Managing your Office's Records at CFTC

Transcription

1 Managing your Office's Records at CFTC Guidance for the Offices of the Commissioners November 6, 2013

2 Agenda 1. Federal Records Act 2. Records, Non-records, & Personal Files 3. & Electronic Records 4. Departure Records Obligations

3 Federal Records Act (FRA) The head of each agency.)hall make and present co rri- containing -dequa, ant,,,,roper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the agency and designed to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal aria financial rignts or the uovernmen and of iersons riirprtiv affected by the agency's activitie!. (44 U.S.C. Chapter 31, 3101) FRA requires agency staff to create records. However, not all information created is a record. The universe of federal information consists of: Records Non-records Personal files

4 Federal Records Management Purpose Preserve a historical record of agency policies, decisions, activities. Promote openness and accountability. Allow agencies to assess the impact of their programs. Enable information sharing within and across agencies. Enable efficiency and predictability.

5 What is a Record? All books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials, or other rinri Im ritnni materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, nacle or received by an agency of V ) United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserve( or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor deviueille uiule ui gdiiilcition, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, nr flthpr ArtiwitiP ("If thp CirmPrnMPht or because of the informational value of data in them. (44 U.S.C. 3301)

6 Records Document what decisions and activities occur at the CFTC. Also document how and why decisions and activities occur. May be paper, electronic files, or . Are owned by CFTC. Records from Offices of the Commissioners (0C) should be transferred to the Office of the Secretariat (OS) either: As they are created, (i.e. seriatim, absent objections, correspondence) OR As the Commissioner departs CFTC. Have varying retention periods. OC records are generally "permanent" records. Permanent records transfer from OS to the National Archives in 20 years.

7 What Materials are Records? If "yes" to any of these questions, then "yes, it's a record:" Did the agency require creation or submission and maintenance of the document? - VVc:i LII UULUIIItIU. U U L.C.) LUIIUULL Ul facihldw aguilly IJLIII1USS I If the document is a draft or preliminary document created for background or a similar purpose, does it contain unique information or edits that explain the formulation of policies or decisions? Was the document distributed to other offices or agencies for formal approval or clearance? Was the document placed (or should it have been placed) in an agency file, such as the Central Files maintained by the OS? Source, "Documenting Your Public Service" -your-public-service.html

8 Non-records Materials created/used for conducting CFTC business: Extra copies of publications or other records. Documents used for reference. Informational copies of correspondence and other documents, which require no action by the office receiving them. Some drafts if not circulated to colleagues and no substantive changes from previous version. Owned by CFTC. If non-records provide context for records, then give them to OS.

9 Personal Files Unrelated to the conduct of CFTC business. Indirectly related to CFTC business, but outside the scope of the definition of Federal records (i.e. not used to conduct Govt. business). Can be difficult to distinguish from records. Personal files may be intermingled with records (e.g. common in ). Personal files are owned by you, not CFTC. Please delete/shred them or take them with you. If unsure whether materials are records or personal files, please ask OS or Records Officer.

10 Examples of Personal Files Files created before entering Govt. service or in previously held positions. Family and personal correspondence, materials documenting professional activities or outside business or political pursuits, volunteer or community service interests, even if created while in office. Work-related personal files including diaries, journals, notes, personal calendars and appointment books only if not used for transacting Govt. business.

11 CFTC will work toward implementing the Capstone methodology for records management. Avoid using your CFTC account for personal matters. Delete purely personal from your CFTC account. Use care handling which discuss both personal matters and CFTC business. Avoid using your personal for CFTC business. If you cannot avoid it, please copy your CFTC account or forward s from your personal to CFTC and delete from your personal . Please see the "Records Guidance for Commissioners" for more tips about identifying records.

12 Electronic Records Recommend appointing a responsible person to manage files. Use a shared location for Office electronic files (e.g. SharePoint or S drive). Use common file names. See "Records Guidance for Commissioners" for more tips on how to create and maintain records.

13 Departing from CFTC. After departing CFTC, you may not retain possession of copies of CFTC records without permission from OGC. It is generally permissible to take a copy of your contact lists/address book. If you have any CFTC records stored on a non- CFTC account or device, you must take steps to remove the records from the account and the device and transfer them to CFTC. Ensure that the Office records have been transferred to OS before departure.

14 Thank you Questions? Please contact us at any time with questions: Melissa Jurgens, Secretary, x5516 Crystal Zeh, Records Officer, x5035

15 Records Guidance for Commissioners Transferring Records to the Office of the Secretariat Guidance at a high-level Copies of records that are already filed in the Office of the Secretariat (OS) o Dispose as non-records. Records generated by the Offices of the Commissioners that have not been filed in the OS: o Records for closed issues related to CFTC's mission Transfer to OS upon your departure (see "Best Practices..." below). o Records for pending issues related to CFTC's mission You may leave background documentation for an incoming Commissioner or transfer to OS upon your departure (see "Best Practices..." below). o Administrative records such as timekeeper's records, accounting and financial records, including travel arrangements, and HR-related records Don't send these to OS. Records Management Office can help you send these to offsite records storage. Examples of Office of the Commissioner files, which should be transferred to the Office of the Secretariat Substantive records for topics/subjects related to CFTC's mission, including documents the Chairman/Commission signed. Records (such as agenda, list of attendees, remarks, meeting notes, materials provided or shared by attendees, etc.) of meetings/events including: o Meetings chaired by the Commissioner. o Meetings and other contacts in which the Commissioner participated, including contacts with visitors, lobbyists, journalists, professional associations, industry associations, regional offices. o Events attended in an official capacity, including regular occurring meetings, (Advisory Committees, IOSCO, COSRA, Boca Raton). November 6, 2013 P a g e 1 of 3

16 Brochures, advertising, and periodic reports of organizations if they are attached to transmittal letters or , if they are related to proposals or petitions by the organizations, or if they are provided during meetings. Scheduling records and appointment books pertaining to agency business. Note: A listing of staff in the Commissioner's office, including names, titles, and tenures would be very helpful to the OS for use in processing records from Commissioner's offices. Best practices for creating & maintaining records First, determine what materials are records. Review both paper documents and electronic documents, including (see below for identifying records). Then, compile records into meaningful groups (if they're not already), label and transfer them to the OS prior to your departure. You may also choose to leave some background materials or materials for pending issues for an incoming Commissioner. Preserve relationships between groups of documents to aid OS in cataloging the documents. For example, leave subject files and sub-file folders in place and establish subject files if they don't exist. Print out electronic records and records and incorporate into files. Date or 'circa' date each document and/or file. Identify an owner, originator, author and/or addressee for each document and/or file. Keep drafts and versions in sequence to the extent possible. Identify them as drafts supporting a final document. Staple or clip documents (especially documents incorporated or attached to other documents or notes) so they don't become separated. Shred or take your personal files with you when you depart. To the extent possible, print records (see below for identifying records) and incorporate into paper files. Identifying records When determining whether an message from a Commissioner's account is a Federal record, consider the definition of Federal record, and the recordkeeping guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration for senior agency officials. November 6, 2013 P a g e 2 of 3

17 Additionally, consider the message context, which contains important information for making such determinations. Message context includes information in the subject header (to, from, date/time, subject), attachments, and the previous message thread. It also helps to understand the relevance or importance of the matter or issue discussed in the message to the Commission. Please remember to avoid using personal accounts to conduct CFTC business. If that does occur, either copy to your CFTC account or forward the relevant messages to your CFTC account and delete the messages from your personal account. Following are some guidelines for determining Federal record status based on the types of messages, which may be contained in the Commissioner's accounts. Types of generally considered Federal records: o Message discusses or facilitates CFTC matters and business. o Letter or request directed to Commissioner. o Directive or request from Commissioner, particularly if it articulates a position, preferences, or the activities of the Commissioner or that of the Commission. o Drafts circulated to staff other than the creator AND that contain substantive comments that add to an understanding of how the document developed (i.e. only typographical edits are not Federal records). o Messages and attachments regarding hiring of Schedule C employees, such as resumes, decisions, recommendations, and to/from candidates. These records are not captured in the Human Resources Branch. o Press communications, including requests from members of the press and information about CFTC provided by Commissioners to members of the press. Types of messages generally not considered Federal records, OR considered to be short-term temporary (retention less than 180 days) Federal records: o Message exclusively discusses matters of another agency, not involving CFTC, and Commissioners have not been requested to, or provided CFTC input. For example, sometimes Commissioners may be CCed on such messages. o Messages scheduling or reminding of phone calls and meetings if the message contains no information about the meeting, agenda items, decision points, or decisions and attempts only to set date or time. o Routine requests for information and copies of replies, which require no administrative action, no policy decision, and no special compilation or research for reply (GRS 27, Item 7). o s transmitting attachments that do not add any information to that contained in the attachment (GRS 27, Item 7). o messages that are entirely unrelated to the conduct of Commission business (e.g., files relating to political activities, personal and family matters, or social or civic activities) or indirectly related to agency Commission but outside the scope of the definition of Federal records (i.e., not used to conduct Commission business). These are personal files and should be deleted. November 6, 2013 P a g e 3 of 3