Federal IDR rule corrections effective Aug. 28, 2026
The Office of Personnel Management, IRS, EBSA and CMS must apply the corrected Independent Dispute Resolution regulations retroactively to August 3, 2026.
A correcting amendment published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2026 (FR Doc No. 2026-17622) makes technical and typographical fixes to the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) final rule. The amendment is effective on August 28, 2026 and the corrections apply to the IDR rule that became effective on August 3, 2026.
The amendment corrects errors in 26 CFR part 54, 29 CFR part 2590 and 45 CFR part 149, including omitted introductory text in Sec. 54.9816-6, missing paragraph text in Sec. 54.9816-8(c)(5)(vii)(A)(1) and (2), misplaced words such as "revised" in Sec. 54.9816-8(h)(1), and numerous cross-reference formatting errors across the three parts. The notice also inserts the full text of Sec. 149.510(c) that was omitted in the original final rule.
The Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services are waiving the APA notice-and-comment requirement under 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(B) and the 30-day effective-date delay under 5 U.S.C. § 553(d)(3), finding good cause that the corrections are purely technical and that a delay would be contrary to the public interest.
The agencies state that the corrections do not alter any substantive requirements of the IDR regulations. The final rules had previously undergone the standard notice-and-comment process; the present amendment merely ensures that the regulatory text accurately reflects the policies already adopted.
For further information, contact Cameron Stokes (OPM), Alexander Krupnick (IRS), Elizabeth Schumacher or Rebecca Miller (EBSA), or Camille Henley (CMS). The amendment references RIN 1545-BQ55, RIN 1210-AC17 and RIN 0938-AV15, and docket numbers TD 10049 and CMS-9897-F2.
Further reading