[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39626-39627]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-13142]
[[Page 39626]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of
Authority
AGENCY: Office for Civil Rights, Office of the Secretary, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the Statement of Organization of the
Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
DATES: This reorganization was approved by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services on May 14, 2026, and took effect on June 28, 2026.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: To ensure clear, effective, and unified
enforcement of Federal civil rights laws as they apply to health and
human services, including the robust protection of conscience,
religious freedom, and health information privacy and security, this
action restores the Office for Civil Rights to a program-based
structure that integrates rulemaking and priority enforcement under
subject-matter divisions while centralizing intake, investigations, and
case processing through a unified Enforcement Division that supports
field office execution. Part A, Office of the Secretary, Statement of
Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as last amended at 88 FR
12954 (Mar. 1, 2023), is amended at Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights
(OCR), to reflect the restructuring of OCR as follows:
I. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, in the outline
section at the beginning of the Chapter that reads:
``AT.00 Mission
AT.10 Organization
AT.20 Functions''
II. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, delete ``Section
AT.00 Mission'' in its entirety and replace with the following:
``AT.00 Mission
The Office for Civil Rights is the Department's law enforcement
agency charged with enforcing laws protecting civil rights, conscience
and religious freedom, and health information privacy and security. OCR
ensures that individuals and organizations participating in, and
individuals receiving services from, HHS-funded programs are not
subject to unlawful discrimination, and are free from coercion, and can
exercise their conscience and religious freedom rights. OCR also
ensures that Americans can trust the privacy, security, integrity, and
availability of their identifiable health information. By rooting out
invidious discrimination and removing unlawful barriers to HHS-funded
services, OCR carries out the HHS mission of improving the health and
well-being of all Americans and providing essential human services. By
ensuring individuals and institutions can exercise their conscience and
religious freedom rights, OCR furthers justice and tolerance in a
pluralistic society and ensures that individuals are not deterred from
entering the health and human services professions and are not coerced
into leaving it, thereby encouraging access to services. By promoting
the right to access health information and protecting the privacy and
security of this information, OCR enables and empowers Americans to
take control of their health and to engage in shared decision-making
and helps ensure the integrity of the health care system and thereby
promotes better health outcomes for the Nation.
OCR accomplishes this by:
Enforcing laws, investigating complaints, conducting
compliance reviews, promulgating regulations, developing policy,
providing technical assistance, and engaging in public education and
outreach to ensure understanding of and compliance with all the laws
over which OCR has authority;
Ensuring that recipients of HHS Federal financial
assistance comply with Federal civil rights laws that prohibit
discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin,
disability, age, sex, and religion;
Ensuring that Federal agencies, State and local
governments, health care providers, health plans, and other covered
entities comply with Federal laws protecting the free exercise of
religion and conscience and the right to be free from coercion in HHS-
conducted or funded programs; and
Ensuring that health care providers, health plans, health
care clearinghouses, and their business associates adhere to Federal
privacy, security, and breach notification regulations under the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or 42 CFR part 2
(Part 2), as applicable, through the investigation of complaints, self-
reports of breaches, compliance reviews, and audits.''
III. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, delete ``Section
AT.10 Organization'' in its entirety and replace with:
``AT.10 Organization
A. Immediate Office of the Director (AT)
B. Operations and Resources Division (ATA)
C. Civil Rights Division (ATB)
D. Health Information Privacy, Data, and Cybersecurity Division (ATC)
E. Enforcement Division (ATD)
F. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATE)''
IV. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section ``AT.20
Functions,'' add ``Immediate'' before ``Office of the Director (AT),''
delete ``protection'' and replace with ``and religious freedom,''
insert ``and Part 2'' after ``HIPAA,'' delete ``the exercise of
conscience'' and replace with ``conscience and religious freedom,'' and
add a new sentence that reads ``The Director provides centralized
coordination of communications and external engagement, in
collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and the
Director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs,
respectively'' after the sentence that ends ``agencies responsible for
similar or related matters.''
V. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section ``AT.20
Functions'' at subsection ``C. Policy Division (ATB),'' delete in its
entirety and replace with the following:
AT.20 Functions
* * * * *
``C. Civil Rights Division (ATB). The Civil Rights Division (CRD)
is headed by the Deputy Director for Civil Rights, who reports to the
Director. CRD oversees OCR's national civil rights program, including
Federal civil rights statutes and regulations that prohibit
discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex,
disability, and age. CRD provides national leadership in OCR's civil
rights enforcement and compliance activities, including advising OCR
staff nationwide on case development and quality and assisting in
developing negotiation, enforcement, and litigation strategies. CRD
promulgates regulations, policies, and guidance and provides technical
assistance to assist covered entities with compliance, and provides
subject-matter expertise for public education and outreach activities
to stakeholders nationwide. CRD leads priority enforcement initiatives,
including high-impact investigations and systemic compliance reviews,
and provides subject-matter guidance on elevated, high-impact, and
priority matters referred by the Enforcement Division in accordance
with defined criteria. CRD also identifies and designs civil rights-
specific training programs for OCR staff; reviews challenges to
[[Page 39627]]
OCR's civil rights findings; coordinates OCR's government-wide
responsibilities for implementation of Age Discrimination Act
requirements; and liaises with, and provides civil rights technical
assistance and advisory services to, HHS Operating Divisions; national
advocacy, beneficiary, and provider groups; and other Federal
departments and agencies, including through intra- and interagency
workgroups.''
VI. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section ``AT.20
Functions,'' at subsection ``D. Health Information Privacy, Data, and
Cybersecurity Division (ATC),'' add ``and Confidentiality of Substance
Use Disorder Patient Records at 42 CFR part 2,'' after ``Security and
Breach Notification Rules.''
VII. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section ``AT.20
Functions'' at subsection ``E. Enforcement Division (ATD),'' delete in
its entirety and replace with the following:
AT.20 Functions
* * * * *
``E. Enforcement Division (ATD). The Enforcement Division is headed
by the Deputy Director for Enforcement, who reports to the Director.
The Enforcement Division is responsible for overseeing OCR's field
office operations and case-management functions to support the
comprehensive implementation of all OCR authorities. The Enforcement
Division serves as the central execution arm for intake, investigation,
and case processing across OCR. The Division receives and triages
complaints, conducts investigations and compliance reviews, and
provides technical assistance and outreach across civil rights,
conscience and religious freedom, and health information privacy
programs. The Enforcement Division oversees centralized intake and
case-management operations, including the Centralized Case Management
Operation (CCMO), ensuring that complaints are received, evaluated,
prioritized, and assigned in accordance with established criteria and
program priorities. The Enforcement Division consults with the Civil
Rights Division, the Health Information Privacy, Data, and
Cybersecurity Division, and the Conscience and Religious Freedom
Division, as appropriate, and elevates high-impact and priority matters
in accordance with defined criteria to ensure consistency with subject-
matter expertise and Departmental decision-making. Field office
operations are carried out under the executive direction of the Deputy
Director for Enforcement, who is responsible for the execution of
investigations, compliance reviews, outreach, and related enforcement
activities across OCR's program areas. The Enforcement Division also
directs case-management data analytics and operational performance
measurement and coordinates leadership and professional development
activities to support consistent, timely, and legally sufficient case
processing across OCR.''
VIII. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights, Section ``AT.20
Functions'' at subsection ``F. Strategic Planning Division (ATE),''
delete in its entirety and replace with the following:
AT.20 Functions
* * * * *
``F. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATE). The
Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (CRFD) is headed by the
Deputy Director for Conscience and Religious Freedom, who reports to
the Director. CRFD is responsible for OCR's national conscience and
religious freedom program, including enforcement of, and compliance
with, laws protecting conscience and the free exercise of religion and
prohibiting coercion and religious discrimination. These laws include,
but are not limited to, the Church Amendments (42 U.S.C. 300a-7); the
Coats-Snowe Amendment (42 U.S.C. 238n); the Weldon Amendment (e.g.,
Pub. L. 119-75, div. B, tit. V, sec. 507(d) (2026)); Sections
1303(b)(4) and 1553 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 18023(b)(4)
and 18113, respectively); the employment religious nondiscrimination
provisions in the Public Telecommunications Financing Act of 1978 (47
U.S.C. 398(b)); and the religious nondiscrimination provisions in
various block grant authorizing statutes. CRFD provides national
leadership in OCR's enforcement and compliance activities within its
subject-matter areas, including advising OCR staff nationwide on case
development and quality and assisting in developing negotiation,
enforcement, and litigation strategies. CRFD promulgates regulations,
policies, and guidance, provides technical assistance to assist covered
entities with compliance, and provides subject-matter expertise for
public education and outreach activities to stakeholders nationwide.
CRFD leads priority enforcement initiatives, including high-impact
investigations and compliance reviews, and provides subject-matter
guidance on elevated, high-impact, and priority matters referred by the
Enforcement Division in accordance with defined criteria. CRFD also
identifies and designs conscience and religious freedom-specific
training programs for Departmental staff and provides technical
assistance and advisory services to HHS Operating and Staff Divisions;
national advocacy, beneficiary, and provider groups; religious
organizations; faith-based organizations; for-profit and nonprofit
entities; State and local governments; and other Federal departments
and agencies, including through intra- and interagency workgroups.''
IX. Pending further delegations, directives, or orders by the
Secretary or the OCR Director, all delegations and redelegations of
authority to positions of the affected organizations in effect prior to
the date of this notice shall continue in effect in them or their
successors, provided they are consistent with this reorganization.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2026-13142 Filed 6-29-26; 8:45 am]
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