SORN: Use of Federal Personnel Records for Fraud Detection

On May 12, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed to modify its System of Records Notice (SORN) for government personnel records, which includes the Official Personnel Folder of each executive branch employee. A SORN notifies the public of the existence of a set of records and the ways the government is permitted to use information in those records, called "routine use" exceptions from privacy requirements. OPM proposed to create a new routine use authorizing it to share federal employee personnel records with the Department of Treasury OPM "for the purposes of identifying, preventing, or recouping fraud and improper payments, to the extent permissible by law.” OPM indicated that the change was based on Executive Order 14,249 and a memorandum of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), OMB Memorandum M-25-32, which directed federal agencies to develop new fraud detection systems.