This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

80091 

Vol. 88, No. 221 

Friday, November 17, 2023 

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS 

AUTHORITY 

5 CFR Part 2429 

Miscellaneous and General 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Labor Relations 

Authority. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts, with 

one minor change, a proposed rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 29, 2023. The final rule 

specifies that, if parties wish to file 

documents with the Federal Labor 

Relations Authority’s (FLRA’s) Office of 

Case Intake and Publication (CIP) in 

person, then they must schedule an 

appointment at least one business day 

in advance. The final rule also makes 

other minor technical and formatting 

changes. In addition, like the proposed 

rule, the final rule specifies that 

documents filed through the FLRA’s 

electronic-filing (eFiling) system must 

be filed electronically by ‘‘11:59 p.m.,’’ 

rather than ‘‘midnight,’’ on the due date. 

However, unlike the proposed rule, the 

final rule specifies that the 11:59 p.m. 

filing deadline is ‘‘Eastern Time.’’ 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

December 18, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Erica Balkum, Chief, Office of Case 

Intake and Publication at ebalkum@

flra.gov or at: (771) 444–5805. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 29, 2023, in 88 FR 67117, the 

FLRA’s three-Member, decisional 

component (the Authority) proposed to 

amend 5 CFR 2429.24(a) to revise the 

rules regarding filing documents in 

cases before the Authority (as distinct 

from the FLRA’s General Counsel, 

Regional Directors, or Administrative 

Law Judges). Specifically, the Authority 

proposed to revise 5 CFR 2429.24(a) to 

eliminate the references to parties being: 

(1) able to file documents with CIP 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday 

through Friday (except federal 

holidays), and (2) required to file any 

hand-delivered documents by 5 p.m. 

E.T. Instead, the proposed revisions 

would specify that: (1) to file documents 

with CIP by personal delivery, parties 

must schedule an appointment at least 

one business day in advance by calling 

CIP; and (2) personal delivery will be 

accepted by appointment Monday 

through Friday (except federal 

holidays). In addition, the proposed 

revisions would: (1) update CIP’s phone 

number to (771) 444–5805; (2) delete the 

period after ‘‘NW’’ in CIP’s mailing 

address; (3) change the term ‘‘hand 

delivery’’ to ‘‘personal delivery’’; (4) 

change the eFiling deadline from 

‘‘midnight E.T.’’ on the due date to 

‘‘11:59 p.m.’’ on the due date; and (5) in 

the second-to-last sentence of the 

regulation, change ‘‘federal legal 

documents’’ to ‘‘federal legal holidays.’’ 

The FLRA invited written comments 

on the proposed rule, stating that any 

such comments must be received by the 

FLRA by October 30, 2023. The FLRA 

received only two comments: one from 

an individual, and the second from a 

union. 

The individual commenter states that 

it is unclear from the proposed rule 

whether the Authority intends for the 

new eFiling deadline to be 11:59 p.m. 

‘‘Eastern Time.’’ The commenter notes 

that the current version of 5 CFR 

2429.24(a) specifies that the deadline is 

Eastern Time, but the proposed rule 

does not do so. 

The proposed rule’s deletion of 

Eastern Time in connection with eFiling 

was inadvertent. Therefore, the final 

rule revises the proposed rule to specify 

that the 11:59 eFiling deadline is 11:59 

p.m. Eastern Time. 

The union commenter opposes the 

proposed rule’s requirement that parties 

who wish to file documents with CIP in 

person must schedule an appointment 

at least one business day in advance. 

First, the commenter notes that, in the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

rule, the Authority relied on the fact 

that no parties filed documents in 

person since in-person filing was 

reinstated on May 30, 2023. According 

to the union commenter, the FLRA did 

not publicize or tell parties about the 

May 30, 2023 reinstatement of in-person 

filing, so the absence of in-person filers 

since that date does not support the 

proposed rule. Second, the union 

commenter claims that the National 

Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allows inperson filing without an appointment, 

and there is no justification for the 

FLRA having a different rule. Third, the 

union commenter asserts that recent 

Executive Branch policies and proposed 

federal legislation are aimed at 

increasing in-person services at federal 

agency offices, and the proposed rule 

would conflict with those aims. 

In response to the union commenter’s 

first assertion, even assuming parties 

were unaware of the resumption of inperson-filing availability on May 30, 

2023—despite the FLRA’s Web site 

being updated to prominently note that 

resumption—that does not undercut the 

Authority’s broader point that, even prepandemic, in-person filing was rare. In 

fact, even since the proposed rule was 

published in the Federal Register— 

which was also announced by a press 

release the same day—CIP has received 

only two in-person filings. As such, the 

alleged absence of publicity 

surrounding the resumption of inperson filing does not undercut the 

notion that in-person filing is rarely 

used. 

With regard to the assertions 

concerning the NLRB, as an initial 

matter, it is not clear that the filing 

practices of the FLRA should 

necessarily mirror those of the NLRB— 

a much larger agency, with far more 

staff and regulated parties, than the 

FLRA. In any event, the NLRB’s filing 

regulations do not set forth standard 

hours when parties may file in person— 

and, in fact, they generally require 

parties to eFile documents. See 29 CFR 

102.5(c) (specifying that, ‘‘[u]nless 

otherwise permitted under this section, 

all documents filed in cases before the 

Agency must be filed electronically (‘EFiled’) on the Agency’s website’’). In 

this regard, NLRB guidance provides 

that in-person filing is permitted ‘‘only 

if the filer does not have access to the 

means for filing electronically or filing 

electronically would impose an undue 

burden.’’ NLRB, Guide to Board 

Procedures 3 (2023), https://

www.nlrb.gov/sites/default/files/ 

attachments/pages/node-174/guide-toboard-procedures-2023.pdf. The FLRA’s 

proposed requirement to schedule inperson filing in advance—which does 

not in any way limit which parties may 

engage in such filing—is arguably even 


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80092 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

less restrictive than the NLRB’s 

requirements. 

Finally, we acknowledge that there 

recently has been an increased focus on 

the resumption of certain in-person 

services at federal agency offices. 

However, nothing in the proposed rule 

would eliminate in-person filing; it 

would simply require one business 

day’s advance notice in order to engage 

in such filing. Further, the resumption 

of certain in-person services does not 

undercut agencies’ and courts’ general 

trend of favoring eFiling over in-person 

filing, based on eFiling’s numerous 

advantages for both parties and 

agencies. See, for example, IRS, Exempt 

Organizations e-file: Benefits of e-file, 

available at https://www.irs.gov/ 

charities-non-profits/exemptorganizations-e-file-benefits-of-e-file. 

In addition, as discussed in greater 

detail in the Federal Register notice for 

the proposed rule, there are multiple 

reasons for this proposed change. 

Specifically: even before the COVID–19 

pandemic, it was rare for parties to file 

with CIP in person; there are multiple 

other, easily accessible methods of filing 

documents with CIP; the FLRA desires 

to strongly encourage parties to use 

eFiling whenever possible; and CIP has 

limited staffing, which could become 

even more limited if budgetary or other 

considerations preclude the FLRA from 

filling positions as they become vacant. 

For these reasons, the Authority has 

not modified the proposed rule’s 

requirement for parties to schedule inperson filing at least one business day 

in advance. Therefore, with the one 

minor modification discussed above— 

adding ‘‘Eastern Time’’ to the eFiling 

deadline—the Authority adopts the rule 

as originally proposed. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 

605(b), the Chairman of the FLRA has 

determined that this rule would not 

have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

because this rule would apply only to 

Federal agencies, Federal employees, 

and labor organizations representing 

those employees. 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Review 

The FLRA is an independent 

regulatory agency and thus is not 

subject to the requirements of E.O. 

12866 (58 FR 51735, Sept. 30, 1993). 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

The FLRA is an independent 

regulatory agency and thus is not 

subject to the requirements of E.O. 

13132 (64 FR 43255, Aug. 4, 1999). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rule would not result in the 

expenditure by state, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100,000,000 or more 

in any one year, and it would not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. Therefore, no actions were 

deemed necessary under the provisions 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 

This action is not a major rule as 

defined by section 804 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. This rule would 

not result in an annual effect on the 

economy of $100,000,000 or more; a 

major increase in costs or prices; or 

significant adverse effects on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or on the 

ability of United States-based 

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and 

export markets. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

The rule contains no additional 

information collection or record-keeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501, 

et seq. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 2429 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government employees, 

Labor management relations. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the FLRA amends 5 CFR part 

2429 as follows: 

PART 2429—MISCELLANEOUS AND 

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2429 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7134; § 2429.18 also 

issued under 28 U.S.C. 2112(a). 

■ 2. Amend § 2429.24 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 2429.24 Place and method of filing; 

acknowledgment. 

(a) Except for documents that are filed 

electronically through use of the eFiling 

system on the FLRA’s website at 

www.flra.gov, anyone who files a 

document with the Authority (as 

distinguished from the General Counsel, 

a Regional Director, or an 

Administrative Law Judge) must file 

that document with the Chief, Case 

Intake and Publication, Federal Labor 

Relations Authority, Docket Room, Suite 

200, 1400 K Street NW, Washington, DC 

20424–0001 (telephone: (771) 444– 

5805). To file documents by personal 

delivery, you must schedule an 

appointment at least one business day 

in advance by calling the telephone 

number in the previous sentence. 

Personal delivery is accepted by 

appointment Monday through Friday 

(except federal holidays). If you file 

documents electronically through use of 

the FLRA’s eFiling system, then you 

may file those documents on any 

calendar day—including Saturdays, 

Sundays, and federal legal holidays— 

and the Authority will consider those 

documents filed on a particular day if 

you file them no later than 11:59 p.m. 

Eastern Time on that day. Note, 

however, that although you may eFile 

documents on Saturdays, Sundays, and 

federal legal holidays, you are not 

required to do so. Also note that you 

may not file documents with the 

Authority by electronic mail (‘‘email’’). 

* * * * * 

Approved: November 13, 2023. 

Thomas Tso, 

Solicitor and Federal Register Liaison, Federal 

Labor Relations Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25300 Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7627–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

7 CFR Part 1489 

RIN 0551–AB06 

Regional Agricultural Promotion 

Program 

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service 

and Commodity Credit Corporation, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) is amending the 

Agricultural Trade Promotion Program 

regulation to implement the Regional 

Agricultural Promotion Program 

(RAPP). The RAPP will provide 

assistance to eligible organizations that 

conduct market promotion activities, 

including activities to address existing 

or potential non-tariff barriers to trade, 

to promote U.S. agricultural 

commodities in certain foreign markets. 

Among other changes, this rule updates 

terminology used throughout the 

regulation, clarifies timeframes for 

reporting requirements, and removes the 

specific application and review 


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