Notice of Final Determination Revising the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126, 31365-31366 [2011-13342]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 31, 2011 / Notices
Management Team by e-mail at
DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
The Fire
Brigade Standard codified at 29 CFR
1910.156 requires each covered
employer establishing a fire brigade to
write an organizational statement, to
ascertain the fitness of workers with
specific medical conditions to
participate in fire related operations,
and to provide appropriate training and
information to fire brigade members.
This information collection is subject
to the PRA. A Federal agency generally
cannot conduct or sponsor a collection
of information, and the public is
generally not required to respond to an
information collection, unless it is
approved by the OMB under the PRA
and displays a currently valid OMB
Control Number. In addition,
notwithstanding any other provisions of
law, no person shall generally be subject
to penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information if the
collection of information does not
display a valid OMB control number.
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The
DOL obtains OMB approval for this
information collection under OMB
Control Number 1218–0075. The current
OMB approval is scheduled to expire on
June 30, 2011; however, it should be
noted that information collections
submitted to the OMB receive a monthto-month extension while they undergo
review. For additional information, see
the related notice published in the
Federal Register on January 26, 2011
(76 FR 4735).
Interested parties are encouraged to
send comments to the OMB, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs at
the address shown in the ADDRESSES
section within 30 days of publication of
this notice in the Federal Register. In
order to help ensure appropriate
consideration, comments should
reference OMB Control Number 1218–
0075. The OMB is particularly
interested in comments that:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:27 May 27, 2011
Jkt 223001
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Agency: Occupational Safety and
Health Administration.
Title of Collection: Fire Brigades.
OMB Control Number: 1218–0075.
Affected Public: Private sector—
businesses or other for-profits.
Total Estimated Number of
Responses: 8738.
Total Estimated Annual Burden
Hours: 6292.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs
Burden: $0.
Dated: May 24, 2011.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011–13296 Filed 5–27–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–26–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary of Labor
Notice of Final Determination Revising
the List of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced
or Indentured Child Labor Pursuant to
Executive Order 13126
Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Final Determination.
AGENCY:
This final determination
revises the list required by Executive
Order No. 13126 (‘‘Prohibition of
Acquisition of Products Produced by
Forced or Indentured Child Labor’’), in
accordance with the ‘‘Procedural
Guidelines for the Maintenance of the
List of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced or
Indentured Child Labor.’’ This notice
adds a product, hand-woven textiles
from Ethiopia, to the list that the
Departments of Labor, State and
Homeland Security believe might have
been mined, produced, or manufactured
by forced or indentured child labor.
This notice also removes charcoal from
Brazil from the list, as the Departments
of Labor, State and Homeland Security
have a reasonable basis to believe that
the use of forced or indentured child
labor has been significantly reduced.
Under a final rule of the Federal
Acquisition Regulatory Councils,
published January 18, 2001, which also
implements Executive Order No. 13126,
federal contractors who supply products
on this list are required to certify,
among other things, that they have made
a good faith effort to determine whether
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00071
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
31365
forced or indentured child labor was
used to produce the item.
DATES: This document is effective
immediately upon publication of this
notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Executive Order No. 13126 (EO
13126), which was published in the
Federal Register on June 16, 1999 (64
FR 32383), declared that it was ‘‘the
policy of the United States Government
* * * that the executive agencies shall
take appropriate actions to enforce the
laws prohibiting the manufacture or
importation of good, wares, articles, and
merchandise mined, produced or
manufactured wholly or in part by
forced or indentured child labor.’’
Pursuant to EO 13126, and following
public notice and comment, the
Department of Labor published in the
January 18, 2001 Federal Register, a list
of products (the ‘‘EO List’’), identified by
their country of origin, that the
Department, in consultation and
cooperation with the Departments of
State and Treasury [relevant
responsibilities now within the
Department of Homeland Security], had
a reasonable basis to believe might have
been mined, produced or manufactured
with forced or indentured child labor
(66 FR 5353).
Pursuant to Section 3 of EO 13126,
the Federal Acquisition Regulatory
Councils published a final rule in the
Federal Register on January 18, 2001,
providing, amongst other requirements,
that federal contractors who supply
products that appear on the EO List
published by the Department of Labor
must certify to the contracting officer
that the contractor, or, in the case of an
incorporated contractor, a responsible
official of the contractor, has made a
good faith effort to determine whether
forced or indentured child labor was
used to mine, produce or manufacture
any product furnished under the
contract and that, on the basis of those
efforts, the contractor is unaware of any
such use of child labor. See 48 CFR
Subpart 22.15.
The Department also published on
January 18, 2001, ‘‘Procedural
Guidelines for Maintenance of the List
of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced or
Indentured Child Labor’’ (Procedural
Guidelines), which provide for
maintaining, reviewing, and, as
appropriate, revising the EO List (66 FR
5351). The Procedural Guidelines
provide that the List may be revised
through consideration of submissions by
individuals and on the Department’s
E:\FR\FM\31MYN1.SGM
31MYN1
31366
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 104 / Tuesday, May 31, 2011 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
own initiative. In either event, when
proposing to revise the List, the
Department of Labor must publish in
the Federal Register a notice of initial
determination, which includes any
proposed alteration to the List. The
Department will consider all public
comments prior to the publication of a
final determination of a revised list,
which is made in consultation and
cooperation with the Departments of
State and Homeland Security.
On September 11, 2009, the
Department of Labor published an
initial determination in the Federal
Register proposing to revise the List to
include 29 products from 21 countries.
The Notice requested public comments
for a period of 90 days. Public
comments were received and reviewed
by all relevant agencies, and a final
determination was issued on July 20,
2010 that included all products
proposed in the initial determination
except for carpets from India. (75 FR
42164).
On December 16, 2010, in
consultation and cooperation with the
Departments of State and Homeland
Security, the Department of Labor
published an initial determination
proposing to revise the EO List in the
Federal Register (75 FR 78755). The
notice explained how the initial
determination was made and invited
public comment through February 15,
2011. The initial determination and
Procedural Guidelines can be accessed
on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/
ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm or can be
obtained from: Office of Child Labor,
Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking
(OCFT), Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, Room S–5317, U.S. Department
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue,
NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone:
(202) 693–4843; fax (202) 693–4830.
II. Summary of Significant Comments
Three public comments were
received, from the Apparel Export
Promotion Council of India (AEPC), the
Child Labor Coalition (CLC), and the
International Labor Rights Forum
(ILRF). All comments are available for
public viewing at https://
www.regulations.gov (reference Docket
ID No. DOL–2010–0005). In developing
the revised list of products, these public
comments have been carefully reviewed
and considered. The AEPC submission
discussed the garment and zari
industries in India, while the CLC
submission discussed a range of topics
including the carpet industry in India,
acaı berry production in Brazil, and
¸ ´
child labor in the United States.
However, none of the topics discussed
in the AEPC or CLC submissions were
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:27 May 27, 2011
Jkt 223001
germane to the initial determination, so
only the comments from ILRF are
discussed below. The comments of the
AEPC and the CLC will be retained and
considered in future reviews.
ILRF’s comments related to the
methodology and process used to
remove products from the EO List, in
particular, Brazilian charcoal. ILRF
agreed with our initial determination
that charcoal from Brazil be removed
from the EO List. More broadly, ILRF
agreed with our baseline benchmarks for
removal of a product, including
demonstrated quantitative and
qualitative evidence of ‘‘virtual
elimination’’ of forced child labor in an
industry. ILRF emphasized the
important role that third-party,
independent monitoring and
verification had played in significantly
reducing forced child labor in the
Brazilian charcoal industry, as well as
government enforcement and public
education. The Department appreciates
this specific feedback on our
methodology and process.
III. Revised List of Products
It has been determined appropriate to
publish a revised list of products that
reflects the changes proposed in the
initial determination. No new
information was provided through
public comments to negate the proposed
revisions in the initial determination.
The basis for each of these revisions to
the EO List is set forth in the
Department of Labor’s December 16,
2010, notice in the Federal Register (75
FR 78755).
Accordingly, based on recent,
credible, and appropriately corroborated
information from various sources, the
Department of Labor, the Department of
State, and the Department of Homeland
Security have concluded that there is a
reasonable basis to believe that the
following product, identified by its
country of origin, might have been
mined, produced, or manufactured by
forced or indentured child labor:
PRODUCT
Hand-Woven Textiles
COUNTRY
Ethiopia
In addition, the Department of Labor,
the Department of State, and the
Department of Homeland Security have
concluded that there is a reasonable
basis to believe that forced or
indentured child labor has been
significantly reduced in the production
of the following product, identified by
its country of origin:
PRODUCT
Charcoal
COUNTRY
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Brazil
The bibliographies providing the basis
for the three agencies’ decisions on each
product are available on the Internet at
https://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/
main.htm.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 24th day of
May 2011.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary, Bureau of
International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011–13342 Filed 5–27–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–28–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Notice of Funding Opportunity and
Solicitation for Grant Applications
(SGA) for Cooperative Agreements
Under the Disability Employment
Initiative (DEI)
Employment and Training
Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Solicitation for Grant
Applications (SGA).
AGENCY:
Funding Opportunity Number: SGA–
DFA–PY–10–14.
SUMMARY: The Employment and
Training Administration (ETA), in
coordination with Department of
Labor’s (DOL’s) Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP) announces
the availability of approximately $20
million for a second round of
cooperative agreements to state agencies
that administer the Workforce
Investment Act (WIA). These funds
provide an opportunity for states to
develop and implement a plan for
improving effective and meaningful
participation of persons with disabilities
in the workforce.
DOL is using this funding to
implement the Disability Employment
Initiative (DEI), through which the
Department intends to make six to ten
grant awards designed to:
(1) Improve educational, training, and
employment opportunities and
outcomes of youth and adults with
disabilities who are unemployed,
underemployed, and/or receiving Social
Security disability benefits; and
(2) Help these individuals with
disabilities find a path into the middle
class through exemplary and model
service delivery by the public workforce
system.
DOL will award DEI grants for a threeyear period of performance. The
complete SGA and any subsequent SGA
amendments are described in further
detail on ETA’s Web site at https://
E:\FR\FM\31MYN1.SGM
31MYN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 104 (Tuesday, May 31, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31365-31366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-13342]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary of Labor
Notice of Final Determination Revising the List of Products
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured
Child Labor Pursuant to Executive Order 13126
AGENCY: Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Final Determination.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final determination revises the list required by
Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products
Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor''), in accordance with the
``Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products
Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured
Child Labor.'' This notice adds a product, hand-woven textiles from
Ethiopia, to the list that the Departments of Labor, State and Homeland
Security believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by
forced or indentured child labor. This notice also removes charcoal
from Brazil from the list, as the Departments of Labor, State and
Homeland Security have a reasonable basis to believe that the use of
forced or indentured child labor has been significantly reduced. Under
a final rule of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Councils, published
January 18, 2001, which also implements Executive Order No. 13126,
federal contractors who supply products on this list are required to
certify, among other things, that they have made a good faith effort to
determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to produce
the item.
DATES: This document is effective immediately upon publication of this
notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Executive Order No. 13126 (EO 13126), which was published in the
Federal Register on June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32383), declared that it was
``the policy of the United States Government * * * that the executive
agencies shall take appropriate actions to enforce the laws prohibiting
the manufacture or importation of good, wares, articles, and
merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by forced
or indentured child labor.'' Pursuant to EO 13126, and following public
notice and comment, the Department of Labor published in the January
18, 2001 Federal Register, a list of products (the ``EO List''),
identified by their country of origin, that the Department, in
consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and Treasury
[relevant responsibilities now within the Department of Homeland
Security], had a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined,
produced or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor (66 FR
5353).
Pursuant to Section 3 of EO 13126, the Federal Acquisition
Regulatory Councils published a final rule in the Federal Register on
January 18, 2001, providing, amongst other requirements, that federal
contractors who supply products that appear on the EO List published by
the Department of Labor must certify to the contracting officer that
the contractor, or, in the case of an incorporated contractor, a
responsible official of the contractor, has made a good faith effort to
determine whether forced or indentured child labor was used to mine,
produce or manufacture any product furnished under the contract and
that, on the basis of those efforts, the contractor is unaware of any
such use of child labor. See 48 CFR Subpart 22.15.
The Department also published on January 18, 2001, ``Procedural
Guidelines for Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal
Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor''
(Procedural Guidelines), which provide for maintaining, reviewing, and,
as appropriate, revising the EO List (66 FR 5351). The Procedural
Guidelines provide that the List may be revised through consideration
of submissions by individuals and on the Department's
[[Page 31366]]
own initiative. In either event, when proposing to revise the List, the
Department of Labor must publish in the Federal Register a notice of
initial determination, which includes any proposed alteration to the
List. The Department will consider all public comments prior to the
publication of a final determination of a revised list, which is made
in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State and
Homeland Security.
On September 11, 2009, the Department of Labor published an initial
determination in the Federal Register proposing to revise the List to
include 29 products from 21 countries. The Notice requested public
comments for a period of 90 days. Public comments were received and
reviewed by all relevant agencies, and a final determination was issued
on July 20, 2010 that included all products proposed in the initial
determination except for carpets from India. (75 FR 42164).
On December 16, 2010, in consultation and cooperation with the
Departments of State and Homeland Security, the Department of Labor
published an initial determination proposing to revise the EO List in
the Federal Register (75 FR 78755). The notice explained how the
initial determination was made and invited public comment through
February 15, 2011. The initial determination and Procedural Guidelines
can be accessed on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm or can be obtained from: Office of Child Labor, Forced
Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT), Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, Room S-5317, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210; telephone: (202) 693-4843; fax (202)
693-4830.
II. Summary of Significant Comments
Three public comments were received, from the Apparel Export
Promotion Council of India (AEPC), the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), and
the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF). All comments are available
for public viewing at https://www.regulations.gov (reference Docket ID
No. DOL-2010-0005). In developing the revised list of products, these
public comments have been carefully reviewed and considered. The AEPC
submission discussed the garment and zari industries in India, while
the CLC submission discussed a range of topics including the carpet
industry in India, a[ccedil]a[iacute] berry production in Brazil, and
child labor in the United States. However, none of the topics discussed
in the AEPC or CLC submissions were germane to the initial
determination, so only the comments from ILRF are discussed below. The
comments of the AEPC and the CLC will be retained and considered in
future reviews.
ILRF's comments related to the methodology and process used to
remove products from the EO List, in particular, Brazilian charcoal.
ILRF agreed with our initial determination that charcoal from Brazil be
removed from the EO List. More broadly, ILRF agreed with our baseline
benchmarks for removal of a product, including demonstrated
quantitative and qualitative evidence of ``virtual elimination'' of
forced child labor in an industry. ILRF emphasized the important role
that third-party, independent monitoring and verification had played in
significantly reducing forced child labor in the Brazilian charcoal
industry, as well as government enforcement and public education. The
Department appreciates this specific feedback on our methodology and
process.
III. Revised List of Products
It has been determined appropriate to publish a revised list of
products that reflects the changes proposed in the initial
determination. No new information was provided through public comments
to negate the proposed revisions in the initial determination. The
basis for each of these revisions to the EO List is set forth in the
Department of Labor's December 16, 2010, notice in the Federal Register
(75 FR 78755).
Accordingly, based on recent, credible, and appropriately
corroborated information from various sources, the Department of Labor,
the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security have
concluded that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the
following product, identified by its country of origin, might have been
mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor:
PRODUCT
Hand-Woven Textiles
COUNTRY
Ethiopia
In addition, the Department of Labor, the Department of State, and
the Department of Homeland Security have concluded that there is a
reasonable basis to believe that forced or indentured child labor has
been significantly reduced in the production of the following product,
identified by its country of origin:
PRODUCT
Charcoal
COUNTRY
Brazil
The bibliographies providing the basis for the three agencies'
decisions on each product are available on the Internet at https://www.dol.gov/ILAB/regs/eo13126/main.htm.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 24th day of May 2011.
Sandra Polaski,
Deputy Undersecretary, Bureau of International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2011-13342 Filed 5-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P