April 15, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (Department) is proposing to amend its regulations governing certification of the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural employment under the H-2A program to codify certain procedures for employers seeking to hire foreign temporary agricultural workers for job opportunities in sheepherding, goat herding and production of livestock on the open range. Such procedures must be consistent with the Secretary's statutory responsibility to ensure that there are no able, willing, qualified and available U.S. workers to perform these jobs, and that the employment of foreign workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed. Before the current rulemaking, variances from the general H- 2A regulatory requirements were established and revised for these occupations through sub-regulatory guidance, i.e. ``special procedures,'' that were issued in the form of separate Field Memoranda or Training and Employment Guidance Letters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently ruled that the existing special procedures for sheepherding, goat herding and open range production of livestock are not interpretive rules but rather include substantive departures from established regulatory requirements necessitating notice and comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. This proposed rule provides the public with the notice and opportunity to comment on proposed procedures to be followed in the filing and processing of applications involving herding and production of livestock on the open range. Among the issues addressed are the qualifying criteria for employing foreign workers in the applicable job opportunities, preparing job orders, program obligations of employers, filing of H-2A applications requesting temporary labor certification, recruiting U.S. workers, determining the minimum offered wage rate, and the minimum standards for mobile housing on the open range. The Department's goal is to establish a single set of regulations enabling employers seeking to hire foreign temporary agricultural workers for both herding and production of livestock on the open range to comply with their obligations under the H-2A program given the unique characteristics of these job opportunities in their industry.

We propose to adopt a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus Model A318, A319, and A320 series airplanes modified by a particular supplemental type certificate (STC). This proposed AD was prompted by reports of cracks found during inspections of the in-flight entertainment system radome assembly. This proposed AD would require repetitive detailed inspections for cracks in the radome assembly, and replacement of the radome if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct cracks in the radome assembly, which could result in the radome (or pieces) separating from the airplane and striking the tail, consequently reducing the controllability of the airplane.

We propose to supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2011-07- 10, for certain Bombardier, Inc. Model BD-100-1A10 (Challenger 300) airplanes. AD 2011-07-10 currently requires revising the Airworthiness Limitations section of the Instructions for Continued Airworthiness; doing detailed visual inspections; removing discrepant material; cleaning the surfaces of the valves, the plug of the sensing port, and the cabin pressure-sensing port plug; securing the insulation; installing a new safety valve, and replacing certain cabin pressure-sensing port plugs. Since we issued AD 2011-07-10, we have received reports of in-flight loss of cabin pressurization that was attributed to partial blockage of a safety valve cabin pressure-sensing port in conjunction with a failed safety valve manometric capsule. This proposed AD would retain all requirements of AD 2011-07-10. This proposed AD would also require a detailed visual inspection of both safety valves and the surrounding area for foreign material, room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) silicone, contamination, foam on the bulkhead structure, tape or insulation, and loose material; and corrective actions if necessary. We are proposing this AD to detect and correct blockage of a safety valve cabin pressure-sensing port, which could result in loss of cabin pressure.