[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 211 (Friday, October 31, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 58906-58907]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-28926]
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NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
29 CFR Part 102
Post-employment Restrictions on Agency Employees
AGENCY: National Labor Relations Board.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is repealing its
current Agency-specific regulations which restrict practice before the
Agency by former NLRB employees and substituting therefor a new rule
which references the executive branch-wide post-employment restrictions
imposed by 18 U.S.C. 207.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 31, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John J. Toner, Executive Secretary, National Labor Relations Board,
1099 14th Street, NW, Room 11600, Washington, DC 20570. Telephone:
(202) 273-1940.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order 12674 (April 12, 1989), as
modified by Executive Order 12731 (October 17, 1990), authorizes the
Office of Government Ethics (OGE), in consultation with the Attorney
General and the Office of Personnel Management, to issue regulations
that ``establish a single, comprehensive, and clear set of executive-
branch standards of conduct that shall be objective, reasonable, and
enforceable.'' The Executive Order further authorizes OGE, with the
concurrence of the Attorney General, to issue regulations interpreting
18 U.S.C. 207-209.
Pursuant to this authority and similar authority granted OGE by the
Ethics Reform Act 1989, on August 7, 1992, OGE published new Standards
of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (Standards).
See 57 FR 35006-35067, as corrected at 57 FR 48557, 57 FR 52583, and 60
FR 51667, and amended at 61 FR 42965-42970 (as corrected at 61 FR
48733) and 61 FR 50689-50691, with additional grace period extensions
at 59 FR 4779-4780, 60 FR 6390-6391, 60 FR 66857-66858, and 61 FR
40950-40952. The Standards, codified at 5 CFR part 2635, became
effective February 3, 1993, and established uniform standards of
ethical conduct that apply to all executive branch personnel,
superseding most agency-specific standards of conduct. Accordingly, on
July 21, 1994, the NLRB issued a final rule repealing certain
provisions of its own regulations governing employee responsibilities
and conduct codified at 29 CFR part 100
[[Page 58907]]
which had been superseded by the new Standards. See 59 FR 37157.
OGE has not yet issued new regulations implementing 18 U.S.C. 207,
as amended by the Ethics Reform of 1989, pursuant to its authority
under that Act and the Executive Orders 12674 and 12731. However, OGE
indicated in its notice of the new Standards that it expects to do so.
Further, OGE has since advised the Agency that to the extent the NLRB's
current post-employment regulations set forth in sections 102.119 and
102.120 if the Board's rules are more restrictive than 18 U.S.C. 207,
as amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, they are unenforceable as
to any employees leaving the Agency on or after January 1, 1991, the
effective date of the 1989 amendments to that statute. Accordingly, the
Board is repealing those regulations, and substituting therefor a
reference to 18 U.S.C. 207.
Regulatory Requirements
This rule merely conforms current regulations to statutory
requirements, affects only former Agency employees, relates solely to
agency organization, procedure and practice, and will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses or
impose any information collecting requirements. Accordingly, the Agency
finds that prior notice and comment is not required for these rules and
that good cause exists for waiving the general requirement of delaying
the effective date under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.
553), and that the rules are not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601), Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act (5 U.S.C.
801), Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501), or Executive Order
12866.
List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 102
Administrative practice and procedure, Labor management relations.
For reasons set forth above, 29 CFR part 102 is amended as follows:
PART 102--RULES AND REGULATIONS
1. The authority citation for 29 CFR part 102 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: Section 6, National Labor Relations Act, as amended
(29 U.S.C. 151, 156). Section 103.117(c) also issued under Section
552(a)(4)(A) of the Freedom of Information Act, as amended (5 U.S.C.
552(a)(4)(A)). Sections 102.143 and 102.155 also issued under
Section 504(c)(1) of the Equal Access to Justice Act, as amended (5
U.S.C. 504(c)(1)).
2. Subpart L is revised to read as follows;
Subpart L--Post-employment Restrictions on Activities by Former
Officers and Employees
Sec. 102.119 Post-employee restrictions on activities by former
Officers and employees.
Former officers and employees of the Agency who were attached to
any of its Regional Offices or the Washington staff are subject to the
applicable post-employment restrictions imposed by 18 U.S.C. 207.
Guidance concerning those restrictions may be obtained from the
Designated Agency Ethics Officer and any applicable regulations issued
by the Office of Government Ethics.
Dated, Washington, D.C., October 28, 1997.
By direction of the Board.
John J. Toner,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-28926 Filed 10-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7545-01-M
