Under the Privacy Act of 1974 a Federal Agency, upon a written request by an employee to gain access to his records or to any information pertaining to him which is contained in the Agency's system, must permit him to review those records and have a copy made of all or any portion thereof. (5 U.S.C. s. 552a(d)(1))
The Agency must also permit the employee to request an amendment of a record pertaining to him. (5 U.S.C. s. 552a(d)(2))
The Agency must also permit the employee who disagrees with the refusal of the Agency to amend his record to request a review of such refusal, and if the reviewing official also refuses to amend the record, permit the employee to file with the Agency a concise statement setting forth the reasons for his disagreement with the refusal of the Agency, and notify the employee of the provisions for judicial review of the reviewing official's determination. (5 U.S.C. s. 552a(d)(3))
An employee can bring a civil action against the Agency in a U.S. Disctrict Court whenever an Agency:
makes a determination not to amend an employee's record in accordance with his request, or fails to make a review of his request;
refuses to comply with an employee's request to provide access to his records; or
fails to maintain any record concerning any employee with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is necessary to assure fairness in any determination relating to the qualifications, character, rights, or opportunities of, or benefits to the employee that may be made on the basis of such record, and consequently a determination is made which is adverse to the employee. (5 U.S.C. s. 552a(g)(1))
Such an action must be brought within two years from the date on which the cause of action arises, except that where an Agency has materially and willfully misrepresented any information required under this Statute to be disclosed to an individual and the information so misrepresented is material to establishment of the liability of the Agency, the action may be brought within two years after discovery of the misrepresentation. (5 U.S.C. s. 552a(g)(5))