What happens when a federal agency deletes a work-from-home records system?

A notice that says the program no longer exists

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission published a rescindment notice on November 4, 2026. The document proposes to delete a system of records notice known as FERC-39. This system covered the Commission Temporary Work-at-Home Program. The original notice appeared in the Federal Register on April 24, 2000, at 65 FR 21754. That was more than twenty-six years ago.

What a system of records notice actually does

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, every federal agency must publish a notice when it maintains a group of records retrievable by a personal identifier. That notice is called a system of records notice, or SORN. It tells the public what data is collected, why it is collected, who can see it, and how long it is kept. The FERC-39 notice described records created when employees participated in a temporary work-at-home arrangement. The system included names, contact information, work schedules, and performance data tied to that arrangement. The notice also listed the legal authority for the collection and the routine uses for sharing the data with other agencies. OMB Circular A-108 governs how agencies manage these notices. The Circular requires agencies to review their inventories regularly and remove systems that no longer exist. FERC conducted such a review and found FERC-39 obsolete.

Why the agency wants the notice gone

The Privacy Act permits an agency to keep only records that are relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose required by statute or executive order. If a system no longer meets that standard, the agency must stop maintaining it and dispose of the records according to a schedule approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. FERC determined that the temporary work-at-home program is obsolete. The records are no longer maintained. They are gone. The system manager deemed them irrelevant to any current agency mission. Accordingly, the records have been disposed of under the applicable retention schedule. The notice does not say when the program itself ended. It does not say how many employees participated. It only states the records are no longer maintained and have been destroyed.

The timeline for final removal

Comments on the rescindment must be received within thirty days of the November 4 publication date. If no comments arrive, the rescindment becomes effective a minimum of thirty days after publication. That means the earliest effective date is December 4, 2026. If comments are submitted, FERC will review them and decide whether changes to the notice are necessary. The agency has not stated how long that review would take. Comments can be sent to 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or to privacy@ferc.gov.

What this means for people who were in the program

The notice says the records have already been destroyed. Anyone who participated in the temporary work-at-home program before it ended should assume their data in that specific system is gone. The rescindment does not affect other personnel records that FERC maintains under different SORNs. The contact for questions is Sidney Chapman, Director of the Workforce Relations Division, at (202) 502-6475. The notice was signed by Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary of the Commission, on September 24, 2026.

One more detail

The document citation is 91 FR 69563. The document number is 2026-22511. It spans two pages.