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Contact Us
Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC),
Office of Research Services
Personnel Security
Helpdesk: 301-402-9755
E-mail: orspersonnelsecurity@
mail.nih.gov
Access Control
Helpdesk: 301-451-4766
E-mail: facilityaccesscontrol@
mail.nih.gov
 
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This is the seventh in a series of articles spotlighting position classifications that the NIH uses to determine the type of badge it can issue. Based on the individual's classification, s/he will be eligible for either an HHS ID Badge (PIV Card), an RLA Badge or an NIH Legacy ID Badge.
Determining an individual's correct classification is an important first step in the badge issuance process since it helps ensure that each person requiring access to NIH facilities and resources is vetted appropriately and qualifies for one of the three badge types.*
Classification: Contractor(as the classification appears in the NED Portal)
Who is a Contractor?A Contractor is a non-NIH employee or trainee that works for a company paid by NIH for services rendered via a procurement vehicle who provides program support services.
This classification includes: Construction Management Personnel, Clinical/Research/Administrative staff positions, Food Service Managers and Supervisors, Housekeeping Staff, Parking Lot Attendants and Shuttle Bus Drivers.
Who is NOT a Contractor?
Because the 'Contractor' classification includes construction management personnel, NED Portal users may incorrectly assume that Construction Workers fall under the Contractor classification. However, the NED Portal provides a separate classification, "Construction Workers & Grounds Maintenance," for individuals working in these capacities at NIH.
Construction workers are individuals who support the NIH's construction efforts, but are not at a managerial level. They are not NIH employees.
Construction workers and Ground Maintenance undergo a fingerprint check through the NIH Police and are issued an NIH Legacy Badge for identification purposes and for physical access to the NIH campus.
Type of badge issued to Contractors
Contractors are issued a Personal Identity Verification or "PIV" Card (also
known as an HHS ID Badge).
If a Contractor is a foreign national, he or she will be issued a Restricted Local Access (RLA) badge with an orange stripe.
The PIV Card has a gold-colored computer chip on the face of the badge that stores data for identi-fication (NOT personally identifiable information or PII), as well as for physical access to the NIH campus and controlled facilities and (if required) for logical access to NIH IT services.
The Contractor's PIV Card is distinguishable from the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) PIV Card by its green stripe containing the letter "G" running horizontally below the individual's photo. See Figure 1.
(Note: the PIV Card for FTEs has a white stripe (not visible against the white background of the card) containing the letter "W").
Are Contractors entered into NED?
Yes. The applicant must be sponsored in the NED Portal by a PIV-approved sponsor before he or she can be enrolled and issued a badge.
Who processes the badge requests for Contractors?
Once an IC AO with sponsor authority enters the Contractor-applicant into NED, the individual will make an enrollment appointment with DPSAC.
Enrollment is a three-step process in which the applicant is identity-proofed, fingerprinted and photographed. Once enrollment is completed, and the applicant has completed and submitted his or her e-QIP forms to DPSAC (or the person's e-QIP is on file), the applicant can proceed to the DPSAC badge issuance office to obtain a PIV card.
Note: in the PIV process, the Sponsor acts on behalf of NIH to request an Applicant be issued an ID badge. Sponsor training must be completed and a signed certificate submitted to the HSPD-12 Program Office before a PIV Sponsor can request a badge for an applicant.
What background investigation is required for Contractors?
Contractor-applicants will be required to submit fingerprints and complete e-QIP (unless these items are already on file) in order to be issued a PIV Card or RLA Badge. All Contractors will undergo a background investigation commensurate with their roles and responsibilities.
DPSAC submits the individual's fingerprints and completed e-QIP forms to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) where the necessary and appropriate background investigation will be conducted.
How long is the badge good for?
Contractor PIV Cards (HHS ID Badges) are issued to individuals who will be working at NIH longer than 6 months. Typically these badges have a 5-year life cycle (3-year life cycle for RLA Badges). At the end of the badge's life cycle, the badge holder will be required to renew his or her PIV Card.
Note: if a Contractor converts to a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), his or her Contractor ID Badge will remain functional until he or she is issued an FTE ID Badge. What else should you know about Contractors?
NED does not allow Contractors to be entered as short-term (i.e., less than 6 months). This is required by HSPD-12 and Departmental policy.
NIH experiences significant turnover in Contractor personnel (more so than in other NED classifications). As such, it is especially important to ensure Contractors are taken out of NED when they are no longer providing services to NIH.
Disposition of a Contractor's ID Badge
When Contractors end their employment/affiliation with the NIH, they must turn in their ID badge to their AO/Sponsor. The AO/Sponsor must return the badge to DPSAC in Building 31, Room 1B03 or the local ID Badge issuance office.
Should you have questions about a classification, please call the DPSAC Helpdesk at 301-402-9755 or e-mail them at: [email protected] *The 'NIH Badging Authority by Classification Table' containing brief descriptions of all position classifications can be viewed on the DPSAC website at:
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AOs and ATs: Watch for Renewal Notices for Temporary 6-Month Badges in your NED Inboxes
Temporary 6-month ID Badges issued during the summer e-QIP outage are coming due for renewal. As reported in the January 6, 2016 DPSAC News, a security breach at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) caused the agency to shut down e-QIP between July 16, 2015 and August 25, 2015 while it remedied its security problems. As a result, over that 6-week period, DPSAC issued temporary ID badges with the intention of re-issuing permanent ID badges at the end of the badges' 6-month lifecycle.
The NED Team and DPSAC have been reaching out to the AO/AT community to be on the lookout over the next three months for renewal tasks for staff with these temporary badges.
Note: the background information request forms processed during this outage were paper. Since OPM did not accept these paper forms, anyone who falls into this category or still has a 6-month badge must complete the background investigation request online via e-QIP.
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Renewing Short Term Badges Comes with a Warning in NED
If someone is initially entered into NED as short-term (i.e., less than 180 days), they will receive an RLA Badge that is only valid for 6 months. When that badge nears its expiration date, NED will generate a badge renewal task for the individual. Be advised that when an AO/AT runs the badge renewal task, NED will require the individual's NED record to be updated to reflect the person as long term (i.e., more than 180 days).
This change will require the person to undergo a full background investigation and receive a PIV Badge as opposed to an RLA Badge. Foreign nationals are an exception to this policy. They will be issued a new RLA badge with a life cycle of up to 3 years when their old RLA badge expires.
AOs and ATs should be aware that they will receive a warning from the NED Portal that it will initiate the immediate revocation of a person's badge whenever they update data that will result in a badge type change. Also, in the case of a badge renewal task, when an AO/AT chooses to renew the badge of a short-term badge holder, the Portal displays the message seen below.
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'HappyorNot' Update: Customers Continue to Give DPSAC High Marks for Service
According to the most recent 'HappyorNot' customer satisfaction report covering the month of December, 2015, 99% of respondents indicated they were either 'very happy' (95%) or 'somewhat happy' (4%) with the service they received during their visit to the DPSAC Enrollment Office or Badge Issuance Office. These numbers are very similar to the ones published for the month of October, 2015. The difference was a 1% improvement in satisfaction, to 97%, reported for the NIH Badging Office from October to December.*
*"HappyOrNot" was created by a Finnish company with the same name that sought to create a simple system that could help drive customer and employee satisfaction improvement. Customers simply answer a specific question by choosing one of four smiley buttons. All responses are anonymous.
The signs on the kiosk at the Enrollment and Badge Issuance Offices ask "How was your experience" through "Enrollment" or "Badge Issuance."
The customer answers by pushing one of four buttons with 'emojis' representing (1) a 'happy' experience; (2), a 'somewhat happy' experience; (3) a somewhat 'unhappy' experience; and (4), an 'unhappy' experience.
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(Optional) Two-Factor Authentication for e-QIP Enrollment Now Available
This article first appeared in the January 10, 2016 issue of DPSAC News
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently announced that beginning January 10, 2016, e-QIP applicants will have the "option" of using two factor authentication when logging into e-QIP. OPM has also published a Login Guide that shows applicants how to use two-factor authentication when logging into e-QIP. (A link to this Guide is posted below).
As noted on the OPM Portal homepage, "E-QIP version 3.20 will be deployed on Sunday, January 10, 2016. It will include the implementation of 'Two-Factor Authentication,' which is a change that will affect the login process for all e-QIP applicants."
"Two-Factor Authentication is an additional layer of protection that e-QIP Direct Applicants can opt into when they are logging into their e-QIP Request or Applicant Access Request (to receive the Archival Copy of a completed e-QIP request). It is an "optional" security action and the applicant must use either a Smartphone or a desktop application to download an app to complete the action."
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Helpful Tips
AOs who wish to obtain sponsor authority -- must complete the sponsor training (see:http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/Training/Pages/administrators.aspx) and e-mail a copy of your signed certificate to the NIH HSPD-12 Program Office at: [email protected]. Upon receipt of the certificate, the Program Office will authorize the AO as a sponsor.
ICs that want to add Lifecycle Work Station (LWS) operators to the approved roster -- send a written request to Richie Taffet at: [email protected]. Your request should include: - the new operator's name
- his/her IC
- his/her NED number
- the operator's e-mail address, building/room and phone number
Once Mr. Taffet has approved the request, he will forward the name(s) to [email protected] to complete the approval process, add the name(s) to the LWS operator roster, and inform the IC that the individual is now approved to operate the LWS.
Need to make changes to the LWS operator directories? -- drop an e-mail to Lanny Newman, [email protected], and let him know what needs changing (e.g., adding new operators or LWS locations, removing operators, etc.). Remember, before a new operator can be added to the LWS directory, s/he must first be approved by Richie Taffet (see preceding Helpful Tip). If an LWS is not available in your IC or your immediate area, and you work in the greater Bethesda or Rockville area -- please call 301-402-9755 to schedule an appointment with the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control located in Building 31, Room B1A26 or in Building 10, South Lobby, Room 1C52.
Know someone who could benefit by receiving DPSAC News? -- have the person contact Lanny Newman at [email protected] and ask to be put on the mailing list.
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FAQs
Q. I recently ran and approved a badge renewal task for a short-term (i.e., less than 180 days) person in my office. That very day, the individual's current ID badge was revoked. The person had to go without an ID badge until he was able to visit DPSAC to obtain his new badge. Is there a way I could have prevented the person's current badge from being revoked?
A. No. The NED Portal provides a warning that it will initiate the immediate revocation of a person's badge whenever the AO/AT updates data that will result in a badge type change. In this instance, the person was short term (less than 180 days) and had an RLA Badge. When a short-term badge is being renewed, the person must be updated in NED to long term (greater than 180 days). For non-foreign nationals, this means the renewal badge will be a PIV Badge. Foreign nationals, however, will be issued a new RLA badge with a life cycle of up to 3 years.
Whenever a person has one badge type (e.g., RLA) and is getting a new badge type (e.g., PIV), the current badge will be revoked as soon as the new badge is requested. This is due to HHS policy.
In the case of a badge renewal task for someone who was initially entered into NED as short term, if an AO/AT chooses to renew the short term badge, the NED Portal displays the following message:
"Warning: Renewing the badge will result in the revocation of the current ID badge. A new badge will be requested and may result in new fingerprint and/or background investigation requirements per the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control's (DPSAC) policies for determining such requirements. In the event a new investigation is required, charges will be made to the CAN supplied during the NED Badge Renewal process. Please ensure this action is desired prior to continuing or authorizing these changes."
DPSAC recommends that before an AO approves the badge renewal task for a short-term person, that he or she please coordinate with that individual and choose a specific date to complete the renewal task in NED.
On that specific date, the AO should complete the renewal task after the individual gets on campus with his or her current RLA Badge. Then the person should visit DPSAC that same day to get a new PIV Badge. This will ensure the person does not have to go without an active badge for access to the NIH.
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News Briefs
Staying Healthy this Winter 
HR News recently reprinted an FDA Health Information guide, "Get Set for a Healthy Winter Season." The guide contains helpful tips for avoiding winter bugs, including:
- Get vaccinated against the flu
- Wash your hands often
- Limit exposure to infected people
- Keep stress in check
- Eat right
- Sleep right
- Exercise
To read the entire FDA Consumer Health Information Guide, click on: Guide.
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NED Training Schedule: a Class a Month for the Balance of FY '16
New and relatively inexperienced NED Portal users with an Administrative Officer (AO) or Administrative Technician (AT) role are invited to take advantage of one of the hands-on NED training classes being offered (once a month) through the end of fiscal year 2016.
Each class will provide an overview of the NED Portal and the NIH business functions it supports from the perspective of a NED Portal user with the AO or AT role.
Upon completing the course, students will have a solid working knowledge of the NED Portal and be able to perform the following tasks: Register/Activate, Update, Modify, Transfer, Badge Renewal and Deactivate. The course will also familiarize students with other aspects of the NED Portal so they can set their primary SAC coverage using Preferences, determine the status of a person's ID badge and/or network account request, look up and view information in a person's NED record and utilize NED reporting capabilities.
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A biweekly e-newsletter from the Office of Research Services, Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (ORS/DPSAC) to keep you informed as NIH rolls out "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12" (HSPD-12) establishing a common identification standard to better safeguard NIH and its workforce.
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