5 CFR Chapter XVI, Subchapter B - GOVERNMENT ETHICS

On December 12, 2016, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published revisions to its regulations concerning personnel management in agencies. That document inadvertently failed to properly cite agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act. This document corrects the final regulations.

The National Mediation Board (NMB or Board), with the concurrence of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), is issuing an interim final regulation for employees of the NMB that supplements the executive branch-wide Standards of Ethical Conduct (Standards) issued by OGE. The supplemental regulation requires NMB employees to obtain approval before engaging in outside employment.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed regulation to revise its direct-hire authority (DHA) regulations. The revision is necessary to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13833 titled, “Enhancing the Effectiveness of Agency Chief Information Officers” which requires OPM to issue proposed regulations delegating to the head of a covered agency authority necessary to determine whether there is a severe shortage of candidates or a critical hiring need for information technology (IT) positions under certain conditions, sufficient to justify a DHA. The intended effect of this change is to enhance the Government's ability to recruit needed IT professionals.

The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) is issuing this interim final rule to amend its regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to incorporate certain changes made to FOIA by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. The rule also implements changes in accordance with the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016.

This rule deletes regulatory language that provides for the Federal income tax withholding rates on court ordered payments from the Thrift Savings Plan.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) seeks public comment on a proposed rule that would revise OMB's regulations found in our regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). These revisions are being proposed to implement the FOIA and incorporate the provisions of the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 as well as to streamline OMB's FOIA regulations by structuring the text of the regulation in an order more similar to that of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) FOIA regulation and the DOJ Office of Information Policy's Guidance for Agency FOIA Regulations, thus promoting uniformity of FOIA regulations across agencies. Additionally, the regulations would be updated to reflect developments in the case law.

This rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties contained in U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations implementing the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986, with an initial “catch-up” adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget guidance. It also makes subsequent annual catch up adjustments.

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics is issuing a final rule amending the Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of Divestiture regulations. Pursuant to section 402(b) of the Ethics in Government Act, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is revising the regulations governing financial disclosure to incorporate the new reporting requirements imposed by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act), which was enacted on April 4, 2012. As a part of the revision, OGE also is modernizing language, making changes to the confidential filing requirements, adding and updating examples, and conforming the language of the regulation more closely to that of the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). In addition, OGE is updating definition of “widely diversified” for Excepted Investment Fund purposes that brings the definition in line with the definition of “diversified” found in the exemptions to the conflicts of interest law governing personal financial interests.

On October 30, 2013, OPM published final regulations in the Federal Register to expand coverage for children of same-sex domestic partners under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP). The regulation allowed children of same-sex domestic partners living in states that did not allow same-sex couples to marry to be covered family members under the FEHB and the FEDVIP. Due to a subsequent Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in all states, OPM published an interim final regulation on December 2, 2016, that created a regulatory exception that only allowed children of same-sex domestic partners living overseas to maintain their FEHB and FEDVIP coverage until September 30, 2018. OPM recognized that there were additional requirements placed on overseas federal employees that did not apply to other civilian employees with duty stations in the United States making it difficult to travel to the United States to marry their same-sex partners. Understanding that we have provided agencies with additional time for compliance given that overseas federal employees may not have been able to marry immediately following the Supreme Court decision, OPM is issuing a final rule removing references to domestic partners and domestic partnerships from the regulations. Based on the Supreme Court decision and the two additional year's lead time for domestic partners overseas to marry, the current language in the CFR is not needed and may be somewhat confusing. There is no change in coverage for children whose same-sex partners are married.

On behalf of the President's Pay Agent, the Office of Personnel Management is issuing proposed regulations to establish four new General Schedule locality pay areas, make certain changes to the definitions of existing locality pay areas, and make minor clarifying changes to the names of two locality pay areas. The proposed changes in locality pay area definitions would be applicable on the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after January 1, 2019, subject to issuance of final regulations. Locality pay rates for the four new locality pay areas would be set by the President after the new locality pay areas would be established by regulation.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed rule to amend the Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) regulations to clarify the definition of annual rates of pay for insured employees and to clarify the status of judges of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

To correct an asymmetry in the insurance market for Federal employees and annuitants, this Final regulation provides all Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program carriers the ability to offer the same number and types of plan options. Currently, OPM regulations defining minimum standards for health benefits plans allow certain plans to have two options and a high deductible health plan, while other plans may have three options of any type or two options and a high deductible health plan, creating an asymmetry between the potential offerings of health benefits plans. We have revised the regulations so all health benefits plans are able to offer three options or two options and a high deductible health plan. This final rule will give FEHB enrollees more choices in selecting a health plan that best meets their family's health care needs.

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.