Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 37 / Wednesday, February 25, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 10001 

both use a portion of the total 12-week 

FMLA leave entitlement for either the 

birth of a child, for placement for 

adoption or foster care, or to care for a 

parent, the spouses would each be 

entitled to the difference between the 

amount he or she has taken individually 

and 12 weeks for FMLA leave for other 

purposes. * * * 

(4) * * * Thus, spouses may each 

take 12 weeks of FMLA leave if needed 

to care for an adopted or foster child 

with a serious health condition, even if 

both are employed by the same 

employer, provided they have not 

exhausted their entitlements during the 

applicable 12-month FMLA leave 

period. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Revise § 825.122(b) to read as 

follows: 

§ 825.122 Definitions of covered 

servicemember, spouse, parent, son or 

daughter, next of kin of a covered 

servicemember, adoption, foster care, son 

or daughter on covered active duty or call 

to covered active duty status, son or 

daughter of a covered servicemember, and 

parent of a covered servicemember. 

* * * * * 

(b) Spouse, as defined in the statute, 

means a husband or wife. For purposes 

of this definition, husband or wife refers 

to the other person with whom an 

individual entered into marriage as 

defined or recognized under state law 

for purposes of marriage in the State in 

which the marriage was entered into or, 

in the case of a marriage entered into 

outside of any State, if the marriage is 

valid in the place where entered into 

and could have been entered into in at 

least one State. This definition includes 

an individual in a same-sex or common 

law marriage that either: 

(1) Was entered into in a State that 

recognizes such marriages; or 

(2) If entered into outside of any State, 

is valid in the place where entered into 

and could have been entered into in at 

least one State. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Amend § 825.127 by revising the 

first and second sentences of paragraph 

(f) to read as follows: 

§ 825.127 Leave to care for a covered 

servicemember with a serious injury or 

illness (military caregiver leave). 

* * * * * 

(f) Spouses who are eligible for FMLA 

leave and are employed by the same 

covered employer may be limited to a 

combined total of 26 workweeks of 

leave during the single 12-month period 

described in paragraph (e) of this 

section if the leave is taken for birth of 

the employee’s son or daughter or to 

care for the child after birth, for 

placement of a son or daughter with the 

employee for adoption or foster care, or 

to care for the child after placement, to 

care for the employee’s parent with a 

serious health condition, or to care for 

a covered servicemember with a serious 

injury or illness. This limitation on the 

total weeks of leave applies to leave 

taken for the reasons specified as long 

as the spouses are employed by the 

same employer. * * * 

■ 7. Amend § 825.201 by revising the 

first, second, and fifth sentences of 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 825.201 Leave to care for a parent. 

* * * * * 

(b) Same employer limitation. 

Spouses who are eligible for FMLA 

leave and are employed by the same 

covered employer may be limited to a 

combined total of 12 weeks of leave 

during any 12-month period if the leave 

is taken to care for the employee’s 

parent with a serious health condition, 

for the birth of the employee’s son or 

daughter or to care for the child after the 

birth, or for placement of a son or 

daughter with the employee for 

adoption or foster care or to care for the 

child after placement. This limitation on 

the total weeks of leave applies to leave 

taken for the reasons specified as long 

as the spouses are employed by the 

same employer. * * * Where the 

spouses both use a portion of the total 

12-week FMLA leave entitlement for 

either the birth of a child, for placement 

for adoption or foster care, or to care for 

a parent, the spouses would each be 

entitled to the difference between the 

amount he or she has taken individually 

and 12 weeks for FMLA leave for other 

purposes. * * * 

■ 8. Amend § 825.202 by revising the 

third sentence of paragraph (c) to read 

as follows: 

§ 825.202 Intermittent leave or reduced 

leave schedule. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * The employer’s agreement is 

not required, however, for leave during 

which the expectant mother has a 

serious health condition in connection 

with the birth of her child or if the 

newborn child has a serious health 

condition. * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–03569 Filed 2–23–15; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

38 CFR Part 3 

RIN 2900–AP26 

Automobile or Other Conveyance and 

Adaptive Equipment Certificate of 

Eligibility for Veterans or Members of 

the Armed Forces With Amyotrophic 

Lateral Sclerosis 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) is amending its 

adjudication regulation regarding 

certificates of eligibility for financial 

assistance in the purchase of an 

automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment. The amendment 

authorizes automatic issuance of a 

certificate of eligibility for financial 

assistance in the purchase of an 

automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment to all veterans with 

service-connected amyotrophic lateral 

sclerosis (ALS) and members of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty 

with ALS. 

DATES: Effective Date: This interim final 

rule is effective February 25, 2015. 

Comment Date: Comments must be 

received by VA on or before April 27, 

2015. 

Applicability Date: The provisions of 

this regulatory amendment apply to all 

applications for a certificate of 

eligibility for an automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment 

allowance pending before VA on or 

received after February 25, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be 

submitted through 

www.Regulations.gov; by mail or handdelivery to Director, Regulation Policy 

and Management (02REG), Department 

of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Ave. 

NW., Room 1068, Washington, DC 

20420; or by fax to (202) 273–9026. 

Comments should indicate that they are 

submitted in response to ‘‘RIN 2900– 

AP26—Automobile or Other 

Conveyance and Adaptive Equipment 

Certificate of Eligibility for Veterans or 

Members of the Armed Forces With 

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis 

Connected to Military Service.’’ Copies 

of comments received will be available 

for public inspection in the Office of 

Regulation Policy and Management, 

Room 1068, between the hours of 8:00 

a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 

Friday (except holidays). Please call 

(202) 461–4902 for an appointment. 

(This is not a toll free number.) In 

addition, during the comment period, 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
10002 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 37 / Wednesday, February 25, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

comments may be viewed online 

through the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) at www.Regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Randy A. McKevitt, Legal Consultant, 

Regulations Staff (211D), Compensation 

Service, Veterans Benefits 

Administration, Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20420, (202) 461–9700. 

(This is not a toll-free number.) 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a 

document published in the Federal 

Register on December 20, 2011 (76 FR 

78823), VA amended its regulations 

pertaining to the percent disability 

evaluation assignable for serviceconnected amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 

(ALS). As of January 19, 2012, the 

effective date of that amendment, 38 

CFR 4.124a, diagnostic code 8017, 

provides a 100-percent disability 

evaluation for veterans with serviceconnected ALS. VA determined that 

assigning a 100-percent evaluation in all 

cases eliminates the need to 

unnecessarily reevaluate veterans with 

ALS repeatedly over a short period of 

time as the condition worsens and 

inevitably progresses to total disability. 

The change was necessary to adequately 

compensate veterans who suffer from 

this progressive, untreatable, and fatal 

disease. However, the change did not 

specifically address entitlement to 

certificates of eligibility for financial 

assistance in the purchase of an 

automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment. 

Section 3901(1), title 38, United States 

Code (U.S.C.), provides specific criteria 

for determining eligibility for an 

automobile and adaptive equipment 

allowance. To be eligible for an 

automobile and adaptive equipment 

allowance, a veteran must be in receipt 

of compensation under chapter 11 of 

title 38 U.S.C. for (or a member of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty 

must have) loss or permanent loss of use 

of one or both feet; loss or permanent 

loss of use of one or both hands; 

permanent impairment of vision of both 

eyes with central visual acuity of 20/200 

or less in the better eye with the use of 

corrective glasses or central visual 

acuity of more than 20/200 if there is a 

field defect in which the peripheral 

field has contracted to such an extent 

that the widest diameter of visual field 

subtends an angular distance no greater 

than twenty degrees in the better eye; or 

a severe burn injury. 38 U.S.C. 3901(1). 

These disabilities must be the result of 

an injury incurred or disease contracted 

in or aggravated by active military, 

naval, or air service. Id. 

VA’s automobile and adaptive 

equipment allowance eligibility 

regulation, 38 CFR 8.808 Automobiles 

or other conveyances and adaptive 

equipment; certification, which was 

promulgated to implement 38 U.S.C. 

3901 and 3902, includes the same 

criteria for entitlement to a certificate of 

eligibility as 38 U.S.C. 3901. Because 

ALS is a rapidly progressive, totally 

debilitating, and irreversible disease, 

VA has determined that progression of 

ALS will routinely, and quickly, satisfy 

these existing certificate of eligibility 

criteria. This interim final rule permits 

VA to determine entitlement to a 

certificate of eligibility for an 

automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment as soon as a veteran 

establishes service connection for ALS, 

or a member of the Armed Forces 

serving on active duty is diagnosed with 

ALS, eliminating the need for additional 

development and reducing wait times. 

By streamlining the eligibility process, 

this regulatory amendment will allow 

veterans with service-connected ALS 

and members of the Armed Forces 

serving on active duty with ALS to 

receive and utilize to maximum 

advantage the automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment 

benefit, without unnecessary delay. 

From the standpoint of entitlement to 

a certificate of eligibility for automobile 

or other conveyance and adaptive 

equipment qualification procedures, the 

effect of this regulatory amendment is to 

allocate resources more efficiently and 

ensure a better lifestyle for veterans 

with service-connected ALS and 

members of the Armed Forces serving 

on active duty with ALS who want to 

purchase and adapt an automobile or 

other conveyance and adaptive 

equipment so they can remain mobile as 

long as possible. In this regard, as the 

ALS progresses, the need for assistive 

devices adapting an automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment so 

that the veteran or member of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty 

can continue to be mobile, including 

attending examinations and treatment 

by medical personnel, while remaining 

in their home for as long as possible, 

will be greatly assisted. Without these 

benefits, a veteran or member of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty 

may be required to be institutionalized 

sooner than otherwise necessary to 

receive medical treatment. 

Thus, there exists an immediate need 

for VA to focus this regulatory change 

upon the entitlement for a certificate of 

eligibility for automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment 

process. Because the prognosis of the 

progression of ALS is typically 

established after a brief period of 

observation, in most cases less than 3 

months, VA has determined that it is 

fair and reasonable to provide a 

certificate of eligibility for automobile or 

other conveyance and adaptive 

equipment upon determination of 

service connection for ALS in a veteran 

or on diagnosis and receipt of an 

application from a member of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty. 

VA, therefore, intends to establish 

entitlement for a certificate of eligibility 

for automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment eligibility for 

eligible veterans with service-connected 

ALS and members of the Armed Forces 

serving on active duty with ALS. VA is 

doing so by adding a new provision to 

38 CFR 3.808, which governs eligibility 

for entitlement for a certificate of 

eligibility for automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment 

under 38 U.S.C. 3901 and 3902. This 

new provision adds ALS as a qualifying 

disability for eligibility to this benefit 

and will allow eligible individuals to 

access this benefit without further 

development and delay. VA 

incorporates this new category of 

criteria in § 3.808 as new paragraph 

(b)(5). Current paragraph (b)(5) will be 

redesignated as paragraph (b)(6). 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 

(d)(3), we find that there is good cause 

to dispense with advance public notice 

and opportunity to comment on this 

rule and good cause to publish this rule 

with an immediate effective date. This 

interim final rule is necessary to 

implement immediately the Secretary’s 

decision to establish entitlement for a 

certificate of eligibility for automobile or 

other conveyance and adaptive 

equipment for all veterans with serviceconnected ALS and members of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty 

with ALS. Delay in the implementation 

of this rule would be impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest, 

particularly to veterans and members of 

the Armed Forces serving on active 

duty. 

Because the survival period for 

persons suffering from ALS is generally 

18–48 months or less from the onset of 

symptoms, any delay in establishing 

entitlement for a certificate of eligibility 

for automobile or other conveyance and 

adaptive equipment eligibility is 

extremely detrimental to veterans and 

members of the Armed Forces serving 

on active duty who are currently 

afflicted with ALS. Any delay in 

implementation until after a publiccomment period could delay modifying 

the regulated certificate of eligibility 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 37 / Wednesday, February 25, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 10003 

process, depriving ALS veterans and 

members of the Armed Forces serving 

on active duty with ALS of quick and 

efficient access to automobile or other 

conveyance and adaptive equipment 

benefits. 

For the foregoing reasons, the 

Secretary is issuing this rule as an 

interim final rule with immediate effect. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This interim final rule contains no 

provisions constituting a collection of 

information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501– 

3521). 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Secretary hereby certifies that 

this interim final rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities as 

they are defined in the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601–612. This 

interim final rule will not affect any 

small entities. Only VA beneficiaries 

will be directly affected. Therefore, 

pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this interim 

final rule is exempt from the final 

regulatory flexibility analysis 

requirements of section 604. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess the costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, when regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, and other advantages; 

distributive impacts; and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 (Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review) 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

12866 (Regulatory Planning and 

Review) defines a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action,’’ which requires 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB), unless OMB waives such 

review, as ‘‘any regulatory action that is 

likely to result in a rule that may: (1) 

Have an annual effect on the economy 

of $100 million or more or adversely 

affect in a material way the economy, a 

sector of the economy, productivity, 

competition, jobs, the environment, 

public health or safety, or State, local, 

or tribal governments or communities; 

(2) Create a serious inconsistency or 

otherwise interfere with an action taken 

or planned by another agency; (3) 

Materially alter the budgetary impact of 

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan 

programs or the rights and obligations of 

recipients thereof; or (4) Raise novel 

legal or policy issues arising out of legal 

mandates, the President’s priorities, or 

the principles set forth in this Executive 

Order.’’ 

The economic, interagency, 

budgetary, legal, and policy 

implications of this regulatory action 

have been examined, and it has been 

determined not to be a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866. VA’s impact analysis can be 

found as a supporting document at 

http://www.regulations.gov, usually 

within 48 hours after the rulemaking 

document is published. Additionally, a 

copy of the rulemaking and its impact 

analysis are available on VA’s Web site 

at http://www.va.gov/orpm/, by 

following the link for VA Regulations 

Published From FY 2004 Through 

FYTD. 

Unfunded Mandates 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 requires, at 2 U.S.C. 1532, that 

agencies prepare an assessment of 

anticipated costs and benefits before 

issuing any rule that may result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

(adjusted annually for inflation) in any 

1 year. This interim final rule will have 

no such effect on State, local, and tribal 

governments, or on the private sector. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

The Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance numbers and titles for the 

programs affected by this document are 

64.100, Automobiles and Adaptive 

Equipment for Certain Disabled 

Veterans and Members of the Armed 

Forces and 64.109, Veterans 

Compensation for Service-Connected 

Disability. 

Signing Authority 

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 

designee, approved this document and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. Jose 

D. Riojas, Chief of Staff, approved this 

document on February 12, 2015, for 

publication. 

List of Subjects in 38 CFR Part 3 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Claims, Disability benefits, 

Health care, Pensions, Veterans. 

Dated: February 20, 2015. 

William F. Russo, 

Acting Director, Office of Regulation Policy 

& Management, Office of the General Counsel, 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, VA amends 38 CFR part 3 as 

follows: 

PART 3—ADJUDICATION 

Subpart A—Pension, Compensation, 

and Dependency and Indemnity 

Compensation 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 3, 

subpart A continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501(a), unless 

otherwise noted. 

■ 2. Amend § 3.808 by redesignating 

paragraph (b)(5) as paragraph (b)(6) and 

adding a new paragraph (b)(5) to read as 

follows: 

§ 3.808 Automobiles or other conveyances 

and adaptive equipment; certification. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–03889 Filed 2–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 180 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2014–0253; FRL–9919–59] 

Clothianidin; Pesticide Tolerances for 

Emergency Exemptions 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This regulation establishes a 

time-limited tolerance for residues of 

clothianidin, (E)-N-[(2-chloro-5- 

thiazolyl)methyl]-N’-methyl-N’’- 

nitroguanidine, in or on fruit, citrus, 

group 10–10. This action is in response 

to EPA’s granting of an emergency 

exemption under the Federal 

Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 

Act (FIFRA) authorizing use of the 

pesticide on citrus. This regulation 

establishes a maximum permissible 

level for residues of clothianidin in or 

on citrus. The time-limited tolerance 

expires on December 31, 2017. 

DATES: This regulation is effective 

February 25, 2015. Objections and 

requests for hearings must be received 

on or before April 27, 2015, and must 

be filed in accordance with the 

instructions provided in 40 CFR part 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES