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

29931 

Vol. 86, No. 106 

Friday, June 4, 2021 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL 

5 CFR Chapter CII 

RIN 3209–AA53 

Supplemental Standards of Ethical 

Conduct for Employees of the U.S. 

Office of Special Counsel 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Special Counsel 

(OSC). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Special 

Counsel, with the concurrence of the 

U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), 

is finalizing a regulation for OSC 

employees that supplements the 

executive branch Standards of Ethical 

Conduct issued by OGE. The 

supplemental regulation requires OSC 

employees to seek prior approval before 

engaging in outside employment or 

activity. 

DATES: This final rule is effective June 

4, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Heidi R. Morrison, Alternate Designated 

Agency Ethics Official, U.S. Office of 

Special Counsel, by email at frliaison@

osc.gov or by telephone at (202) 804– 

7000. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On July 24, 2020, OSC, with OGE’s 

concurrence, published a proposed rule 

in the Federal Register, 85 FR 44789, 

proposing to adopt agency specific 

supplemental regulations requiring OSC 

employees to obtain prior approval 

before engaging in outside employment 

or activity. The proposed rule provided 

a 30-day comment period, which ended 

on August 24, 2020. During the 

comment period OSC received one 

comment from a member of the public. 

II. Analysis of Comment Received 

The comment received strongly 

supported robust regulations requiring 

OSC employees be held ‘‘to the highest 

ethical standards,’’ but did not 

otherwise address the substance of or 

suggest changes to the proposed rule. 

Therefore, for the reasons detailed in the 

preamble of the proposed rule, OSC, 

with the concurrence of OGE, is issuing 

this rule in final without changes. 

III. Matters of Regulatory Procedure 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 

This action is taken under the Special 

Counsel’s authority at 5 U.S.C. 1212(e) 

to publish regulations in the Federal 

Register. 

Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13771 

This rule is not a significant rule for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. This rule is 

not subject to the requirements of 

Executive Order 13771 because this rule 

results in no more than de minimis 

costs. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

As required by the RFA, OSC certifies 

that this regulation will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) 

This rule will have no physical 

impact upon the environment and 

therefore will not require any further 

review under the NEPA. 

Congressional Review Act (CRA) 

This rule relates to agency personnel 

and does not substantially affect the 

rights or obligations of non-agency 

parties. Therefore, it does not meet the 

definition of a ‘‘rule’’ at 5 U.S.C. 804 

and is not subject to the procedures of 

the CRA. 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

OSC has determined that the PRA 

does not apply because this regulation 

does not contain any information 

collection requirements that require the 

approval of the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 10201 

Conflict of interests, Government 

employees. 

Approved: May 27, 2021. 

Travis G. Millsaps, 

Deputy Special Counsel for Public Policy, U.S. 

Office of Special Counsel. 

Emory Rounds, 

Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the U.S. Office of Special 

Counsel, with the concurrence of OGE, 

is amending title 5 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations by adding a new 

chapter CII, consisting of part 10201, to 

read as follows: 

Title 5—Administrative Personnel 

Chapter CII—U.S. Office of Special Counsel 

PART 10201—SUPPLEMENTAL 

STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT 

FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE U.S. 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL 

Sec. 

10201.101 General. 

10201.102 Prior approval for outside 

employment or activity. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 1212(e); 5 U.S.C. 7301; 

5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government Act of 

1978); 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; 5 CFR 

2635.105, 2635.803. 

§ 10201.101 General. 

(a) Purpose. In accordance with 5 CFR 

2635.105, the regulations in this part 

apply to employees of the U.S. Office of 

Special Counsel (OSC) and supplement 

the Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch at 5 

CFR part 2635. 

(b) Other regulations, guidance, and 

procedures. In addition to the standards 

in 5 CFR part 2635 and this part, all 

OSC employees are required to comply 

with implementing guidance and 

procedures issued by OSC in 

accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105(c). 

OSC employees are also subject to all 

other government-wide regulations 

concerning executive branch ethics 

including without limitation, financial 

disclosure regulations contained in 5 

CFR part 2634, regulations concerning 

financial interests contained in 5 CFR 

part 2640, post-employment conflict of 

interest restrictions contained in 5 CFR 

part 2641, outside earned income 

limitations and employment and 

affiliation restrictions applicable to 

certain noncareer employees contained 

in 5 CFR part 2636, and the regulations 

concerning executive branch employee 

29932 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

1 In the NOPR, DOE also responded to a petition 

for rulemaking submitted by the New Civil Liberties 

Alliance (NCLA) asking DOE to initiate a 

rulemaking to prohibit any DOE component from 

issuing, relying on, or defending improper agency 

guidance. DOE granted the petition in part and 

denied it in part. (85 FR 39497) 

responsibilities and conduct contained 

in 5 CFR part 735. 

§ 10201.102 Prior approval for outside 

employment or activity. 

(a) General requirement. Before 

engaging in any outside employment or 

activity, whether or not for 

compensation, an OSC employee must 

obtain written approval from the 

Designated Agency Ethics Official 

(DAEO) or the Alternate Designated 

Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO), except 

to the extent that OSC has issued an 

internal instruction pursuant to 

paragraph (d) of this section exempting 

certain employment or activities from 

this requirement. 

Note 1 to paragraph (a). 18 U.S.C. 

203(d) and 205(e) require special 

approval for certain representational 

activities in claims against the Federal 

Government and other matters affecting 

the interests of the government. 

(b) Definition of ‘‘outside employment 

or activity’’. For purposes of this 

section, ‘‘outside employment or 

activity’’ means any form of non-Federal 

employment or business relationship 

involving the provision of services by 

the employee, whether for 

compensation or not for compensation. 

It includes, but is not limited to, serving 

as an officer, director, employee, agent, 

attorney, consultant, contractor, general 

partner, trustee, or teacher. The 

definition does not include 

participation in the activities of a 

nonprofit charitable, religious, 

professional, social, fraternal, 

educational, recreational, public service, 

or civic organization unless such 

activities involve the provision of 

professional services or advice, or are 

for compensation other than 

reimbursement of expenses. 

Note 2 to paragraph (b). Employees 

who wish to engage in compensated 

speaking or writing in a personal 

capacity are subject to, among other 

things, the provisions of 5 CFR 2635.703 

(concerning use of nonpublic 

information) and 5 CFR 2635.807 

(concerning receipt of compensation for 

teaching, speaking, and writing related 

to one’s duties), and are encouraged to 

seek guidance from an agency ethics 

official before engaging in such 

activities. Certain covered non-career 

employees are also subject to further 

restrictions on receipt of outside 

compensation pursuant to section 502 of 

the Ethics in Government Act (5 U.S.C. 

app.). In addition, OSC attorneys should 

consult their applicable state bar rules 

of professional conduct. 

(c) Standard for approval. Approval 

shall be granted by the DAEO or 

ADAEO upon a determination that the 

outside employment or activity is not 

expected to involve conduct prohibited 

by statute or Federal regulation, 

including 5 CFR part 2635. 

(d) Implementation guidance. The 

DAEO or ADAEO may issue internal 

instructions governing the submission 

of requests for approval of outside 

employment or activity. The 

instructions may exempt categories of 

employment or activities from the prior 

approval requirement of this section 

based on a determination that those 

categories generally would be approved 

and are not likely to involve prohibited 

conduct or create an appearance of lack 

of impartiality. 

[FR Doc. 2021–11720 Filed 6–3–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7405–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 1061 

RIN 1990–AA50 

Procedures for the Issuance of 

Guidance Documents 

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with an 

Executive Order issued by the President 

on January 20, 2021, and for the reasons 

explained in the preamble of this final 

rule, the Department of Energy (DOE or 

‘‘the Department’’) withdraws the 

Department’s final rule on guidance 

implementing the Executive Order 

‘‘Promoting the Rule of Law Through 

Improved Agency Guidance 

Documents.’’ 

DATES: As of June 4, 2021, the final rule 

published January 6, 2021 at 86 FR 451, 

effective February 5, 2021, delayed 

February 2, 2021, until March 21, 2021, 

at 86 FR 7799, and delayed March 19, 

2021, until June 17, 2021, at 86 FR 

14807, is withdrawn. 

ADDRESSES: The docket for this 

rulemaking, which includes Federal 

Register notices, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at https://

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the https://

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

some documents listed in the index, 

such as those containing information 

that is exempt from public disclosure, 

may not be publicly available. 

The docket web page can be found at 

https://www.regulations.gov/ associated 

with RIN 1990–AA50. The docket web 

page contains simple instructions on 

how to access all documents, including 

public comments, in the docket. See the 

section on Public Participation for 

information on how to submit 

comments through https://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Matthew Ring, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

Forrestal Building, GC–33, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585, (202) 586–2555, Email: 

Guidance@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On July 1, 2020, DOE published a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) 

in which DOE proposed a new part 1061 

in title 10 of the Code of Federal 

Regulations to implement the 

requirements of Executive Order 13891, 

‘‘Promoting the Rule of Law Through 

Improved Agency Guidance 

Documents’’ (84 FR 55235).1 (85 FR 

39495) After considering comments 

from stakeholders on the NOPR, DOE 

published a final rule, on January 6, 

2021, establishing new 10 CFR part 

1061. (86 FR 451) As required by 

Executive Order 13891, part 1061 

contained internal DOE requirements 

for the contents of guidance documents, 

procedures for providing notice of, and 

soliciting public comment on, certain 

guidance documents, and procedures 

for the public to petition for the 

issuance, withdrawal or revision of 

guidance documents. 

On January 20, 2021, the President 

issued Executive Order 13992, 

‘‘Revocation of Certain Executive Orders 

Concerning Federal Regulation’’ (86 FR 

7049), which, among other things, 

revoked Executive Order 13891 and 

directed agencies to promptly take steps 

to rescind any orders, rules, regulations, 

guidelines, or policies, or portions 

thereof, implementing or enforcing the 

Executive Order 13891. Executive Order 

13992 states that it is the policy of the 

Administration to use available tools to 

confront the urgent challenges facing 

the Nation, including the coronavirus 

disease 2019 (COVID–19) pandemic, 

economic recovery, racial justice, and 

climate change. To tackle these 

challenges effectively, executive 

departments and agencies must be 

equipped with the flexibility to use 

robust regulatory action to address 

national priorities.