Rule2025-03355
Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle Safety Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 3, 2025
Effective
March 3, 2025
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
This notice announces that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will not enforce the requirements of the final rule titled "Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle Safety Act" until March 20, 2025.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 40 (Monday, March 3, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11029-11030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-03355]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 513
[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0014]
RIN 2127-AL85
Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle Safety
Act
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department
of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notification of enforcement discretion.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration will not enforce the requirements of the final rule
titled ``Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle
Safety Act'' until March 20, 2025.
DATES: This notice of enforcement discretion is effective from March 3,
2025 to March 20, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dylan Voneiff, Office of the Chief
Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (telephone:
(202) 763-8536), email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b3d7cadfd2dd9dc5dcddd6dad5d5f3d7dcc79dd4dcc5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f195889d909fdf879e9f94989797b1959e85df969e87">[email protected]</span></a>; or Daniel Rabinovitz,
Office of the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (telephone: (202) 366-5263), email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3054515e59555c1e425152595e5f4659444a70545f441e575f46"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="096d6867606c65277b686b6067667f607d73496d667d276e667f">[email protected]</span></a>.
Electronic Access and Filing: This document, the notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM), all comments received, the final rule (including
Form WB-INFO (Appendix A), Form WB-RELEASE (Appendix B), Form WB-AWARD
(Appendix C)), and all background material may be viewed online at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> using the docket number listed above. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are available on the website. It is
available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. An electronic copy of
this document may also be downloaded from the Office of the Federal
Register's website at <a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a> and the Government
Publishing Office's website at <a href="http://www.GovInfo.gov">www.GovInfo.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In December 2024, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration issued a final rule titled,
``Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of the Vehicle Safety
Act,'' 89 FR 101952 (Dec. 17, 2024). This final rule fulfills a
requirement in the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act
(Whistleblower Act), 49 U.S.C. 30172(i), that NHTSA promulgate
regulations on the
[[Page 11030]]
requirements of the Act, in complement to NHTSA's existing
whistleblower program. The Whistleblower Act authorizes the Secretary
of Transportation to pay an award, subject to certain limitations, to
eligible whistleblowers who voluntarily provide original information
relating to any motor vehicle defect, noncompliance, or any violation
or alleged violation of any notification or reporting requirement of 49
U.S.C. Chapter 301, which is likely to cause unreasonable risk of death
or serious physical injury, if the information provided leads to the
successful resolution of a covered action. This final rule defines
certain terms important to the operation of the whistleblower program,
outlines the procedures for submitting original information to NHTSA
and applying for awards, discusses NHTSA's procedures for making
decisions on award applications, and generally explains the scope of
the whistleblower program to the public and potential whistleblowers.
This final rule became effective on January 16, 2025.
On January 20, 2025, the President issued a memorandum titled,
``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'' 90 FR 8249 (Jan. 28, 2025), to
direct executive departments and agencies to consider postposing for 60
days the effective date for any rules that had been published in the
Federal Register but had not taken effect for the purpose of reviewing
any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. While
not explicitly subject to the President's memorandum, the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration is providing notice that it will
exercise its enforcement discretion and not enforce the provisions of
the final rule titled ``Implementing the Whistleblower Provisions of
the Vehicle Safety Act'' until March 20, 2025, to allow the officials
appointed or designated by the President to review the final rule to
ensure that it is consistent with the law and Administration policies.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95 and 501.5:
Peter Simshauser,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-03355 Filed 2-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 3, 2025.
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