I am a federal employee and all personnel records are electronic. In the human resources each have access to all personnel files, however these should only be accessed if there is a need to know! A co-worker, who does not work in same office just in same directorate, accessed my personnel file and reviewed each document. How I know this is each document has a history which shows name, date and time of access. Each document accessed has SSNs for myself and other family members since my designation of benficiary forms were viewed as well as other documents. I don't know if copies were made for this person's use. I brought it to managements attention and I was told something will be done. Can I sue this co-worker for privacy act invasion? Thank you.

You can sue if you were financially harmed. Why did the co-worker do this and what did he/she do with the info?

I'm an ex Federal employee, but I worked in house enforcement. I'd be curious to know WHY your co-worker wanted this info.

I don't know what or if he will do anything however it is a very loooong detailed story. This person has lived next door to me for a number of years and in the past few years has become hostile to say the least. This person has always directed his anger at my family. I understand there are 2 sides to every story however we do work at the same place just not in the same bldg. I discovered that this person accessed my personnel file and like I stated reviewed all of my information including but not limited to beneficiary forms which contain SSNs for all designatees. There is quite a bit of information in a personnel file, as you well know being a former federal employee. It concerns me because there is a history, not a good one at that.

I would likewise be concerned. I would NOT be happy with your employer's "wait and see" attitude. Does your particular branch of the Government have a watchdog, in-house investigative team? If so, that's where I would report this.

I realize there is also a Federal employees' union. I would also go there.

Yes, this would concern me GREATLY.

Ok, what this employee did was a gross breach of ethics as well as a potentially criminal act. This should be enough to get him terminated.

However, that may be counter productive for you, because it will only make him madder and possibly cause him to use the info he stole (yes I said stole).

What I would do is send him a letter (preferably from an attorney). This letter would state that you have proof that he illegally accessed your files and that if he does anything with the information he stole, that you will have him prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

I would also push that your department take disciplinary action but short of firing him.

Update: I reported this to our Privacy Act Office, it was investigated and found that this co-worker committed a Breach in my PII (Personally Identifiable Information). This person no longer works in civil service, I don't know if he was forced out or just retired. My question now is can I file a complaint against the Dept of Air Force for their negligence and the stress that this is and will continue to cause me? I received a letter from the management, high up, stating it was a breach and all I get is a apology for the inconvenience this may have caused. This person has my PII and my family's PII and who knows what he will do with it. Thanks for any input!

I think the fast answer is that you can't sue for anticipated damages. You can't sue because a person "might" do something. You can sue if they do something and it injures you in a monetary way (and a loss of reputation can, of course, harm your career).

Could you file the complaint? Certainly. Will you get anything more than a letter of apology? Probably not.

Make your concerns known.

(I'm glad that something was done.)

You might also want to contact the major credit reporting agencies so that your SSNs will be flagged for any unusual activity.

I agree I would even freeze my credit so that nothing can be done. But until there is some damage, or some use of this info, there is nothing else you can do.

Thank you all for responding in a positive manner. Many Thanks!