September 19, 2023

Ministry of Agriculture offers cloud-based civil rights complaints tracking system

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking to develop an enterprise-wide cloud-based archive system for tracking civil rights discrimination complaints against the programs and activities of the ‘agency.

the Civil rights management system will consist of a suite of apps and will be facilitated through the Salesforce platform under the USDA CIO’s office, according to the Federal Registry notice on Tuesday.

Previously known as the Program Complaints Management System, the platform will help manage the needs of agency leaders responsible for ensuring compliance with civil rights laws and regulations.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR) is responsible for maintaining system records and depositing hard copies with the National Archives and Records Administration.

The document notes that physical security measures are in place to prevent access by unauthorized persons. Electronic records are kept in secure file servers and OASCR has ensured the use of physical access controls, firewalls and intrusion detection tools.

The proposed revisions to the notice include updating the system location, categories of records, storage, safeguards, retention and disposal. Comments on the proposed system are expected on September 16.