Scope of the Privacy Policy

Collection of Personal Information

Personal Information may be collected from you in a number of ways, such as part of JPL’s application, hiring, benefits enrollment, and other employment-related processes. This may include the collection of Personal Information from third parties, including previous employers, references, and vendors involved in applicant and employment-related data collection and processing activities, such as the employment application process and employee onboarding, background checks, benefits enrollment and administration, payroll and tax remittance, and other employment-related and general business administration processes.

The Personal Information that may be collected includes but is not limited to:

• Contact information, such as name, address, email address, phone number, and date of birth;

• Information relating to education, employment history, and professional certifications;

• Information collected from other employees or students about you;

• Information relating to criminal convictions;

• Photographs;

• Tax and financial information, such as a government identification number or social security number and bank account information;

• Health information, such as disability and dietary needs;

• Demographic information, such as gender, and disability, and veteran status;

• Sensitive information collected with your consent, including racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs related to requests for accommodations, genetic data, biometric data, and data concerning health;

• Citizenship and Immigration Information, such as citizenship status, passport number or national identity card details, country of domicile, and nationality; and

• Dependent and beneficiary information and emergency contacts.

Purposes for which Personal Information Is Collected and Processed  

JPL may use Personal Information it collects from and about you for purposes related to your recruitment and the life cycle of your employment by JPL, including but not limited to:

• Recruiting and/or hiring you as an employee at JPL;

• Government agency and employment background checks and clearance processes;

• Maintaining your employment records;

• Applying for work visas and employment authorization documents;

• Assessing your eligibility for employment and/or continued employment;

• Satisfying legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations and responding to legal claims;

• Providing you with information and technology services, such as computer and email access, library, media, and other information services;

• Providing you with employee benefits and services, such as:

• ensuring that employees are receiving the pay or other benefits to which they are entitled

• providing employee benefits under JPL’s benefit programs;

• providing employee support and services, including, disability and other required accommodation, authorized leaves of absence; health and wellbeing services, training and career development;

• monitoring of equal opportunities;

• safeguarding and promotion of employees’ welfare;

• ensuring your safety and security;

• managing the use of social media; and

• managing facilities on campus, including parking.

• Administering JPL finances (i.e. payroll, W-2s, health and other insurance information, etc.); and

• Providing other administrative functions, such as:

• ensuring effective general HR and business administration;

• carrying out research and statistical analysis;

• carrying out audits (i.e. to ensure compliance with our regulatory and legal obligations);

• providing operational information (i.e. providing IT support, information about building closures or access restrictions on campus, or safety advice);

• promoting JPL events and opportunities (e.g. providing information about events happening on and off campus);

• preventing and detecting crime;

• dealing with grievances and disciplinary actions;

• dealing with complaints and inquiries; and

• archiving and statistical purposes.

Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as necessary to meet the uses described above and in compliance with legal and business document retention requirements and policies.

Contact Information

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Notice should be referred to JPL’s Privacy Manager, Beth Wilson, who may be contacted at 818-354-4447 or gdpr@jpl.nasa.gov.

Individuals Located in the European Economic Area

General Data Protection Regulation Notice

Effective Date: May 25, 2018

This Notice, as adopted by Caltech, including its operating division JPL (hereinafter collectively referred to as JPL) applies to JPL’s collection, use, retention, and processing of personal information for individuals located in the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) (consisting of the European Union, Iceland, Lichtenstein, and Norway) at the time of the collection of Personal Information. Personal information is any information that identifies or can be used to identify an individual (Personal Information).

The law sets forth a framework for various individual rights on how Personal Information can be used, processed, transmitted, and protected. JPL is committed to taking reasonably necessary steps to ensure that your Personal Information is protected consistent with GDPR requirements. If you want more in-depth detail about the GDPR, you can read the full text of the EU legislation.

Legal Basis

The legal basis for collecting and processing your information varies based on the circumstances.  JPL has a legitimate interest in collecting and processing Personal Information from applicants, employees, and former employees in order to carry out the Institute’s activities, consider individuals for employment and facilitate and fulfill legal and other obligations related to JPL’s employment relationship with its employees and provision of benefits to former employees. We also may process your Personal Information where it is necessary for emergency medical purposes and protecting your or another person’s vital interests. JPL may also elect to obtain an employee’s, applicant’s, or former employees consent as an additional lawful basis for collecting Personal Information in connection with any of its applicant, employment, former employment, or other business-related processes. JPL may process your personal information because it is necessary to the performance of a contract, for example, in connection with contracts with vendors to provide employee and former employee benefits.  JPL also may process your Personal Information to comply with legal obligations or to carry out a task in the public interest.

Recipients of Your Personal Information

For the purposes referred to in this Privacy Policy and relying on the bases for processing as set out above, we may share your Personal Information with certain third parties. In some cases, you may be asked to opt-in to these data-sharing arrangements. In those cases, you should carefully consider the possible impact that not opting in will have. The Third-Party Recipients may be:

• Our affiliates, vendors, and other contractors where there is a legitimate reason for their receiving the information, such as third parties who work with us to provide services related to recruitment and employment processes, benefits, workplace accommodations, support services (e.g. IT, security, and staffing), and internal and external audits;

• Those with an interest in tracking employee progress and attendance, such as current or potential education providers and future employers (to provide references and to provide details of attendance); and

• Professional and regulatory bodies in relation to the confirmation of qualifications, professional registration and conduct, and the accreditation of courses, including:

• Governmental departments and agencies where we have a legal obligation to provide information;

• Crime prevention or detection agencies;

• Next-of-kin where there is a legitimate reason for disclosure; and

• Third parties conducting surveys.

International Transfers

Some of the Personal Information we process about you will be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the EEA. This happens, for example, where outside the EEA, Personal Information is being processed by our staff, by one of our vendors, by one who works for us or our vendors, or is being stored in storage facilities. In these circumstances, your Personal Information will only be transferred on one of the following bases:

• Where you have provided explicit consent for the transfer;

• Where the transfer is occasional and necessary in relation to a contract or a legal claim;

• Where the transfer is made on the basis of an adequacy decision;

• Where the transfer is subject to one or more appropriate safeguards for international transfers prescribed by applicable law; and

• Where the transfer is necessary for the execution of a contract with you or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract.

Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as necessary to meet the uses described above and in compliance with legal and business document retention requirements and policies.

Your Rights

Employees and job applicants located in the EEA are provided with the following rights:

• The right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data;

• The right to access your personal data;

• The right to object to the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances;

• The right to rectify any of your personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete;

• The right to request the deletion of your personal data;

• The right to restrict or limit the ways in which we process your personal data;

• The right to transfer or obtain a copy of your personal data in an easily accessible format;

• The right to withdraw consent;

• The right to withhold consent to automated individual decision-making processes; and

• The right to complain to a supervisory authority.

Please note that the above rights are not absolute. JPL may be entitled to refuse requests where certain exceptions apply. Even where you have exercised one of the rights listed above with respect to your Personal Information, we may have the right to retain your Personal Information for various purposes, including compliance with legal obligation, for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, for archiving purposes in the public interest, for scientific or historical research purposes, for statistical purposes, or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims. 

Contact Information

If you have questions or requests about this Privacy Notice, its privacy practices, or any other aspect of your privacy and the security of your Personal Information, please contact our Privacy Manager at:

Beth Wilson, Privacy Manager
JPL
4800 Oak Grove Dr,
Pasadena, California 91109
Phone: 818-354-4447
gdpr@jpl.nasa.gov