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

2523 

Vol. 87, No. 11 

Tuesday, January 18, 2022 

1U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has 

previously determined, after consultation with the 

Department of Justice, that the $200 late filing fee 

for public financial disclosure reports that are more 

than 30 days overdue (see section 104(d) of the 

Ethics Act, 5 U.S.C. appendix, 104(d), and 5 CFR 

2634.704 of OGE’s regulations thereunder) is not a 

CMP as defined under the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended. Therefore, 

that fee is not being adjusted in this rulemaking 

(nor was it adjusted by OGE in previous CMP 

rulemakings), and will remain at its current amount 

of $200. 

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

5 CFR Parts 2634 and 2636 

RIN 3209–AA60 

2022 Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation 

Adjustments for Ethics in Government 

Act Violations 

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015, the U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics is issuing this final rule to make 

the 2022 annual adjustments to the 

Ethics in Government Act civil 

monetary penalties. 

DATES:

Effective date: This final rule is 

effective January 18, 2022. 

Applicability date: This final rule is 

applicable beginning January 15, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Margaret Dylus-Yukins, Assistant 

Counsel, General Counsel and Legal 

Policy Division, Office of Government 

Ethics, Telephone: 202–482–9300; TTY: 

800–877–8339; FAX: 202–482–9237. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

In November 2015, Congress passed 

the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 

2015 (Sec. 701 of Pub. L. 114–74) (the 

2015 Act), which further amended the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101– 

410). The 2015 Act required Federal 

agencies to make inflationary 

adjustments to the civil monetary 

penalties (CMPs) within their 

jurisdiction with an initial ‘‘catch-up’’ 

adjustment through an interim final rule 

effective no later than August 1, 2016, 

and further mandates that Federal 

agencies make subsequent annual 

inflationary adjustments of their CMPs, 

to be effective no later than January 15 

of each year. 

The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

as amended, 5 U.S.C. appendix (the 

Ethics Act) provides for five CMPs.1

Specifically, the Ethics Act provides for 

penalties that can be assessed by an 

appropriate United States district court, 

based upon a civil action brought by the 

Department of Justice, for the following 

five types of violations: 

(1) Knowing and willful failure to file, 

report required information on, or 

falsification of a public financial 

disclosure report, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

104(a), 5 CFR 2634.701(b); 

(2) Knowing and willful breach of a 

qualified trust by trustees and interested 

parties, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

102(f)(6)(C)(i), 5 CFR 2634.702(a); 

(3) Negligent breach of a qualified 

trust by trustees and interested parties, 

5 U.S.C. appendix 102(f)(6)(C)(ii), 5 CFR 

2634.702(b); 

(4) Misuse of a public report, 5 U.S.C. 

appendix 105(c)(2), 5 CFR 2634.703; 

and 

(5) Violation of outside employment/ 

activities provisions, 5 U.S.C. appendix 

504(a), 5 CFR 2636.104(a). 

In compliance with the 2015 Act and 

guidance issued by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), the 

U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) 

made previous inflationary adjustments 

to the five Ethics Act CMPs, and is 

issuing this rulemaking to effectuate the 

2022 annual inflationary adjustments to 

those CMPs. In accordance with the 

2015 Act, these adjustments are based 

on the percent change between the 

Consumer Price Index for all Urban 

Consumers (CPI–U) for the month of 

October preceding the date of the 

adjustment, and the prior year’s October 

CPI–U. Pursuant to OMB guidance, the 

cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 

2022, based on the CPI–U for October 

2021, not seasonally adjusted, is 

1.06222. To calculate the 2022 annual 

adjustment, agencies must multiply the 

most recent penalty by the 1.06222 

multiplier, and round to the nearest 

dollar. 

Applying the formula established by 

the 2015 Act and OMB guidance, OGE 

is amending the Ethics Act CMPs 

through this rulemaking to: 

(1) Increase the three penalties 

reflected in 5 CFR 2634.702(a), 5 CFR 

2634.703, and 5 CFR 2636.104(a)— 

which were previously adjusted to a 

maximum of $20,731—to a maximum of 

$22,021; 

(2) Increase the penalty reflected in 5 

CFR 2634.702(b)—which was 

previously adjusted to a maximum of 

$10,366—to a maximum of $11,011; and 

(3) Increase the penalty reflected in 5 

CFR 2634.701(b)—which was 

previously adjusted to a maximum of 

$62,313—to a maximum of $66,190. 

These adjusted penalty amounts will 

apply to penalties assessed after January 

15, 2022 (the applicability date of this 

final rule), whose associated violations 

occurred after November 2, 2015. 

OGE will continue to make future 

annual inflationary adjustments to the 

Ethics Act CMPs in accordance with the 

statutory formula set forth in the 2015 

Act and OMB guidance. 

II. Matters of Regulatory Procedure 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b), as 

Director of the Office of Government 

Ethics, I find that good cause exists for 

waiving the general notice of proposed 

rulemaking and public comment 

procedures as to these technical 

amendments. The notice and comment 

procedures are being waived because 

these amendments, which concern 

matters of agency organization, 

procedure and practice, are being 

adopted in accordance with statutorily 

mandated inflation adjustment 

procedures of the 2015 Act, which 

specifies that agencies shall adjust civil 

monetary penalties notwithstanding 

Section 553 of the Administrative 

Procedure Act. It is also in the public 

interest that the adjusted rates for civil 

monetary penalties under the Ethics in 

Government Act become effective as 

soon as possible in order to maintain 

their deterrent effect. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

As the Director of the Office of 

Government Ethics, I certify under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

chapter 6) that this final rule would not 


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2524 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities 

because it primarily affects current 

Federal executive branch employees. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35) does not apply 

because this regulation does not contain 

information collection requirements that 

require approval of the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

For purposes of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

chapter 5, subchapter II), this rule 

would not significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments and will not 

result in increased expenditures by 

State, local, and tribal governments, in 

the aggregate, or by the private sector, of 

$100 million or more (as adjusted for 

inflation) in any one year. 

Executive Order 13563 and Executive 

Order 12866 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select the regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including economic, environmental, 

public health and safety effects, 

distributive impacts, and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, of reducing costs, of 

harmonizing rules, and of promoting 

flexibility. The Office of Management 

and Budget has determined that 

rulemakings such as this implementing 

annual inflationary adjustments under 

the 2015 Act are not significant 

regulatory actions under Executive 

Order 12866. 

Executive Order 12988 

As Director of the Office of 

Government Ethics, I have reviewed this 

rule in light of section 3 of Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, and 

certify that it meets the applicable 

standards provided therein. 

List of Subjects 

5 CFR Part 2634 

Certificates of divestiture, Conflict of 

interests, Financial disclosure, 

Government employees, Penalties, 

Privacy, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Trusts and trustees. 

5 CFR Part 2636 

Conflict of interests, Government 

employees, Penalties. 

Approved: January 12, 2022. 

Emory Rounds, 

Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics is amending 5 CFR parts 2634 

and 2636 as follows: 

PART 2634—EXECUTIVE BRANCH 

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE, QUALIFIED 

TRUSTS, AND CERTIFICATES OF 

DIVESTITURE 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2634 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. app.; 26 U.S.C. 1043; 

Pub. L. 101–410, 104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 

2461 note, as amended by Sec. 31001, Pub. 

L. 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 and Sec. 701, Pub. 

L. 114–74; Pub. L. 112–105, 126 Stat. 291; 

E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., 

p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 

42547, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306. 

■ 2. Section 2634.701 is amended by 

revising paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 2634.701 Failure to file or falsifying 

reports. 

* * * * * 

(b) Civil action. The Attorney General 

may bring a civil action in any 

appropriate United States district court 

against any individual who knowingly 

and willfully falsifies or who knowingly 

and willfully fails to file or report any 

information required by filers of public 

reports under subpart B of this part. The 

court in which the action is brought 

may assess against the individual a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth in Table 1 

to this section, as provided by section 

104(a) of the Act, as amended, and as 

adjusted in accordance with the 

inflation adjustment procedures 

prescribed in the Federal Civil Penalties 

Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as 

amended. 

TABLE 1 TO § 2634.701 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between Sept. 14, 

2007 and Nov. 2, 2015 .......................... $50,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015 ...... 66,190 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 2634.702 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 2634.702 Breaches by trust fiduciaries 

and interested parties. 

(a) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action in any appropriate United 

States district court against any 

individual who knowingly and willfully 

violates the provisions of 

§ 2634.408(d)(1) or (e)(1). The court in 

which the action is brought may assess 

against the individual a civil monetary 

penalty in any amount, not to exceed 

the amounts set forth in Table 1 to this 

section, as provided by section 

102(f)(6)(C)(i) of the Act and as adjusted 

in accordance with the inflation 

adjustment procedures prescribed in the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. 

TABLE 1 TO § 2634.702 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between Sept. 29, 

1999 and Nov. 2, 2015 .......................... $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015 ...... 22,021 

(b) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action in any appropriate United 

States district court against any 

individual who negligently violates the 

provisions of § 2634.408(d)(1) or (e)(1). 

The court in which the action is brought 

may assess against the individual a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth in Table 2 

to this section, as provided by section 

102(f)(6)(C)(ii) of the Act and as 

adjusted in accordance with the 

inflation adjustment procedures of the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. 

TABLE 2 TO § 2634.702 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between Sept. 29, 

1999 and Nov. 2, 2015 .......................... $5,500 

Violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015 ...... 11,011 

■ 4. Section 2634.703 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 2634.703 Misuse of public reports. 

(a) The Attorney General may bring a 

civil action against any person who 

obtains or uses a report filed under this 

part for any purpose prohibited by 

section 105(c)(1) of the Act, as 

incorporated in § 2634.603(f). The court 

in which the action is brought may 

assess against the person a civil 

monetary penalty in any amount, not to 

exceed the amounts set forth in Table 1 

to this section, as provided by section 

105(c)(2) of the Act and as adjusted in 

accordance with the inflation 

adjustment procedures prescribed in the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended. 

TABLE 1 TO § 2634.703 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between Sept. 29, 

1999 and Nov. 2, 2015 .......................... $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015 ...... 22,021 

* * * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 18, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 2525 

PART 2636—LIMITATIONS ON 

OUTSIDE EARNED INCOME, 

EMPLOYMENT AND AFFILIATIONS 

FOR CERTAIN NONCAREER 

EMPLOYEES 

■ 5. The authority citation for part 2636 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in 

Government Act of 1978); Pub. L. 101–410, 

104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note (Federal 

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 

1990), as amended by Sec. 31001, Pub. L. 

104–134, 110 Stat. 1321 (Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996) and Sec. 701, Pub. 

L. 114–74 (Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015); 

E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., 

p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR 

42547, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306. 

■ 6. Section 2636.104 is amended by 

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 2636.104 Civil, disciplinary and other 

action. 

(a) Civil action. Except when the 

employee engages in conduct in good 

faith reliance upon an advisory opinion 

issued under § 2636.103, an employee 

who engages in any conduct in violation 

of the prohibitions, limitations, and 

restrictions contained in this part may 

be subject to civil action under 5 U.S.C. 

app. 504(a) and a civil monetary penalty 

of not more than the amounts set in 

Table 1 to this section, as adjusted in 

accordance with the inflation 

adjustment procedures prescribed in the 

Federal Civil Penalties Inflation 

Adjustment Act of 1990, as amended, or 

the amount of the compensation the 

individual received for the prohibited 

conduct, whichever is greater. 

TABLE 1 TO § 2636.104 

Date of violation Penalty 

Violation occurring between Sept. 29, 

1999 and Nov. 2, 2015 .......................... $11,000 

Violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015 ...... 22,021 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–00795 Filed 1–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6345–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2021–0665; Project 

Identifier AD–2021–00270–T; Amendment 

39–21848; AD 2021–25–05] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is superseding 

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2017–23– 

02, which applied to certain The Boeing 

Company Model 737–200, –200C, –300, 

–400, and –500 series airplanes. AD 

2017–23–02 required repetitive 

inspections, replacement, and 

applicable on-condition actions for 

certain fuselage crown skin panels. This 

AD was prompted by an evaluation by 

the design approval holder indicating 

that the fuselage crown skin panels are 

subject to widespread fatigue damage. 

This AD retains the actions in AD 2017– 

23–02, revises certain airplane 

configurations and inspection locations, 

and adds airplanes to the applicability. 

The FAA is issuing this AD to address 

the unsafe condition on these products. 

DATES: This AD is effective February 22, 

2022. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of February 22, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this final rule, contact 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes, 

Attention: Contractual & Data Services 

(C&DS), 2600 Westminster Blvd., MC 

110–SK57, Seal Beach, CA 90740–5600; 

telephone 562–797–1717; internet 

https://www.myboeingfleet.com. You 

may view this service information at the 

FAA, Airworthiness Products Section, 

Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South 

216th St., Des Moines, WA. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195. 

It is also available at https://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2021– 

0665. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket at 

https://www.regulations.gov by 

searching for and locating Docket No. 

FAA–2021–0665; or in person at Docket 

Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. The AD docket contains this 

final rule, any comments received, and 

other information. The address for 

Docket Operations is U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Guo, Aerospace Engineer, 

Airframe Section, FAA, Los Angeles 

ACO Branch, 3960 Paramount 

Boulevard, Lakewood, CA 90712–4137; 

phone: 562–627–5357; email: 

james.guo@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FAA issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to supersede AD 2017–23–02, 

Amendment 39–19096 (82 FR 52835, 

November 15, 2017) (AD 2017–23–02). 

AD 2017–23–02 applied to certain The 

Boeing Company Model 737–200, 

–200C, –300, –400, and –500 series 

airplanes. The NPRM published in the 

Federal Register on August 24, 2021 (86 

FR 47260). The NPRM was prompted by 

an evaluation by the design approval 

holder indicating that the fuselage 

crown skin panels are subject to 

widespread fatigue damage. In the 

NPRM, the FAA proposed to retain the 

actions in AD 2017–23–02, revise 

certain airplane configurations and 

inspection locations, and add airplanes 

to the applicability. The FAA is issuing 

this AD to address cracking in the 

fuselage crown skin panels. Multiple 

adjacent cracks in the fuselage crown 

skin could link up and lead to 

decompression or loss of structural 

integrity of the airplane. 

Discussion of Final Airworthiness 

Directive 

Comments 

The FAA received a comment from 

one commenter. The following presents 

the comment received on the NPRM and 

the FAA’s response. 

Effect of Winglets on Accomplishment 

of the Proposed Actions 

Aviation Partners Boeing stated that 

the installation of winglets per 

Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) 

ST01219SE does not affect the actions 

specified in the proposed AD. 

The FAA concurs with the 

commenter. The FAA has redesignated 

paragraph (c) of the proposed AD as 

paragraph (c)(1) of this AD and added 

paragraph (c)(2) to this AD to state that 

installation of STC ST01219SE does not 

affect the ability to accomplish the 

actions required by this AD. Therefore, 


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