# 2026-22837: Federal Agencies Take Employee Surveys In-House, Share Anonymous Results

2026-22837, Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records, is a Federal Register notice from Personnel Management Office published 2026-11-09, effective 2026-12-10; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22837
- As of: 2026-11-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-22837
- Title: Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Personnel Management Office
- Citation: 91 FR 70906
- Published: 2026-11-09
- Effective: 2026-12-10
- Comments close: 2026-12-09
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-11

## In one line

Federal Agencies Take Employee Surveys In-House, Share Anonymous Results

## Summary

The Office of Personnel Management is updating its employee survey system, switching from the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to the new Annual Employee Survey. Now, each agency will run the survey for its own staff and only share anonymous data with OPM and OMB. These changes take effect December 10, 2026, and affect all federal employees, with no extra costs involved.

## Abstract

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposes to modify and republish in full a system of records previously titled "OPM/Central-21, Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey" which will be renamed "OPM/Central-21, Annual Employee Survey." The modification is necessary to reflect the replacement of OPM's centrally administered Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) with the Annual Employee Survey (AES). Under the revised model, executive agencies administer the AES to their own employees and provide OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) only de- identified data for governmentwide analysis and reporting. OPM/Central- 21 will cover identifiable records OPM maintains when administering the AES to OPM employees and retained records from prior FEVS administrations. It will not cover identifiable AES records maintained by other agencies.

## Effects PRIA read

- Agencies Run Surveys; OPM Gets De-identified Data: benefit, low. Starting December 10, 2026, each executive agency will administer the Annual Employee Survey (AES) to its own staff and will provide OPM and OMB only de‑identified or agency‑level combined respondent data for the 10 required AES items. OPM will apply protections, and agencies may keep the identifie…
- OPM Keeps Identifiable OPM and Legacy Records: cost, low. OPM will separately administer the AES to OPM employees and may maintain limited identifying information for that administration. OPM will also continue to retain legacy Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) records that may include full name, email address, and Social Security number or other u…
- Voluntary Participation and Access/Amendment Rules: mixed, low. Participation in the AES is voluntary and OPM (and agencies) will provide a Privacy Act Statement with the invitation explaining authority and routine uses. Individuals may request access or request amendments to their records using OPM's Privacy Act procedures (including identity verification) but…

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- [2026-22093](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22093): Personnel Management in Agencies: Strategic Human Capital Management, 2026-10-29
- [2026-21316](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-21316): Managing Senior Professional Performance, 2026-10-19
- [2026-19222](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-19222): Employment in the Excepted Service, 2026-09-18
- [2026-18800](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18800): Reduction in Force; Correction, 2026-09-15
- [2026-18828](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18828): Shared Certificates and Pooled Hiring Actions, 2026-09-15
- [2026-16687](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16687): Differential Pay for Prescribed Wildland Fire Activities, 2026-08-14

## Sources
- [2026-22837 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/11/09/2026-22837/privacy-act-of-1974-system-of-records)
- [2026-22837 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-11-09/pdf/2026-22837.pdf)

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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-22837 (as of 2026-11-11).