This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

3182 

Vol. 80, No. 14 

Thursday, January 22, 2015 

OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL 

5 CFR Part 1800 

Revision of Regulations To Allow 

Federal Contractors, Subcontractors, 

and Grantees To File Whistleblower 

Disclosures With the U.S. Office of 

Special Counsel 

AGENCY: U.S. Office of Special Counsel. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Special 

Counsel (OSC) proposes revising its 

regulations to accept covered 

disclosures of wrongdoing from 

employees working under a contract or 

grant with the Federal government. 

DATES: Written or electronic comments 

must be received on or before March 23, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: lterry@osc.gov. Include 

‘‘NPRM’’ in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Fax: (202) 254–3711. 

• Mail: Office of General Counsel, 

1730 M Street NW., Suite 218, 

Washington, DC 20036. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of 

General Counsel, 1730 M Street NW., 

Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

V. Terry, General Counsel, U.S. Office of 

Special Counsel, by telephone at (202) 

254–3600, by facsimile at (202) 254– 

3711, or by email at lterry@osc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 

Office of Special Counsel (OSC) 

proposes to revise its regulations to 

expand who may file a whistleblower 

disclosure with OSC. This revision will 

allow employees of Federal contractors, 

subcontractors, and grantees to disclose 

wrongdoing within the Federal 

government if they work at or on behalf 

of a U.S. government component for 

which OSC has jurisdiction to accept 

disclosures. 

Congress implemented the Civil 

Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA), 

Public Law 95–454, 92 Stat. 1111, and 

the Whistleblower Protection Act 

(WPA), Public Law 101–12, 103 Stat. 17, 

codified at 5 U.S.C. 1201, et seq., in 

order to encourage Federal employees to 

report government fraud, waste, and 

abuse and to provide protections for 

Federal employees who blow the 

whistle on government wrongdoing. 

Title 5, Section 1213 of the U.S. Code 

provides that Federal employees, former 

employees, or applicants for Federal 

employment may disclose to OSC 

information that they reasonably believe 

shows a violation of any law, rule, or 

regulation; gross mismanagement; a 

gross waste of funds; an abuse of 

authority; or a substantial and specific 

danger to public health or safety. 

Hence, since 1979, Congress has 

deputized Federal employees, as 

insiders, to safely disclose wrongdoing 

they witness or experience in the 

workplace. The Federal workforce has 

changed significantly since the passage 

of the CSRA, notably in the 

government’s increased reliance on 

contractors. In the modern workforce, 

employees of contractors, 

subcontractors, and grantees 

(collectively ‘‘contractors’’) often work 

alongside Federal employees, having 

similar if not identical duties. Thus 

contractors are similarly situated to 

observe or experience the same type of 

wrongdoing as are Federal employees. 

According contractors a safe channel to 

report wrongdoing within the 

government advances Congress’s 

purpose in enacting the CSRA and 

WPA. Moreover, Congress recently 

extended protection against retaliation 

to government contractors who make 

whistleblower disclosures, thereby 

signaling its encouragement of such 

disclosures. OSC deems such protection 

against retaliation a precondition to 

asking insiders to risk their careers to 

report wrongdoing. 

The National Defense Authorization 

Act of 2013 (NDAA), passed by 

Congress and signed into law by the 

President, established a ‘‘pilot program’’ 

to enhance contractor protection from 

reprisal for a disclosure of information 

that the contractor reasonably believes 

is evidence of gross mismanagement of 

a Federal contract or grant; a gross waste 

of Federal funds; an abuse of authority 

relating to a Federal contract or grant; a 

substantial and specific danger to public 

health or safety; or a violation of law, 

rule or regulation related to a Federal 

contract or grant. See Public Law 113– 

1421, 41 U.S.C. 4712. The NDAA 

closely tracks the language of the WPA 

concerning the type of information that 

may be disclosed and covers disclosures 

made to, among others, an ‘‘authorized 

official of the Department of Justice or 

other law enforcement agency.’’ 41 

U.S.C. 4712(a)(2)(E). As a law 

enforcement agency, and pursuant to its 

authority under 5 U.S.C. 1213, OSC may 

receive disclosures from employees of 

contractors who are covered by the 

NDAA. The disclosure must concern 

wrongdoing in the government as 

described in the NDAA. 

Under the proposed rule, OSC may 

receive disclosures from current and 

former contractors who allege retaliation 

for making a protected disclosure under 

41 U.S.C. 4712, if they work or worked 

on behalf of a U.S. government agency 

in which Federal employees are 

themselves eligible to file disclosures. 

The proposed rule will therefore limit 

OSC’s review of disclosures by Federal 

contractors to those who are both 

covered by the NDAA and working at 

agencies over which OSC already has 

jurisdiction pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 1213. 

For example, OSC lacks jurisdiction 

over employees of the U.S. Postal 

Service and, therefore, will not have 

jurisdiction over disclosures made by 

contractors working for the U.S. Postal 

Service. See OSC’s Web site at 

www.osc.gov for a complete listing of 

agencies over which OSC does not have 

jurisdiction. 

As with disclosures made by Federal 

employees pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 1213, 

any disclosure made by a contractor that 

involves foreign intelligence or 

counterintelligence information that is 

specifically prohibited by law or by 

Executive Order will be transmitted to 

the National Security Advisor, the 

Permanent Select Committee on 

Intelligence of the House of 

Representatives, and the Select 

Committee on Intelligence of the U.S. 

Senate. 5 U.S.C. 1213(j). The 

transmission will terminate OSC’s 

involvement with the disclosure. 

Once a disclosure is received from an 

eligible contractor, OSC will evaluate 

the information and make a 

determination as to whether there is a 

‘‘substantial likelihood’’ that it discloses 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 3183 

wrongdoing pursuant to the provisions 

of section 1213. A contractor working at 

a Federal facility, alongside Federal 

employees and under the line 

supervision of a Federal employee, is 

virtually in an identical posture to a 

Federal employee. As such, his/her 

disclosure will likely carry a 

comparable degree of reliability as that 

of a Federal employee. On the other 

hand, if a contractor’s situation differs 

greatly from that of a Federal employee, 

it is less likely that OSC will be able to 

find that the contractor has credible 

information about government 

wrongdoing needed to make a 

substantial likelihood finding. For 

example, an off-site contractor, or one 

not working under Federal line 

supervision, is much less likely to 

directly encounter government 

wrongdoing and, therefore, may not 

have sufficiently reliable information. 

For that reason, to meet the ‘‘substantial 

likelihood’’ threshold, he or she may be 

required to produce compelling 

documentary information establishing 

government wrongdoing. 

If OSC determines that a disclosure 

meets the ‘‘substantial likelihood’’ 

threshold, the Special Counsel will refer 

the matter to the relevant agency head, 

who will be required to conduct an 

investigation into the disclosure. The 

identity of a contractor who makes a 

disclosure to OSC will not be revealed 

without his or her consent, unless the 

Special Counsel determines that there is 

an imminent danger to public health or 

safety, or an imminent violation of 

criminal law. OSC does not consider 

anonymous disclosures. Any disclosure 

submitted anonymously will be referred 

to the Office of Inspector General at the 

appropriate agency. 

Contractors who wish to report 

government wrongdoing to OSC under 

this rule will be encouraged to use OSC 

Form 12, which is available at OSC’s 

Web site, www.osc.gov. Contractors who 

wish to report a prohibited personnel 

practice, including retaliation for 

whistleblowing, will be required do so 

through the NDAA’s pilot program 

delineated at 41 U.S.C. 4712. This rule 

will remain in effect as long as the 

provisions of the NDAA’s ‘‘pilot 

program’’ are in force. 

Procedural Determinations 

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. Interested persons are invited 

to submit written comments on this 

proposed amendatory rulemaking. The 

comments will be carefully considered 

and any appropriate changes will be 

made before a final rule is adopted and 

published in the Federal Register. 

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory 

Planning and Review): OSC does not 

anticipate that that this proposed rule 

will have significant economic impact, 

raise novel issues, and/or have any 

other significant impacts. Thus, this 

proposed rule is not a significant 

regulatory action under 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866 and does not require the 

Office of Management and Budget to 

conduct an assessment of potential costs 

and benefits under 6(a)(3) of the order. 

Congressional Review Act (CRA): OSC 

has determined that this proposed rule 

is not a major rule under the 

Congressional Review Act as it is 

unlikely to result in an annual effect on 

the economy of $100 million or more; or 

to result in a major increase in costs or 

prices for consumers, individual 

industries, Federal, state, or local 

government agencies or geographic 

regions; or to have a significant adverse 

effect on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, or innovation 

or on the ability of U.S.-based 

enterprises to compete in domestic and 

export markets. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA): The 

Special Counsel certifies that this 

proposed rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities because it 

primarily affects wrongdoing in the 

Federal government. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA): This proposed revision does 

not impose any Federal mandates on 

State, local, or tribal governments, or on 

the private sector within the meaning of 

the UMRA. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA): This proposed rule will have 

no physical impact upon the 

environment and, therefore, will not 

require any further review under NEPA. 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA): This 

proposed rule does not impose any new 

recordkeeping, reporting, or other 

information collection requirements on 

the public. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): 

This proposed revision does not have 

new Federalism implications under 

Executive Order 13132. 

Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice 

Reform): This proposed rule meets 

applicable standards of 3(a) and 3(b)(2) 

of Executive Order 12988. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 1800 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government employees, 

Investigations, Law enforcement, 

Whistleblowing. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, OSC proposes to amend 5 

CFR part 1800 as follows: 

PART 1800—FILING OF COMPLAINTS 

AND ALLEGATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 5 CFR 

part1800 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Section 1800.2 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 1800.2 Filing disclosures of information. 

(a) General. OSC is authorized by law 

(at 5 U.S.C. 1213) to provide an 

independent and secure channel for use 

by current or former Federal employees 

and applicants for Federal employment 

in disclosing information that they 

reasonably believe shows wrongdoing 

by a Federal agency. Additionally, OSC 

may receive disclosures of wrongdoing 

from current and former Federal 

contractors, subcontractors, and 

grantees (collectively, ‘‘contractors’’) 

that are cognizable under 41 U.S.C. 

4712. Upon receipt of a disclosure, 

whether from a current or former 

Federal employee or applicant or from 

a contractor or former contractor, OSC 

must determine whether there is a 

substantial likelihood that the 

information discloses a violation of any 

law, rule, or regulation; gross 

mismanagement; gross waste of funds; 

abuse of authority; or a substantial and 

specific danger to public health or 

safety. If OSC does make a substantial 

likelihood determination, it shall refer 

the information to the agency head 

involved for investigation and a written 

report on the findings to the Special 

Counsel, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 1213(c). 

The law does not authorize OSC to 

investigate the subject of a disclosure. 

(b) Procedures for filing disclosures. 

Current or former employees, applicants 

for Federal employment, and current 

and former contractors, subcontractors, 

and grantees whose disclosures are 

cognizable under 41 U.S.C. 4712 may 

file a disclosure of the type of 

information described in paragraph (a) 

of this section with OSC. Such 

disclosures must be filed in writing 

(including electronically—see paragraph 

(b)(3)(iii) of this section). 

(1) Filers are encouraged to use Form 

OSC–12 (‘‘Disclosure of Information’’) to 

file a disclosure of the type of 

information described in paragraph (a) 

of this section with OSC. This form 

provides more information about OSC 

jurisdiction, and procedures for 

processing whistleblower disclosures. 

Form OSC–12 is available: 

(i) By writing to OSC, at: Office of 

Special Counsel, Disclosure Unit, 1730 


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3184 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

M Street, NW., Suite 218, Washington, 

DC 20036–4505; 

(ii) By calling OSC, at: (800) 572–2249 

(toll-free), or (202) 254–3600 (in the 

Washington, DC area); or 

(iii) Online, at: http://www.osc.gov (to 

print out and complete on paper, or to 

complete online). 

(2) Filers may use another written 

format to submit a disclosure to OSC, 

but the submission should include: 

(i) The name, mailing address, and 

telephone number(s) of the person(s) 

making the disclosure(s), and a time 

when OSC can contact that person about 

his or her disclosure; 

(ii) The department or agency, 

location and organizational unit 

complained of; and 

(iii) A statement as to whether the 

filer consents to disclosure of his or her 

identity by OSC to the agency involved 

in connection with any OSC referral to 

that agency. 

(3) A disclosure can be filed in 

writing with OSC by any of the 

following methods: 

(i) By mail, to: Office of Special 

Counsel, Disclosure Unit, 1730 M Street 

NW., Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036– 

4505; 

(ii) By fax, to: (202) 254–3711; or 

(iii) Electronically, at: http://

www.osc.gov. 

Dated: January 14, 2015. 

Mark P. Cohen, 

Principal Deputy Special Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00753 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7405–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 

Bureau 

27 CFR Part 9 

[Docket No. TTB–2015–0002; Notice No. 

146] 

RIN 1513–AC12 

Proposed Establishment of the Squaw 

Valley–Miramonte Viticultural Area 

AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax 

and Trade Bureau (TTB) proposes to 

establish the approximately 44,690-acre 

‘‘Squaw Valley–Miramonte’’ viticultural 

area in Fresno County, California. The 

proposed viticultural area does not 

overlap any established viticultural 

area. TTB designates viticultural areas 

to allow vintners to better describe the 

origin of their wines and to allow 

consumers to better identify wines they 

may purchase. TTB invites comments 

on this proposed addition to its 

regulations. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Please send your comments 

on this notice to one of the following 

addresses: 

• Internet: http://www.regulations.gov 

(via the online comment form for this 

notice as posted within Docket No. 

TTB–2015–0002 at ‘‘Regulations.gov,’’ 

the Federal e-rulemaking portal); 

• U.S. Mail: Director, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW., Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; or 

• Hand delivery/courier in lieu of 

mail: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street NW., Suite 

200–E, Washington, DC 20005. 

See the Public Participation section of 

this notice for specific instructions and 

requirements for submitting comments, 

and for information on how to request 

a public hearing or view or obtain 

copies of the petition and supporting 

materials. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen A. Thornton, Regulations and 

Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco 

Tax and Trade Bureau, 1310 G Street 

NW., Box 12, Washington, DC 20005; 

phone 202–453–1039, ext. 175. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on Viticultural Areas 

TTB Authority 

Section 105(e) of the Federal Alcohol 

Administration Act (FAA Act), 27 

U.S.C. 205(e), authorizes the Secretary 

of the Treasury to prescribe regulations 

for the labeling of wine, distilled spirits, 

and malt beverages. The FAA Act 

provides that these regulations should, 

among other things, prohibit consumer 

deception and the use of misleading 

statements on labels and ensure that 

labels provide the consumer with 

adequate information as to the identity 

and quality of the product. The Alcohol 

and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 

(TTB) administers the FAA Act 

pursuant to section 1111(d) of the 

Homeland Security Act of 2002, 

codified at 6 U.S.C. 531(d). The 

Secretary has delegated various 

authorities through Treasury 

Department Order 120–01 (Revised), 

dated December 10, 2013, to the TTB 

Administrator to perform the functions 

and duties in the administration and 

enforcement of this law. 

Part 4 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR 

part 4) authorizes TTB to establish 

definitive viticultural areas and regulate 

the use of their names as appellations of 

origin on wine labels and in wine 

advertisements. Part 9 of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR part 9) sets forth 

standards for the preparation and 

submission of petitions for the 

establishment or modification of 

American viticultural areas (AVAs) and 

lists the approved AVAs. 

Definition 

Section 4.25(e)(1)(i) of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 4.25(e)(1)(i)) defines 

a viticultural area for American wine as 

a delimited grape-growing region having 

distinguishing features, as described in 

part 9 of the regulations, and a name 

and a delineated boundary, as 

established in part 9 of the regulations. 

These designations allow vintners and 

consumers to attribute a given quality, 

reputation, or other characteristic of a 

wine made from grapes grown in an area 

to the wine’s geographic origin. The 

establishment of AVAs allows vintners 

to describe more accurately the origin of 

their wines to consumers and helps 

consumers to identify wines they may 

purchase. Establishment of an AVA is 

neither an approval nor an endorsement 

by TTB of the wine produced in that 

area. 

Requirements 

Section 4.25(e)(2) of the TTB 

regulations outlines the procedure for 

proposing an AVA and provides that 

any interested party may petition TTB 

to establish a grape-growing region as an 

AVA. Section 9.12 of the TTB 

regulations (27 CFR 9.12) prescribes the 

standards for petitions requesting the 

establishment or modification of AVAs. 

Petitions to establish an AVA must 

include the following: 

• Evidence that the region within the 

proposed AVA boundary is nationally 

or locally known by the AVA name 

specified in the petition; 

• An explanation of the basis for 

defining the boundary of the proposed 

AVA; 

• A narrative description of the 

features of the proposed AVA affecting 

viticulture, such as climate, geology, 

soils, physical features, and elevation, 

that make the proposed AVA distinctive 

and distinguish it from adjacent areas 

outside the proposed viticultural AVA; 

• The appropriate United States 

Geological Survey (USGS) map(s) 

showing the location of the proposed 

AVA, with the boundary of the 

proposed AVA clearly drawn thereon; 

and 

• A detailed narrative description of 

the proposed AVA boundary based on 

USGS map markings. 


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