Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Internet Data Collection Website. BLS is strongly committed to maintaining the privacy of your personal and company information, the confidentiality of your data, and the security of our computer systems.
With respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, BLS makes every effort to ensure compliance with applicable Federal law, including, but not limited to, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (44 U.S.C. 3572), the Privacy Act of 1974, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Trade Secrets Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.
Data submitted to the BLS are used for statistical purposes only. BLS and State agencies (when applicable) will hold your data in confidence to the full extent permitted by law.
When you visit our site, we authenticate the account number and password or other respondent identifier assigned to you by BLS. This information is used to ensure that only authorized BLS respondents are granted access to the website.
The BLS Data Collection Facility does not use cookies to store any permanent information about you or your business.
When you visit our site, we collect and store the following information:
- The IP address from which you accessed the Internet (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer)
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site
- The date and time you accessed our site
This information is permanently retained in a secure environment and is used by internal software programs to create summary statistics. These statistics allow us to assess site trends, the number of unique visitors to our site, and monitor system performance.
For security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, our website also employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload information other than survey data, alter the site, or other attempts to cause damage. Per the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, Federal information systems are protected from malicious activities through cybersecurity screening of transmitted data.
Unauthorized attempts to upload information not associated with a specific survey, alter the site or to cause damage are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996.
If you identify yourself by sending an E-mail
You also may decide to send us identifying information in an electronic mail message. Information collected in this manner is used solely for responding to requests for information or assistance. We may forward your E-mail to other Government employees who are better able to respond to you. Should you wish to file a request under FOIA, instructions are provided at BLS - IDCF Freedom of Information Requests.
If you identify yourself by initiating a Respondent Change Request
As a BLS respondent you may alter your identifying personal or company information. Information collected in this manner will be forwarded to the responsible Government employees for processing. You will be contacted for verification purposes prior to processing.
If you link to other sites outside of the BLS Internet Data Collection Website
Our website has many links to other sites. When you link to any of these sites, you are no longer on our site and are subject to the privacy policy of the new site.