Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Reminder

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Reminder

 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides routine reminders to Employment Networks (EN) concerning transmitting Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in accordance with Part III, Section 8.E. of your Ticket Program Agreement.

 

SSA’s policy regarding transmitting PII to SSA and the Ticket Program Manager (TPM) states:

• ENs are prohibited from sending PII by email to SSA and TPM, even if it is encrypted. The only exception is when ENs submit encrypted documentation to the Center for Suitability and Personnel Security as part of the Suitability process.
• ENs are prohibited from sending any portion of a Social Security number by email.
• ENs are prohibited from sending PII to an unintended recipient.
• ENs are required to self-report any PII violations. Repeated failures to self-report PII violations will affect SSA’s decision to sanction the EN.

SSA will take the following actions against ENs that transmit PII through email to the agency, TPM, or any unintended recipient.

 

First PII Violation:

• Within five days of receiving the violation notification, the Signatory Authority or Suitability Contact must send a statement to SSA describing how the EN will mitigate the PII security issue.
• SSA will remove the EN from ePay for three months or one ePay file, whichever comes first.
• SSA will require the EN to complete a virtual classroom refresher training on Properly Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information.

Second PII Violation:

• Within five days of receiving the violation notification, the Signatory Authority or Suitability Contact must submit a PII quality control plan to ensure no further violations occur.
• SSA will require the EN to participate in a call involving EN Leadership and SSA to discuss the quality control plan and consequences of a further violation.
• SSA may remove the EN from ePay for one year.

Third PII Violation:

• SSA may terminate the EN’s TPA due to noncompliance with the requirement to protect PII.

If an EN has questions about a payment request, the EN must use any of the methods noted below:

• Email: Send an email message using the Work Case (WC) number, which does not require sending PII, to ENPaymentsHelp@yourtickettowork.ssa.gov
• Fax: Send a fax message to 1-703-893-4020
• Mail: Direct a memorandum to P.O. Box 1433, Alexandria, VA 22313
• Call: Telephone the Payments Help Desk: 1-866-949-3687 (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET)

TPM will route all faxes and mail to the correct department. Please allow extra time for processing.

 

Best practices for faxing or mailing PII to TPM:

• Always use a cover sheet.
• Include the EN name, Provider ID (PID), and state where the EN is located.
• Include the subject and area of interest, for example, “Service and Supports Review.”
• Organize documents so that all documents pertaining to one Ticketholder are grouped together.
• If faxing, always print a confirmation sheet in case there are faxing issues.

Please contact ENservice@ssa.gov with any questions concerning the use of electronic systems for transmitting PII.