[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2802-2803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00820]
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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, HHS.
SUMMARY: This notice establishes the Conscience and Religious Freedom
Division in the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and
Human Services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with Executive Order 13798
Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty (May 4, 2017), 82 FR 21675,
and the Attorney General's Guidance on Federal Law Protections for
Religious Liberty (October 6, 2017), Part A, Office of the Secretary,
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority for
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as last amended at
81 FR 95622 (December 28, 2016), is being 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 (OCR), in the outline
section
[[Page 2803]]
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 (OCR), delete ``Section
AT.00 Mission'' in its entirety and replace with the following:
``AT.00 Mission
OCR, a Staff Division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), ensures that individuals receiving services from
HHS-funded programs are not subject to unlawful discrimination; that
individuals and entities are free from coercion and can exercise
their conscience and religious freedom rights; and that people can
trust the privacy, security, and availability of their 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.
By promoting the right to access health information and protecting
the privacy and security of this information, OCR helps empower
people's health care 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
OCR has authority over;
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 others comply
with federal laws guaranteeing the free exercise of religious
beliefs and moral convictions and the right to be free from coercion
in HHS-conducted or funded programs; and
Ensuring the practices of 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) through the investigation of complaints,
self-reports of breaches, compliance reviews, and audits.''
III. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), delete ``Section
AT.10 Organization'' in its entirety and replace with:
``AT.10 Organization
A. Office of the Director (AT)
B. Operations and Resources Division (ATA)
C. Civil Rights Division (ATB)
D. Health Information Privacy Division (ATC)
E. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATD)''
IV. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Section ``AT.20
Functions'' delete subsection ``A. Office of the Director (AT)'' in its
entirety and replace with the following:
``A. Office of the Director (AT). The Director is the Department's
chief officer and adviser to the Secretary concerning implementation
of, compliance with, and enforcement of civil rights and conscience
and religious freedom laws applicable to HHS-funded or conducted
programs or activities, and privacy, security, and breach
notification rules under HIPAA. The Director provides leadership,
priorities, guidance, and supervision to OCR and is responsible for
its overall policy, programs, and operations. The Director is also
responsible for representing the Secretary and the Department, in
coordination and consultation with the Assistant Secretary for
Legislation, before Congress and the Executive Office of the
President on matters relating to civil rights, conscience and
religious freedom, and health information privacy and for liaising
with other federal departments and agencies responsible for similar
or related matters.''
V. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Section ``AT.20
Functions'' at subsection ``B. Operations and Resources Division
(ATA)'' add ``, conscience and religious freedom,'' after ``ORD is
responsible for responding to stakeholder calls and triaging civil
rights.''
VI. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Section ``AT.20
Functions'' at subsection ``C. Civil Rights Division (ATB),'' delete
``original'' after ``on the basis of race, color, national'' and
replace with ``origin'' and delete ``; the Division also enforces
provider conscience laws'' after ``sex, disability, and age.''
VII. Under Chapter AT, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Section ``AT.20
Functions'' add a new subsection E as follows:
AT.20 Functions
* * * * *
``E. Conscience and Religious Freedom Division (ATD). The Conscience
and Religious Freedom Division (CRFD) is headed by the Deputy
Director for Conscience and Religious Freedom, who reports to the
Director. The 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. 115-31, Div. H, Sec. 507(d) (2017));
Sections 1303(b)(4) and 1553 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C.
18023(b)(4) and 18113, respectively); the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.); 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. The CRFD conducts OCR's nationwide enforcement and
compliance activities including investigating and developing cases;
negotiating case resolution agreements; developing enforcement and
litigation strategies; promulgating regulations, policies, and
guidance; and conducting compliance reviews of covered entities and
HHS Operating and Staff Divisions, in consultation with the HHS
Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, as
appropriate. The CRFD also identifies and designs conscience and
religious freedom-specific training programs for Departmental staff,
provides subject-matter expertise for public education and outreach
activities to stakeholders nationwide, and liaises with, and
provides conscience and religious freedom technical assistance and
advisory services to, HHS Operating and Staff Divisions, national
advocacy, beneficiary, and provider groups, religious organizations,
faith-based organizations, and for profit and non-profit
organizations, state and local governments, and to other federal
departments and agencies, including by serving on intra- and
interagency workgroups.''
VIII. 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.
Dated: December 7, 2017.
Eric D. Hargan,
Acting Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services.
[FR Doc. 2018-00820 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
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