5 CFR Chapter XLV - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

The Office of Personnel Management is issuing new regulations on the granting and recording of weather and safety leave for Federal employees. The Administrative Leave Act of 2016 created four new categories of statutorily authorized paid leave—administrative leave, investigative leave, notice leave, and weather and safety leave—and established parameters for their use by Federal agencies. These regulations will provide a framework for agency compliance with the new statutory requirements regarding weather and safety leave. OPM will issue separate final regulations to address administrative leave, investigative leave, and notice leave at a later date.

The Office of Personnel Management proposes to amend the guaranteed issue conversion requirements for the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. Guaranteed issue insurance policies are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These rules update the requirements and timeframes for FEHB Carriers to offer assistance to enrollees who may wish to enroll in guaranteed issue conversion contracts and ensure that terminating enrollees are able to receive assistance from FEHB Carriers if they choose to enroll in guaranteed issue non-group policies. This rule also updates the title of the Director for Retirement and Insurance.

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a final rule amending Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations to provide a process for removal of certain identified individuals who are found not to be eligible as family members from FEHB enrollments. This process would apply to individuals for whom there is a failure to provide adequate documentation of eligibility when requested. This action also amends Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program regulations to allow certain eligible family members to be removed from existing self and family or self plus one enrollments.

In accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is issuing this final rule to make the 2018 annual adjustments to the Ethics in Government Act civil monetary penalties.

This final rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) in regulations maintained and enforced by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) with an annual adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (“FRTIB”) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on December 19, 2017. The document issued final regulations implementing the new Blended Retirement System. The correction is a technical amendment to a cross-reference.

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is updating its regulations addressing procedures relating to access, maintenance, disclosure, and amendment of records that are in a CIGIE system of records under the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act) to implement changes in accordance with the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016 and to make minor typographical corrections.

The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is withdrawing a previously published Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would have amended the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) regulations at 5 CFR part 890 to provide flexibility to agencies regarding payment for FEHB coverage for employees entering leave without pay (LWOP) or any other type of nonpay status, except when nonpay is as a result of a lapse of appropriations. The regulation also would have affected employees who have insufficient pay to cover their premium contribution, and certain categories of employees were exempt.

The Commission is issuing a set of rules that amend existing rules related to supplemental standards of ethical conduct for Postal Regulatory Commission employees. The rules revise the existing rules in order to better conform to Office of Government Ethics standards and accurately reflect the Commission's regulatory role under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The Office of Personnel Management amends this rule to clarify the manner OPM uses for determining a supplemental liability under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), and to clarify the process by which the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) may request reconsideration of OPM's valuation of the supplemental liability. The rule also clarifies the employee categories OPM uses to compute the FERS normal cost percentages. The rule also amends the definitions of actuary, present value factor, and actuarial present value to ensure these definitions are uniform and appropriate.

The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB or the Board) is amending its rules of practice and procedure in this part to reflect the relocation of its Western Regional Office.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (“FRTIB”) is proposing to amend its regulations to implement changes to the uniformed services' retirement system that are mandated by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a final rule in the Federal Register on May 31, 2017 (82 FR 24825), amending the geographic boundaries of several nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. The final rule incorrectly listed Lane County, Oregon, in the Pierce, Washington, NAF FWS wage area under the State of Washington instead of under the State of Oregon. This document corrects this error.

This rule amends the geographic boundaries of three nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. Based on consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is defining Brown County, Wisconsin, as an area of application county to the Lake, Illinois, NAF FWS wage area; Forsyth County, North Carolina, as an area of application to the Cumberland, NC, NAF FWS wage area; and Mecklenburg County, NC, as an area of application to the Richland, South Carolina, NAF FWS wage area. These changes are necessary because there are NAF FWS employees working in these three counties, and the counties are not currently defined in regulation to NAF wage areas.

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB or Bureau), with the concurrence of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is issuing a final rule amending the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (CFPB Ethics Regulations) involving: Outside employment for covered employees; Bureau employees' ownership or control of certain securities; restrictions on seeking, obtaining, or renegotiating credit or indebtedness; disqualification requirements based on existing credit or indebtedness; and restrictions on participating in matters involving covered entities. The final rule also clarifies and makes minor revisions to certain definitions.

This document delays the effective date of the final rule and information collection activity published in the June 9, 2017 issue of the Federal Register . The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) will issue a new effective date in due course.

The Office of Personnel Management proposes to issue new regulations on the granting and recording of administrative leave, investigative leave, notice leave, and weather and safety leave. The Administrative Leave Act of 2016 created these new categories of statutorily authorized paid leave and established parameters for their use by Federal agencies. The regulations will provide a framework for agency compliance with the new statutory requirements.

The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) published an interim final rule enacting changes to its Freedom of Information Act regulation to comply with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 on January 4th, 2017. SIGAR is now adopting those amendments as final with changes.

This final rule revises the U.S. Office of Special Counsel's (OSC's) regulations regarding the filing of complaints and disclosures with OSC, and updates OSC's prohibited personnel practice provisions. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implementing regulations, OSC sought approval from OMB for a new, dynamic electronic form to be used for filing complaints and disclosures. This new form, Form OSC-14, will replace Forms OSC-11, OSC-12, and OSC-13, which were previously approved by OMB.

This final rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties (CMPs) in regulations maintained and enforced by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) with both an initial “catch-up” and annual adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (the 2015 Act) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

The Commission proposes rules that amend existing rules related to supplemental standards of ethical conduct for Postal Regulatory Commission employees. The proposed rules revise the existing rules in order to better conform to our regulations and accurately reflect the Commission's regulatory role under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The Commission invites public comment on the proposed rules.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is updating its executive branch regulation on financial disclosure to reflect the retroactive statutory increase of the reporting thresholds for gifts and travel reimbursements. OGE is also raising the widely attended gatherings nonsponsor gifts exception dollar ceiling tied to this threshold under the executive branchwide standards of ethical conduct regulation, but this change is not retroactive.

This rule proposes to amend the geographic boundaries of three nonappropriated fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage areas. Based on consensus recommendations of the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) would define Brown County, Wisconsin, as an area of application county to the Lake, Illinois, NAF FWS wage area; Forsyth County, North Carolina, as an area of application to the Cumberland, NC, NAF FWS wage area; and Mecklenburg County, NC, as an area of application to the Richland, South Carolina, NAF FWS wage area. These changes are necessary because there are NAF FWS employees working in these three counties, and the counties are not currently defined in regulation to NAF wage areas.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Agency) is amending its death benefits regulations to modify the requirements necessary in order for a designation of beneficiary form to be valid.

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (Board) is proposing to amend its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations to implement recommendations made by the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) and reflect the amendments required by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.