The Postal Service is reminding employees to follow the Privacy Act of 1974 and not disclose personally identifiable information to outside individuals or entities, unless authorized to do so.
Disclosing protected records to other USPS employees and contractors is also prohibited unless the recipients need to know the information to perform their jobs.
In some instances, such as responding to Freedom of Information Act requests, disclosing records or other types of USPS information is authorized or required, but Postal Service employees and contractors must remove attachments, links, metadata and any other hidden information in PDFs prior to release.
Offices that need to create new systems of records containing personally identifiable information — such as new databases or programs — should email the USPS Privacy and Records Management Office.
Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management and the USPS privacy policy contain more information.
Employees with questions should email the USPS Ethics Office.
