Department of the Treasury Employee Rules of Conduct, 47105-47107 [2017-21906]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47105-47107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21906]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

31 CFR Part 0

RIN 1505-AB89


Department of the Treasury Employee Rules of Conduct

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Treasury (the ``Department'' or 
``Treasury'') publishes this final rule to update its Employee Rules of 
Conduct, which prescribe uniform rules of conduct and procedure for all 
employees and officials in the Department.

DATES: Effective October 11, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Sonfield, Deputy Assistant 
General Counsel, General Law and Regulation, (202) 622-9804.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On June 1, 1995, the Department issued Employee Rules of Conduct 
prescribing uniform rules of conduct and procedure for all employees 
and officials in the Department. On February 19, 2016, Treasury 
published in the Federal Register an interim final rule amending the 
Employee Rules of Conduct to account for current Department structure 
resulting from organizational changes that established new bureaus 
within Treasury and transferred certain functions and/or bureaus from 
the Department. The interim final rule also amended the Rules of 
Conduct to remove provisions

[[Page 47106]]

that pertain solely to standards of ethical conduct. The standards of 
ethical conduct governing employees of the Department are contained in 
uniform standards of ethical conduct promulgated by the Office of 
Government Ethics that apply to all executive branch personnel, 
codified at 5 CFR part 2635 (Executive Branch-wide Standards), and in 
the Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the 
Department of the Treasury, codified at 5 CFR part 3101 (Treasury 
Supplemental Standards). Finally, the interim final rule amended the 
Rules of Conduct to ensure the efficient functioning of the Department 
and to conform to changes in the law or Department policy.
    The interim final rule went into effect on February 19, 2016. The 
public comment period for the interim final rule closed on April 19, 
2016. One written comment responding to the interim final rule was 
received and is available for public inspection at https://www.regulations.gov or upon request. After consideration of the 
comment, the interim final rule revising part 0 in its entirety is 
adopted as amended by this final rule.

II. Public Comment and Summary of Changes From the Interim Final Rules

    Section 0.216 of the interim final rule states: ``Except for the 
official handling, through the proper channels, of matters relating to 
legislation in which the Department has an interest, employees shall 
not use government time, money, or property to petition a Member of 
Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or proposed legislation, or 
to encourage others to do so.'' The commenter expressed concern that 
this language has the potential to interfere with the right of an 
employee representative under the Federal Labor Management Relations 
Statute, 5 U.S.C. 7101, et seq., to communicate with Congress and to 
educate its members about legislative proposals. The commenter also 
observed that interim final rule section 0.216 could impermissibly 
chill communications between union leaders and bargaining unit 
employees about such proposals.
    Treasury recognizes that it has a duty to bargain with the 
representatives of its employees over proposals to permit the use of 
official time for such representatives to lobby Congress regarding 
matters affecting conditions of employment. See AFGE and U.S. Dep't of 
Labor, 61 F.L.R.A. 209, 216 (2005). Section 0.216 was not intended to 
preclude such bargaining. In order to clarify Treasury's intent, 
section 0.216 has been revised to reflect that the use of government 
time, to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any 
legislation or proposed legislation, is not prohibited where permitted 
by a collective bargaining agreement. Accordingly, the following 
additional sentence has been added to the end of section 0.216: ``This 
section does not prohibit the use of government time by union 
representatives to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any 
legislation or proposed legislation, where permitted by the terms of a 
collective bargaining agreement.''
    Treasury disagrees that section 0.216 can reasonably be construed 
to limit all communications between union leaders and bargaining unit 
employees about legislative proposals, including those that would 
educate union members about legislative proposals affecting their 
government employment. The rule prohibits only the use of government 
time, money, or property for communications encouraging others to 
petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or 
proposed legislation. Such a prohibition does not interfere with any 
employee right.
    Although not the subject of a public comment, Treasury has also 
made a clarifying change to section 0.215. That section of the interim 
final rule provided: ``An employee shall not electronically transmit, 
or create audio or video recordings of, conversations, meetings, or 
conferences in the workplace or while conducting business on behalf of 
the Department, except where doing so is part of the employee's 
official duties'' (emphasis added). This wording could be construed to 
preclude ad hoc authorizations to record where doing so is not part of 
an employee's official duties. That was not Treasury's intention, and 
the section has therefore been changed to substitute the phrase ``where 
authorized'' for the phrase ``where doing so is part of the employee's 
official duties.''

III. Matters of Regulatory Procedure

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because, as explained at 81 FR 8402 (Feb. 19, 2016), no notice of 
proposed rulemaking was required, the provisions of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Unfunded 
Mandates Act) requires an agency to prepare a budgetary impact 
statement before promulgating a rule that includes a federal mandate 
that may result in expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, 
in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million or more in 
any one year. If a budgetary impact statement is required, section 205 
of the Unfunded Mandates Act also requires an agency to identify and 
consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives before 
promulgating a rule. This rule generally sets out the conduct 
regulations that all Department employees and officials are required to 
follow. The Department therefore has determined that the rule will not 
result in expenditures by state, local or tribal governments or by the 
private sector of $100 million or more. Accordingly, the Department has 
not prepared a budgetary impact statement or specifically addressed the 
regulatory alternatives considered.

Administrative Procedure Act

    Under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), rules relating to agency management and 
personnel are exempt from the rulemaking requirements of the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA). As set forth in the description of 
the interim rule, this final rule affects only the Department and its 
personnel; therefore, the APA requirements for prior notice and 
opportunity to comment and a delayed effective date are inapplicable. 
Even if this rulemaking were subject to APA procedures, the Department 
finds that good cause exists, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and (d), that 
the requirements for prior notice and comment are unnecessary because 
the rule affects only Treasury employees.

List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 0

    Government employees.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble, the interim rule published 
February 19, 2016, at 81 FR 8402, is adopted as final with the 
following changes:

PART 0--DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY EMPLOYEE RULES OF CONDUCT

0
1. The authority citation for part 0 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 301.

0
2. Revise Sec.  0.215 to read as follows:


Sec.  0.215   Recording government business.

    An employee shall not electronically transmit, or create audio or 
video recordings of, conversations, meetings, or conferences in the 
workplace or while conducting business on behalf of the Department, 
except where authorized.

0
3. Revise Sec.  0.216 to read as follows:

[[Page 47107]]

Sec.  0.216  Influencing legislation or petitioning Congress.

    Except for the official handling, through the proper channels, of 
matters relating to legislation in which the Department has an 
interest, employees shall not use government time, money, or property 
to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or 
proposed legislation, or to encourage others to do so. This section 
does not prohibit the use of government time by union representatives 
to petition a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or 
proposed legislation, where permitted by the terms of a collective 
bargaining agreement.

    Dated: October 4, 2017.
Kody H. Kinsley,
Assistant Secretary for Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-21906 Filed 10-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4810-25-P