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EPA Records Schedule 553
Status: Final, 04/30/2010
Title: Official Personnel Folders (OPF) - Civilian
Program: Personnel
Applicability: Agency-wide
Function: 403-251-03 - Perform Personnel Actions
NARA Disposal Authority:
This schedule authorizes the disposition of the record copy in any media (media neutral), excluding any records already in electronic form. Records designated for permanent retention must be transferred to the National Archives in accordance with NARA standards at the time of transfer.
- General Records Schedule 1/1a (Item a(1))
- General Records Schedule 1/1b (Item a(2))
- General Records Schedule 1/10a (Item b(1))
- General Records Schedule 1/10b (Item b(2))
Description:
Contains personnel records as detailed in The Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping.
Disposition Instructions:
Item a(1): Transferred employee records filed on the right side of the OPF
Includes records for employment terminated after December 31, 1920, excluding those selected by the National Archives and Records Administration for permanent retention.
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Disposable
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See Chapter 7 of The Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping for instructions relating to folders of employees transferred to another agency.
Item a(2): Separated employee records filed on the right side of the OPF
Includes records for employment terminated after December 31, 1920, excluding those selected by the National Archives and Records Administration for permanent retention.
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Disposable
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Transfer folder to National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, MO, 30 days after latest separation.
Item b(1): Correspondence and forms maintained on the left side of the OPF for temporary individual employee records
Includes all copies maintained in accordance with Chapter 3 of The Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping, excluding the Immigration and Naturalization Service Form I-9 and performance-related records.
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Disposable
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Destroy when superseded or obsolete, or upon separation or transfer of employee unless specifically required to be transferred with the OPF.
Item b(2): Immigration and Naturalization Service Form I-9 for temporary individual employee records
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Disposable
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Destroy 3 years after employee separates from service or transfers to another agency.
Guidance:
With the implementation of the electronic OPF (eOPF), legacy hard copy OPFs (through August 2008), are to be retired to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) after they are scanned into the system. Beginning September 2008, hard copy OPFs are to be destroyed one year after they have been imaged and verified. For additional information, see OPM's Guide to Personnel Records at: http://opm.gov/feddata/recguide.pdf and instructions for making requests from NPRC at: http://www.opm.gov/efoia/html/foia_contacts.asp.
Records for employees separated for active military duty who have restoration rights and employees transferred to public international organizations with reemployment rights should be kept until reemployment or expiration of restoration or reemployment rights.
Records for employees reached for reduction in force whose names have been entered on the Reemployment Priority List should be kept until employees names are removed from the Reemployment Priority List.
Records for employees who were involuntarily separated and who appeal their separation should be kept until appeals are resolved.
Records for separated employees for whom records are outstanding or for whom retirement, insurance, or other claims are being adjudicated should be kept for the additional time required to obtain and file the records or to adjudicate claims. Records for separated employees (item a(2)) will be destroyed by the National Personnel Records Center 65 years after separation from federal service.
Where there is a work situation which makes it probable that the same people will be employed repeatedly for short periods of time records should be kept for a maximum period of two years after the date of their last separation.
Records for employees who were involuntarily separated and who are entitled to severance pay under section 550.702 of the Office of Personnel Management regulations should be kept until the former employee is reemployed under an appointment limited to more than one year, after a break of more than three days, or until the severance pay fund is exhausted, whichever comes sooner.
Personnel records for Public Health Service Corps Commissioned Personnel are scheduled as EPA 554. Appointment Files are covered in EPA 557. Employee Performance records are scheduled as EPA 107.
Records containing sensitive information must be shredded or otherwise definitively destroyed to protect confidentiality.
Reasons for Disposition:
The following change was made in the 04/30/2010 version:
- Added guidance about eOPF and retirement and destruction of hard copy records.
The following change was made in the 07/31/2008 version:
- Moved statement about destruction of records for separated employees by National Personnel Records Center from disposition item a(2) to guidance.
Conforms to NARA's General Records Schedule 1, items 1 and 10.
Item c for electronic mail and word processing system copies deleted 08/22/2006 pursuant to NARA Bulletin 2006-04.
Custodians:
Multiple units
Related Schedules:
EPA 107, EPA 554, EPA 557
Previous NARA Disposal Authority:
NC-412-75-4/1, NC1-412-85-28/3
Entry: 07/27/1993
EPA Approval: Not applicable
NARA Approval: 12/00/1998