[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 125 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38893-38894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13858]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Agency Information Collection Activities: Announcement of Board 
Approval Under Delegated Authority and Submission to OMB

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is adopting a proposal to implement the Pre-Hire Conflict of Interest 
Screening Form (FR 28c; OMB No. 7100-NEW).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829.
    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta 
Ahmed--Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 
17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.
    A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) OMB submission, 
including the reporting form and instructions, supporting statement, 
and other documentation will be placed into OMB's public docket files. 
These documents also are available on the Federal Reserve Board's 
public website at https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested from the agency clearance officer, 
whose name appears above.

[[Page 38894]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collections of information conducted or sponsored by the Board. Board-
approved collections of information are incorporated into the official 
OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies 
of the PRA Submission, supporting statements, and approved collection 
of information instrument(s) are placed into OMB's public docket files.
    Final Approval under OMB Delegated Authority of the Implementation 
of the Following Information Collection:
    Report title: Pre-Hire Conflict of Interest Screening Form.
    Agency form number: FR 28c.
    OMB control number: 7100-NEW.
    Frequency: As needed.
    Respondents: Individuals who have been selected for an interview 
during the hiring process.
    Estimated number of respondents: 2,300.
    Estimated average hours per response: 0.5.
    Estimated annual burden hours: 1,150.
    General description of report: The FR 28c form will collect 
information from external applicants applying to the Board regarding 
certain financial interests and business relationships held by the 
applicant and by his/her immediate family members, as well as the 
external applicant's involvement with certain outside organizations, to 
determine whether a conflict of interest may exist, which could impact 
the applicant's ability to fulfill the responsibilities associated with 
the position for which they have applied.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: The collection of this 
information is authorized by section 10 of the Federal Reserve Act, 12 
U.S.C. 244, which provides that the ``employment, compensation, leave, 
and expenses'' of Board employees ``shall be governed solely by the 
provisions of this chapter and rules and regulations of the Board not 
inconsistent therewith.'' In addition, pursuant to regulations 
promulgated by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) pursuant to 5 
U.S.C. 7301, each executive agency's designated ethics officer is 
required to provide ``advice and counseling to prospective . . . 
employees regarding government ethics laws and regulations'' and to 
``maintain records of agency ethics program activities'' (5 CFR 
2638.104(c)(2) and (4)).
    Providing the information collected on the FR 28c form is required 
in order to obtain the benefit of Board employment.
    Generally, information provided on the FR 28c form may be kept 
confidential from the public under exemption 6 of the Freedom of 
Information Act (FOIA), which protects information in ``personnel and 
medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would 
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy'' (5 
U.S.C. 552(b)(6)). In addition, financial information collected on the 
form (such as confidential details about the amount of shares an 
applicant, their spouse, or minor child owns in a bank) may be withheld 
under exemption 4 of the FOIA, which protects ``financial information 
obtained from a person [that is] privileged and confidential'' (5 
U.S.C. 552(b)(4)).
    Current actions: On January 16, 2020, the Board published a notice 
in the Federal Register (85 FR 2741) requesting public comment for 60 
days on the implementation of the FR 28c. The comment period for this 
notice expired on March 16, 2020. The Board did not receive any 
comments.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 23, 2020.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2020-13858 Filed 6-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P