy records per NARA General Records Schedules: some records are temporary and destroyed when 3 years old, others are destroyed 2 years after employee participation concludes, and certain transition records are destroyed upon finalization or when no longer needed. These retention rules follow GRS references listed in the notice.
Access, comment, and effective-date rules
If you want to see or contest your transit subsidy records, you must submit a request through FERC's FOIA/Privacy Act portal or mail to the Director, Office of External Affairs. Public comments on the modified system must be received within 30 days of publication (publication: January 23, 2025), and the notice becomes effective at least 30 days after publication (on or after February 22, 2025).
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