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. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

31273 

Vol. 75, No. 106 

Thursday, June 3, 2010 

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION 

2 CFR Part 2339 and 20 CFR Part 439 

[Docket No. SSA–2009–0054] 

RIN 0960–AH14 

Social Security Administration 

Implementation of OMB Guidance for 

Drug-Free Workplace Requirements 

AGENCY: Social Security Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) is consolidating all 

Federal regulations concerning drug-free 

workplace requirements for recipients of 

financial assistance. Accordingly, we 

are removing our regulation on this 

subject currently located within title 20 

of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 

and issuing a new regulation to adopt 

the OMB guidance at 2 CFR part 182. 

The new regulation makes no 

substantive change to our policy or 

procedures for a drug-free workplace. 

DATES: This direct to final rule is 

effective on August 2, 2010 without 

further action. Submit comments by July 

6, 2010 on any unintended changes this 

action makes in our policies and 

procedures for drug-free workplace. All 

comments on unintended changes will 

be considered and, if warranted, we will 

revise the rule. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of three methods—Internet, 

fax, or mail. Do not submit the same 

comments multiple times or by more 

than one method. Regardless of which 

method you choose, please state that 

your comments refer to Docket No. 

SSA–2009–0054 so that we may 

associate your comments with the 

correct regulation. 

Caution: You should be careful to include 

in your comments only information that you 

wish to make publicly available. We strongly 

urge you not to include in your comments 

any personal information, such as Social 

Security numbers or medical information. 

1. Internet: We strongly recommend 

that you submit your comment via the 

Internet. Please visit the Federal 

eRulemaking portal at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Use the Search 

function to find docket number SSA– 

2009–0054. The system will issue a 

tracking number to confirm your 

submission. You will not be able to 

view your comment immediately 

because we must post each comment 

manually. It may take up to a week for 

your comment to be viewable. 

2. Fax: Fax comments to (410) 966– 

2830. 

3. Mail: Mail your comments to the 

Office of Regulations, Social Security 

Administration, 107 Altmeyer Building, 

6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, 

Maryland 21235–6401. 

Comments are available for public 

viewing on the Federal eRulemaking 

portal at http://www.regulations.gov or 

in person, during regular business 

hours, by arranging with the contact 

person identified below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fran 

O. Thomas, Office of Regulations, Social 

Security Administration, 6401 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235–6401, 

(410) 966–9822. For information on 

eligibility or filing for benefits, call our 

national toll-free number, 1–800–772– 

1213 or TTY 1–800–325–0778, or visit 

our Internet site, Social Security Online, 

at http://www.socialsecurity.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Version 

The electronic file of this document is 

available on the date of publication in 

the Federal Register at http:// 

www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html. 

Background 

Congress passed the Drug-Free 

Workplace Act of 1988 as part of 

omnibus drug legislation. Public Law 

100–690, title V, Subtitle D; 41 U.S.C. 

701, et seq. This statute requires that 

recipients of grants and parties to 

cooperative agreements must provide a 

drug-free workplace. Federal agencies 

issued an interim final common rule to 

implement the act as it applied to 

grants. 54 FR 4946, January 31, 1989. 

The agencies issued a final common 

rule after consideration of public 

comments [55 FR 21681, May 25, 1990]. 

The agencies proposed an update to 

the drug-free workplace common rule in 

2002 [67 FR 3266, January 23, 2002] and 

finalized it in 2003 [68 FR 66534, 

November 26, 2003]. The updated 

common rule was redrafted in plain 

language. Based on an amendment to 

the drug-free workplace requirements in 

41 U.S.C. 702 [Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, 

title VIII, Sec. 809, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 

Stat. 1838], the update also allowed 

multiple enforcement options from 

which agencies could select. 

When it established 2 CFR as the new 

central location for OMB guidance and 

agency implementing regulations 

concerning grants and agreements [69 

FR 26276, May 11, 2004], OMB 

announced its intention to replace 

common rules with OMB guidance that 

agencies could adopt in brief 

regulations. OMB began that process by 

proposing [70 FR 51863, August 31, 

2005] and finalizing [71 FR 66431, 

November 15, 2006] Government-wide 

guidance on non-procurement 

suspension and debarment in 2 CFR 

part 180. 

As the next step in that process, OMB 

proposed for comment [73 FR 55776, 

September 26, 2008] and finalized [74 

FR 28149, June 15, 2009] Governmentwide guidance with policies and 

procedures to implement drug-free 

workplace requirements for financial 

assistance. The guidance requires each 

agency to replace the common rule on 

drug-free workplace requirements that 

the agency previously issued in its own 

CFR title with a brief regulation in 2 

CFR adopting the Government-wide 

policies and procedures. One advantage 

of this approach is that it reduces the 

total number of drug-free workplace 

regulations. A second advantage is that 

it collocates OMB’s guidance and all of 

the agencies’ implementing regulations 

in 2 CFR. 

The Current Regulatory Actions 

As the OMB guidance requires, we are 

taking two regulatory actions. First, we 

are removing the drug-free workplace 

common rule from 20 CFR part 439. 

Second, to replace the common rule, we 

are issuing a brief regulation in 2 CFR 

part 2339 to adopt the Government-wide 

policies and procedures in the OMB 

guidance. 

Invitation To Comment 

This regulatory action is solely an 

administrative simplification and does 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES
31274 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 106 / Thursday, June 3, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

not make any substantive change in our 

policies or procedures. While we invite 

your comments on this action, we will 

not revisit substantive issues that were 

resolved during the development of the 

final common rule in 2003. Please limit 

your comments to any specific 

unintended changes in substantive 

content that the new regulation would 

make. 

Regulatory Procedures 

We follow the Administrative 

Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking 

procedures specified in 5 U.S.C. 553 in 

the development of our regulations. 

205(a), 702(a)(5), and 1631(d)(1) of the 

Act, 42 U.S.C. 405(a), 902(a)(5), 

1383(d)(1). The APA provides 

exceptions to its prior notice and public 

comment procedures when an agency 

finds there is good cause for dispensing 

with such procedures on the basis that 

they are impracticable, unnecessary, or 

contrary to the public interest. 

This final rule is solely an 

administrative simplification that makes 

no substantive changes to our policy or 

procedures for drug-free workplace. We 

therefore believe that the rule is 

noncontroversial and do not expect to 

receive any adverse comments, although 

we are inviting comments on any 

unintended substantive change this rule 

may make. 

Accordingly, we find that the 

solicitation of public comments on this 

final rule is unnecessary and that good 

cause exists under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) 

and 553(d) to make this rule effective on 

August 2, 2010. If any comment on 

unintended effects is received, we will 

consider it and, if warranted, publish a 

timely revision of the rule. 

Executive Order 12866 

We have consulted with OMB and 

determined that this final rule does not 

meet the criteria for a significant 

regulatory action under Executive Order 

12866 and is not subject to OMB review. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 

(5 U.S.C. 605(b) 

This final rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Therefore, we did not prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995 (Sec. 

202, Pub. L. 104–4) 

This final rule does not contain a 

Federal mandate that will result in the 

expenditure by State, local, or tribal 

governments, in aggregate, or by the 

private sector of $100 million or more 

in any one year. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C., Chapter 35) 

These final rules contain a public 

reporting requirement in the regulation 

section listed below. Since the inception 

of these rules in 1988, we have not 

received any notifications from any of 

our 167 grantees; therefore, we do not 

expect to receive any notifications in the 

future. However, since there is a public 

reporting requirement that affects the 

grantees, we inserted a 1-hour 

placeholder burden for this section. 

Regulation section Description of public reporting 

requirement 

Total 

number of 

grantees 

Number of 

respondents 

(annually) 

Frequency of 

response 

Average 

burden per 

response 

(minutes) 

Estimated 

annual burden 

(hours) 

2 CFR 2339.225 .............. A recipient other than an individual must notify the Commissioner of Social Security 

about an employee’s conviction for a criminal drug offense.

167 ........................ ........................ ........................ 1 hour 

We are soliciting comments on the 

burden estimate; the need for the 

information; its practical utility; ways to 

enhance its quality, utility, and clarity; 

and ways to minimize the burden on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated techniques or other forms of 

information technology. If you would 

like to submit comments, please send 

them to the following locations: 

Office of Management and Budget, 

Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax Number: 

202–395–6974, E-mail address: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Social Security Administration, Attn: 

Reports Clearance Officer, 1333 Annex, 

6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 

21235–0001, Fax Number: 410–965– 

6400, E-mail: OPLM.RCO@ssa.gov. 

You can submit comments until 

August 2, 2010, which is 60 days after 

the publication of this notice. However, 

your comments will be most useful if 

you send them to SSA by July 6, 2010, 

which is 30 days after publication. To 

receive a copy of the OMB clearance 

package, contact the SSA Reports 

Clearance Officer using any of the above 

contact methods. We prefer to receive 

comments by e-mail or fax. 

Federalism (Executive Order 13132) 

This final rule does not have 

Federalism implications, as set forth in 

Executive Order 13132. It will not have 

substantial direct effects on the States, 

on the relationship between the Federal 

Government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

List of Subjects in 2 CFR Part 2339 and 

20 CFR Part 439 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Drug abuse, Grant programs, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Michael J. Astrue, 

Commissioner of Social Security. 

■ Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

in the preamble, and under the 

authority of 5 U.S.C. 301, SSA is 

amending the Code of Federal 

Regulations, title 2, Subtitle B, Chapter 

XXIII, and title 20, chapter III, part 439, 

as follows: 

Title 2—Grants and Agreements 

■ 1. Add part 2339 in Subtitle B, 

Chapter XXIII of 2 CFR, to read as 

follows: 

PART 2339—REQUIREMENTS FOR 

DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE 

(FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) 

Sec. 

2339.10 What does this part do? 

2339.20 Does this part apply to me? 

2339.30 What policies and procedures must 

I follow? 

Subpart A—[Reserved] 

Subpart B—Requirements for Recipients 

Other Than Individuals 

2339.225 Who in the Social Security 

Administration does a recipient other 

than an individual notify about a 

criminal drug conviction? 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 106 / Thursday, June 3, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 31275 

Subpart C—[Reserved] 

Subpart D—Responsibilities of Agency 

Awarding Officials 

2339.400 What method do I use as an 

agency awarding official to obtain a 

recipient’s agreement to comply with the 

OMB guidance? 

Subpart E—Violations of this Part and 

Consequences 

2339.500 Who in the Social Security 

Administration determines that a 

recipient other than an individual 

violated the requirements of this part? 

Subpart F—[Reserved] 

Authority: 41 U.S.C. 701–707. 

§ 2339.10 What does this part do? 

This part requires that the award and 

administration of Social Security 

Administration (SSA) grants and 

cooperative agreements comply with 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) guidance implementing the 

portion of the Drug-Free Workplace Act 

of 1988 (41 U.S.C. 701–707, as 

amended, hereafter referred to as ‘‘the 

Act’’) that applies to grants. It thereby— 

(a) Gives regulatory effect to the OMB 

guidance (subparts A through F of 2 

CFR part 182) for SSA’s grants and 

cooperative agreements; and 

(b) Establishes SSA’s policies and 

procedures for compliance with the Act 

that are the same as those of other 

Federal agencies, in conformance with 

the requirement in 41 U.S.C. 705 for 

Government-wide implementing 

regulations. 

§ 2339.20 Does this part apply to me? 

This part and, through this part, 

pertinent portions of the OMB guidance 

in Subparts A through F of 2 CFR part 

182 (see table at 2 CFR 182.115(b)) 

apply to you if you are— 

(a) A recipient of an SSA grant or 

cooperative agreement; or 

(b) An SSA awarding official. 

§ 2339.30 What policies and procedures 

must I follow? 

(a) General. You must follow the 

policies and procedures specified in 

applicable sections of the OMB 

guidance in Subparts A through F of 2 

CFR part 182, as implemented by this 

part. 

(b) Specific sections of OMB guidance 

that this part supplements. In 

implementing the OMB guidance in 2 

CFR part 182, this part supplements 

four sections of the guidance, as shown 

in the following table. 

Section of OMB guidance in 2 CFR 

Section in this 

part where 

supplemented, 

2 CFR 

What the supplementation clarifies 

(1) 182.225(a) .................................................................. § 2339.225 Who in SSA a recipient other than an individual must notify if an employee is convicted for a violation of a criminal drug statute in the 

workplace. 

(2) 182.300(b) .................................................................. § 2339.300 Who in SSA a recipient who is an individual must notify if he or she 

is convicted of a criminal drug offense resulting from a violation occurring during the conduct of any award activity. 

(3) 182.500 ...................................................................... § 2339.500 Who in SSA is authorized to determine that a recipient other than an 

individual is in violation of the requirements of 2 CFR part 182, as 

implemented by this part. 

(4) 182.505 ...................................................................... § 2339.505 Who in SSA is authorized to determine that a recipient who is an individual is in violation of the requirements of 2 CFR part 182, as 

implemented by this part. 

(c) Sections of the OMB guidance that 

this part does not supplement. Our 

policies and procedures are the same as 

those in the OMB guidance for any 

section not included in the table in 

paragraph (b) of this section. 

Subpart A—[Reserved.] 

Subpart B—Requirements for 

Recipients Other Than Individuals 

§ 2339.225 Who in the Social Security 

Administration does a recipient other than 

an individual notify about a criminal drug 

conviction? 

A recipient other than an individual 

that is required under 2 CFR 182.225(a) 

to notify Federal agencies about an 

employee’s conviction for a criminal 

drug offense must notify the 

Commissioner of Social Security or 

designee. 

Subpart C—[Reserved.] 

Subpart D—Responsibilities of Agency 

Awarding Officials 

§ 2339.400 What method do I use as an 

agency awarding official to obtain a 

recipient’s agreement to comply with the 

OMB guidance? 

You must include the following term 

or condition in the award: 

Drug-free workplace. You, as the 

recipient, must comply with drug-free 

workplace requirements in Subpart B, 

which adopts the Government-wide 

implementation (2 CFR part 182) of sec. 

5152–5158 of the Drug-Free Workplace 

Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100–690, Title V, 

Subtitle D; 41 U.S.C. 701–707). 

Subpart E—Violations of this Part and 

Consequences 

§ 2339.500 Who in the Social Security 

Administration determines that a recipient 

other than an individual violated the 

requirements of this part? 

The Commissioner of Social Security 

or designee will make the 

determination. 

Subpart F—[Reserved] 

Title 20—Employees’ Benefits 

Chapter III—Social Security 

Administration 

PART 439—[REMOVED] 

■ 2. Remove Part 439. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13093 Filed 6–2–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4191–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Parts 916 and 917 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0091; FV10–916/917– 

2 FR] 

Nectarines and Peaches Grown in 

California; Increased Assessment 

Rates 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES