1. The Official Personnel Folder (OPF) is the official repository for required records affecting an Employee's status and Federal employment. The OPF provides the basic source of factual data about the Employee's Federal employment history and is used primarily by the USGS Office of Personnel in determining qualifications, employment status, computing length-of- service, and providing information needed in providing personnel services.
2. Material will be filed in the OPF in compliance with applicable rules and regulations. The Employer will assure that OPF's are maintained in accordance with applicable Privacy Act requirements. The Employer is responsible for ensuring that appropriate documents are forwarded to the personnel office for inclusion in Employee's OPFs such as SF 182 (Training), awards, documentation of details, etc.
3. Under the following conditions, each Employee and/or his/her personally designated representative will, upon request, be provided access to examine any documents contained in the Employee's OPF, except for any records restricted by law and/or regulation, and may request reasonable copies of the documents.
a) The Employee provides written authorization for the representative to be granted access to the records. Such authorization must state the specific records concerned or provide authorization for the representative to view "any and all records maintained and releasable."
b) The Employee and/or representative must schedule an appointed time to view the records.
c) The records will be reviewed in the general presence of those having custody of the files.
d) Under no circumstances may the Employee or his/her representative personally add to or remove from the contents of the file(s) being reviewed.
4. If an Employee believes information contained in his/her OPF is incorrect in context or should not be included in his/her records, a written explanation should be provided to the Personnel Office. The Personnel Office will review the OPF, and inform the Employee of action(s) taken or the reason(s) for no action being taken.
5. Employees may submit the original or official and untampered copies of documents they believe to be missing from their OPF. However, the Employer retains the final authority to determine if the filing of such documents in the OPF is appropriate and/or lawful.
6. Copies of all unfavorable material (such as letters of reprimand, suspension, etc.) will be provided to the Employee before being placed in the OPF. Employees shall be advised of the length of time the Employer intends to maintain unfavorable material in the OPF. Normally, this information will be provided to the employee through the decision letter and/or SF-50 affecting the action.
Any Employee who receives written material described above, will be required to acknowledge receipt by signing the receipt copy of the document. If the Employee refuses to sign, the supervisor will make a notation of the date on which the material was provided to the Employee and indicate the Employee's refusal to sign.
7. Authorized Bureau personnel may inspect an Employee's OPF and other related files on a need-to-know basis.
8. Authorized personnel who are not employed by the Bureau may inspect an Employee's OPF only after producing appropriate credentials. To the extent allowable, the Employee will be notified of the inspection including the name and firm of the person who inspected the records.
9. Records maintained by the Employer that are not in the OPF and that contain personal information about Employees such as time and attendance records, performance evaluations, records of disciplinary discussions, and similar material will be adequately secured to prevent inappropriate disclosure. The Employer will maintain such records in accordance with applicable Privacy Act requirements, and records disposition guidance.
10. The Parties recognize that notes of a performance or conduct-related nature may be maintained within supervisory files. This includes records of any disciplinary or performance discussions between the Employer and the Employee. The Employer may keep these records for up to one (1) year, whereupon they must be destroyed, unless there is a disciplinary or performance-based action already in progress, or appeal/grievance of such action, when the appeals/grievance/actions are related to information contained within the records. Records of any formal performance or disciplinary action (s) taken must be maintained in accordance with the Bureau's records retention schedule.