Modernizing Recruitment Requirements for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Foreign Workers in the United States, 55985-55994 [2018-24497]

Agencies

• Employment and Training Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55985-55994]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24497]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

20 CFR Part 655

[Docket No. ETA-2018-0002]
RIN 1205-AB90


Modernizing Recruitment Requirements for the Temporary Employment 
of H-2A Foreign Workers in the United States

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) is proposing 
regulatory revisions that would

[[Page 55986]]

modernize the recruitment an employer seeking H-2A nonimmigrant 
agricultural workers must conduct when applying for a temporary labor 
certification. In particular, the Department is proposing to replace 
the print newspaper advertisements that its regulations currently 
require with electronic advertisements posted on the internet, which 
the Department believes will be a more effective and efficient means of 
disseminating information about job openings to U.S. workers. The 
Department is proposing to replace, rather than supplement, the 
newspaper requirements because it believes that exclusive electronic 
advertisements posted on a website appropriate for the workers likely 
to apply for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment 
would best ensure that U.S. workers learn of job opportunities.

DATES: Comments must be submitted, in writing, on or before December 
10, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket No. ETA-2018-
0002 or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 1205-AB90, by any of the 
following methods:
    Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
website instructions for submitting comments (under ``Help'' > ``How to 
use Regulations.gov'').
    Mail and Hand Delivery/Courier: Submit written comments and any 
additional material to Adele Gagliardi, Administrator, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Room N-5641, Washington, DC 20210.
    Instructions: Label all submissions with ``RIN 1205-AB90.'' Please 
submit your comments by only one method.
    Please be advised that the Department will post all comments 
received that relate to this notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on 
https://www.regulations.gov without making any change to the comments or 
redacting any information. The https://www.regulations.gov website is 
the Federal e-rulemaking portal, and all comments posted there are 
available and accessible to the public. Therefore, the Department 
recommends that commenters remove personal information (either about 
themselves or others) such as Social Security Numbers, personal 
addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses included in their 
comments, as such information may become easily available to the public 
via the https://www.regulations.gov website. It is the responsibility of 
the commenter to safeguard personal information.
    Also, please note that, due to security concerns, postal mail 
delivery in Washington, DC may be delayed. Therefore, the Department 
encourages the public to submit comments on https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: To read or download comments or other material in the 
electronic docket, go to https://www.regulations.gov website (search 
using RIN 1205-AB90 or Docket No. ETA-2018-0002). The Department also 
will make all the comments it receives available for public inspection 
by appointment during normal business hours at the above address. If 
you need assistance to review the comments, the Department will provide 
appropriate aids, such as readers or print magnifiers. The Department 
will make copies of this proposed rule available, upon request, in 
large print and electronic file on computer disk. To schedule an 
appointment to review the comments and/or obtain the proposed rule in 
an alternative format, contact the Office of Policy Development and 
Research at (202) 693-3700 (this is not a toll-free number). You may 
also contact Adele Gagliardi, Administrator, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Room N-5641, Washington, DC 20210.
    Comments under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA): In addition to 
filing comments with ETA, persons wishing to comment on the information 
collection (IC) aspects of this rule may send comments to: Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-ETA, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, Fax: (202) 395-6881 (this is not a toll-free 
number), email: [email protected]. See Paperwork Reduction 
Act section of this proposal for particular areas of interest.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William W. Thompson, II, 
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and 
Training Administration, Department of Labor, Box #12-200, 200 
Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210, telephone (202) 513-7350 
(this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with hearing or speech 
impairments may access the telephone numbers above via TTY by calling 
the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/
TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

A. Legal Framework

    The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the 
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), establishes the H-2A 
nonimmigrant visa classification for a worker ``having a residence in a 
foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning who is coming 
temporarily to the United States to perform agricultural labor or 
services . . . of a temporary or seasonal nature.'' 8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a); see also 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1) and 1188.\1\ Among 
other things, the INA requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to 
consult with appropriate agencies of the Government--and in particular, 
DOL--before approving a petition to employ H-2A nonimmigrant 
agricultural workers. 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1). To that end, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security may not approve a petition to employ H-2A workers 
unless the petitioning employer has applied to the Secretary of Labor 
(Secretary) for a certification that:
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    \1\ For ease of reference, sections of the INA are referred to 
by their corresponding section in the United States Code.
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    (A) There are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, 
and qualified, and who will be available at the time and place needed 
to perform the labor or services involved in the petition; and
    (B) the employment of the alien in such labor or services will not 
adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the 
United States similarly employed.

8 U.S.C. 1188(a)(1); see also 20 CFR 655.100. The Secretary has 
delegated his statutory responsibility to make this certification--
known as a ``temporary labor certification''--to the Assistant 
Secretary for Employment and Training. Secretary's Order 06-2010 
(October 20, 2010). And the Assistant Secretary has, in turn, delegated 
the authority to the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). 20 
CFR 655.101.
    The INA specifies a number of conditions under which the Secretary 
cannot grant a temporary labor certification. 8 U.S.C. 1188(b). One 
such condition is where ``[t]he Secretary determines that the employer 
has not made positive recruitment efforts within a multi-state region 
of traditional or expected labor supply where the Secretary finds that 
there are a significant number of qualified United States workers who, 
if recruited, would be willing to make themselves available for work at 
the time and place needed.'' 8 U.S.C. 1188(b)(4). The ``positive 
recruitment'' that the INA requires ``is

[[Page 55987]]

in addition to, and shall be conducted within the same time period as, 
the circulation through the interstate employment service system of the 
employer's job offer.'' 8 U.S.C. 1188(b)(4). An employer's obligation 
to engage in this recruitment terminates ``on the date the H-2A workers 
depart for the employer's place of employment.'' Id.
    Since 1987, the Department has relied on regulations promulgated 
under the authority of the INA to review and evaluate an application 
for a temporary labor certification under the H-2A visa classification. 
20 CFR part 655, subpart B. The last significant revisions to these 
regulations, which are published in 20 CFR part 655, subpart B, took 
effect in 2010, following notice and comment rulemaking. 75 FR 6884 
(Feb. 12, 2010) (2010 Final Rule). Pursuant to these regulations, the 
``positive recruitment'' mandated by the INA is defined as ``[t]he 
active participation of an employer or its authorized hiring agent, 
performed under the auspices and direction of the OFLC, in recruiting 
and interviewing individuals in the area where the employer's job 
opportunity is located and any other State designated by the Secretary 
as an area of traditional or expected labor supply with respect to the 
area where the employer's job opportunity is located, in an effort to 
fill specific job openings with U.S. workers.'' 20 CFR 655.103.
    The standards and procedures governing the positive recruitment of 
U.S. workers are set forth in sections 655.151-655.154. These 
regulations generally require, among other things, that an employer 
seeking H-2A temporary labor certification (1) place two print 
advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation serving the area 
of intended employment, Sec.  655.151(a); (2) contact former U.S. 
workers who were employed in the previous year, Sec.  655.153; and (3) 
recruit U.S. workers in up to three additional states designated by the 
Secretary as states of traditional or expected labor supply, Sec.  
655.154.
    As relevant here, section 655.151(a) requires an employer seeking 
an H-2A temporary labor certification to place a print advertisement on 
two separate days, one of which must be a Sunday, in a newspaper of 
general circulation serving the area of intended employment and 
appropriate to the occupation and workers likely to apply for the job 
opportunity. Section 655.151(b) provides that if the employer's job 
opportunity is located in a rural area that does not have a newspaper 
with a Sunday edition, OFLC may direct the employer, in place of a 
Sunday edition, to place a print advertisement in the regularly 
published daily edition with the widest circulation in the area of 
intended employment. Both advertisements must meet the minimum content 
requirements set forth in section 655.152, and the employer is required 
to maintain documentation of the actual newspaper advertisements in the 
event of an audit or other review, as required by section 
655.167(c)(1)(ii).
    In addition, under section 655.154, an employer must conduct 
positive recruitment within a multistate region of traditional or 
expected labor supply where an OFLC Certifying Officer (CO) finds that 
there are a significant number of qualified U.S. workers who, if 
recruited, would be willing to make themselves available for work at 
the time and place needed. Paragraph (c) of this section leaves the 
precise nature of the additional positive recruitment that an employer 
must conduct to the discretion of the CO. In practice, however, the 
Department has generally directed employers to place print 
advertisements in newspapers with the largest circulations in the 
states identified by the CO as traditional or expected labor supply 
states.

B. Need for New Rulemaking

    The Department is proposing to modernize the recruitment that an 
employer must conduct under its regulations by replacing print 
newspaper advertisements with electronic advertisements posted on the 
internet. After due consideration, the Department believes that 
advertisements posted on the types of websites described below will 
reduce burden on employers and applicants, and be a more effective and 
efficient means of recruiting U.S. workers than the print newspaper 
advertisements that section 655.151 currently requires.
    The Department is basing this proposal on several considerations. 
First, available data indicates that farmworkers in the United States 
very rarely, if ever, learn about job opportunities or obtain 
employment through print newspaper advertisements. According to recent 
data available from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), 
farmworkers did not identify print newspaper advertisements as a source 
for obtaining their current job.\2\ This data is consistent with the 
Department's experience conducting audit examinations of labor 
certifications approved under the current rule, as well as anecdotal 
evidence that the Department has received from stakeholders, who report 
that print newspaper advertisements are not an effective method of 
recruiting prospective U.S. workers for agricultural job opportunities.
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    \2\ See U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training 
Administration, Findings from the National Agricultural Workers 
Survey (NAWS) 2013-2014: A Demographic and Employment Profile of 
United States Farmworkers (Research Report No. 12, Dec. 2016), 
available at https://www.doleta.gov/naws (last visited June 9, 
2018).
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    Second, available data also suggests that U.S. workers are now much 
more likely to turn to the internet to search for work than classified 
advertisements in print newspapers. For instance, a recent survey 
conducted by the Pew Research Center indicated that 79 percent of 
Americans research jobs online, whereas only 32 percent use ``ads in 
print publications,'' and only four percent found ads in print 
publications to be the most useful tool in obtaining their recent 
employment.\3\ This trend is likely to continue as U.S. workers gain 
increased and more convenient access to the internet via smartphones 
and other digital devices,\4\ and print newspaper circulation continues 
to decline.\5\ Consequently, classified advertisements in print 
editions are becoming a less effective means of notifying U.S. workers 
about available job opportunities.\6\ In

[[Page 55988]]

recognition of this fact, many newspapers now offer online classified 
employment listings using multi-platform content providers, and popular 
online job search websites power the job boards of thousands of 
newspaper sites, providing a lower cost recruiting option for employers 
and job seekers alike.\7\
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    \3\ Aaron Smith, Searching for Work in the Digital Era, Pew 
Research Center, Nov. 19, 2015, https://www.pewinternet.org/2015/11/19/searching-for-work-in-the-digital-era/.
    See also R. Jason Faberman & Marianna Kudlyak, What Does Online 
Job Search Tell Us About The Labor Market?, Economic Perspectives, 
Jan. 2016, https://www.chicagofed.org/~/media/publications/economic-
perspectives/2016/ep2016-1-pdf.pdf (observing that the online job 
search has become the preferred method of search for nearly all 
types of job seekers and recent research suggests that it is the new 
norm for how job seekers find work); Richard Hernandez, Online Job 
Search: The New Normal, Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Wash. DC), Jan. 2017, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/beyond-bls/pdf/online-job-search-the-new-normal.pdf (reporting that the online job search is now the most 
popular method of job hunting).
    \4\ In 2018, 89 percent of American adults used the internet, 
and 77 percent of American adults owned a smartphone, up from just 
35 percent in 2011. See Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet, Pew Research 
Center, Feb. 5, 2018, https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/; Mobile Fact Sheet, Pew Research Center, Feb. 5, 
2018, https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/.
    \5\ By 2014, fewer than 15 percent of Americans received a daily 
newspaper. See Elaine C. Kamarck and Ashley Gabriele, The News 
Today: 7 Trends in Old and New Media, The Brookings Institution, 
Nov. 10, 2015, https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-news-today-7-trends-in-old-and-new-media.
    \6\ According to the Pew Research Center, the total circulation 
of U.S. daily newspapers (print and digital combined) in 2017 was 
approximately 31 million, down 38 percent from more than 50 million 
in 2007. Pew Research Center, June 13, 2018, https://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/newspapers/ Newspapers Fact Sheet. 
Conversely, job search websites today are attracting a far larger 
pool of potential applicants to find jobs. For example, the top 15 
job search websites alone attract nearly 200 million unique visitors 
each month to search for employment.
    \7\ See Christine Del Castillo, Does Anyone Advertise Jobs in 
Newspapers Anymore?, Workable, May 19, 2016, https://resources.workable.com/blog/newspaper-job-ads.
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    Finally, electronic advertisements offer employers a less 
expensive, more convenient means of broadly disseminating information 
about their job opportunities to potential U.S. workers. Many job 
search websites offer standard advertising packages for free or at 
significantly lower marginal costs than the standard print newspaper 
advertisement, and advertisements can be posted on these sites for 
longer periods than a typical print newspaper advertisement remains in 
circulation, providing greater exposure of the employer's job 
opportunity to U.S. workers at no additional cost to the employer. 
Moreover, unlike print advertisements, which are subject to publishing 
deadlines that can delay exposure of the job opportunity to U.S. 
workers, an electronic advertisement can be posted within minutes or 
hours of submission to the website.
    In light of the foregoing, the Department is proposing to revise 
the recruitment that an employer must conduct under section 655.151 to 
replace print newspaper advertisements with the electronic 
advertisements posted on the internet described below. The Department 
is also proposing minor amendments to sections 655.167 and 655.225 to 
conform those sections to the proposed elimination of print newspaper 
advertisements.

II. Discussion of Proposed Revisions to 20 CFR Part 655, Subpart B

A. Revise Section 655.151 To Replace Newspaper Advertisements With 
Electronic Advertisements

    The Department is proposing to revise section 655.151(a) to replace 
the requirement that an employer place print newspaper advertisements 
with a requirement that the employer advertise its job opportunity on a 
website that is widely viewed and appropriate for use by workers who 
are likely to apply for the job opportunity in the area of intended 
employment. The Department proposes to remove the word ``occupation'' 
from the text in order to address a possible redundancy in the 
language. This proposed drafting change is stylistic only, and the 
Department intends to effect no substantive change by it.
    The proposed rule would not mandate that an employer post its 
advertisement on a specific website. Rather, proposed section 
655.151(a) would allow an employer to place an advertisement on any of 
a variety of websites that are widely viewed and appropriate for use by 
workers who are likely to apply for the job opportunity in the area of 
intended employment, including websites operated by state or local 
agricultural associations, job search websites that advertise 
agricultural job opportunities, and other classified advertisement 
websites with sections focused on local jobs.
    The Department anticipates that advertisements posted on the types 
of websites described above will provide greater exposure of 
agricultural job opportunities to U.S. workers than the print newspaper 
advertisements that section 655.151 currently requires, because they 
can be more easily accessed by U.S. workers across a much larger 
geographic area and for a longer period. The Department included 
websites operated by state or local agricultural associations as an 
example of an appropriate website because some state farm bureaus, 
commissions, and cooperatives provide services that help agricultural 
employers recruit farm labor for seasonal work, and the Department 
believes these organizations can be a valuable asset in advertising and 
coordinating farm labor demands across employers and leveraging social 
media to connect employers with potential workers in the state or local 
area.
    The Department invites comments on whether it should establish 
qualifying criteria (e.g., minimum number of unique visitors per month) 
or more specifically define the types of websites that would fulfill 
the requirement in proposed section 655.151, and whether the regulation 
should explicitly exclude advertisements placed on websites of 
agricultural associations that serve as agents or sole or joint 
employers of H-2A workers, as defined in section 655.103. The 
Department also solicits comments on whether, instead of eliminating 
print newspaper advertisements, it should instead offer electronic 
advertisements as an alternative means of satisfying the existing 
advertising requirement in section 655.151. The Department is not 
proposing this option, given the data and trends discussed in Section 
I.B., which suggest that electronic advertisements will be more 
effective in disseminating information about available job 
opportunities to the American workforce. The Department invites 
comments on whether there are agricultural employers that lack the 
technology or internet access necessary to place the electronic 
advertisements described in the proposed rule, and if so, how the 
Department should determine whether such employers have met their 
obligation to engage in positive recruitment of U.S. workers. For 
instance, the Department could leave current recruitment requirements 
in place as an option for such employers. The Department solicits 
comments on whether there are alternative methods that would more 
broadly and effectively disseminate information about available job 
opportunities to U.S. agricultural workers.
    Proposed section 655.151(b) specifies that an employer's 
advertisement must be clearly visible on the website's homepage or be 
easily retrievable using the search tools on the website. Any 
advertisement that is not clearly visible on the website's homepage 
must be easily retrievable. The Department will consider an 
advertisement to be easily retrievable if it can be quickly accessed 
using a prominently displayed link on the website's homepage or the 
search tools and filters that are prominently displayed on the 
website's homepage. Each navigation choice or interaction that a job 
seeker has with the website should take him or her closer to the job 
opportunity being advertised, and applicants should be able to quickly 
locate job vacancies using a number of search criteria, such as 
occupation, job or position title, geographic location, pay range, and 
keywords in the job description. The employer must use commonly 
understood terms and keywords to describe its job opportunity when 
placing the advertisement, so that U.S. workers who are likely to apply 
for the position will retrieve the advertisement when using the 
website's search function.
    Proposed section 655.151(b) would also require an employer to post 
the electronic advertisement for a period of no less than 14 
consecutive calendar days. Unlike the print newspaper advertisements 
that an employer must place under the current rule, which are typically 
published once, many websites offer standard advertising packages that 
allow an employer to place an advertisement for a weekly period or up 
to 30 calendar days for free or at a significantly lower marginal cost

[[Page 55989]]

than a standard print newspaper advertisement. Accordingly, the 
Department anticipates that the consecutive fourteen-day posting period 
in proposed section 655.151(b) will attract more U.S. workers to job 
opportunities than the print newspaper advertisements that section 
655.151 currently requires, because an employer's job opportunity will 
be easily accessible to U.S. workers for a longer period than a print 
newspaper advertisement, at no additional cost to the employer.
    Further, in order to ensure that the job opportunity described in 
the advertisement is readily available to U.S. workers, proposed 
section 655.151(b) would also require that the advertisement be 
publicly accessible at no cost to an applicant. To meet this 
requirement, the website on which the advertisement is placed cannot 
require U.S. workers to establish personal accounts or make payments of 
any kind to view the advertisement. The website must also be 
functionally compatible with the latest commercial web browser 
platforms and easily viewable on mobile smartphones and similar 
portable devices. Moreover, like the current rule, proposed section 
655.42(b) would require that the advertisement comply with the minimum 
content requirements set forth in section 655.41.
    In order to ensure that an employer retains the evidence necessary 
to demonstrate compliance with proposed section 655.151(a) and (b), 
proposed section 655.151(c) would require an employer to print and 
retain screen shots of the web pages on which its advertisement appears 
and screen shots of the web pages establishing the path used to access 
the advertisement. Although the proposed rule does not require 
employers to submit this documentation to the CO with their recruitment 
reports, an employer must nevertheless retain this documentation in 
accordance with section 655.167 and provide it to the Department in the 
event of an audit or other review.
    The proposed section 655.151(d) includes a transition provision 
that would permit an employer submitting an Application for Temporary 
Employment Certification with a date of need prior to October 1, 2019 
to elect between placing (a) an electronic advertisement in accordance 
with the requirements in the proposed rule, or (b) two newspaper 
advertisements in accordance with existing requirements. Because the 
Department is proposing to have this rule take effect immediately upon 
publication of the final rule, the Department is including this 
transition period to provide flexibility to employers that seek 
additional time to understand and comply with the proposed regulatory 
revisions, while simultaneously permitting employers that wish to place 
electronic advertisements immediately upon the effective date of the 
final rule the ability to do so. The transition provision is intended 
to better ensure, among other things, that employers who have purchased 
newspaper advertising space in advance do not lose the benefit of such 
purchase.
    However, the option to elect between the placement of newspaper and 
electronic advertisements would apply only to those applications with a 
start date of need prior to October 1, 2019. All employers submitting 
an Application for Temporary Employment Certification with a start date 
of need after the transition period ends (i.e., employers with dates of 
need beginning on or after October 1, 2019) would be required to place 
an advertisement in accordance with the proposed revisions to section 
655.151(a)-(c).

B. Retain Section 655.154's Requirement for Positive Recruitment

    As previously discussed, employers seeking H-2A temporary labor 
certification are statutorily required to engage in positive 
recruitment of U.S. workers in multistate regions of traditional or 
expected labor supply. Under section 655.154(c), when a job opportunity 
is located in an area served by traditional or expected labor supply 
states, the CO will designate no more than three states for each area 
of intended employment listed on the employer's application and 
describe the additional positive recruitment steps that the employer 
must conduct. In determining the specific recruitment steps that an 
employer must conduct, the CO must consider ``the normal recruitment 
efforts of non H-2A agricultural employers of comparable or smaller 
size in the area of intended employment, and the kind and degree of 
recruitment efforts which the potential H-2A employer made to obtain 
foreign workers.'' Section 655.154(b). The Department's standard 
practice has been to require an employer to place print advertisements 
in newspapers serving the traditional or expected labor supply states 
designated by the CO, see 75 FR at 6930; however, given the data and 
trends discussed in Section I.B., the Department does not intend to 
continue this practice. While the Department continues to believe that 
the CO must evaluate the appropriate locations and methods of 
recruiting U.S. workers in traditional or expected labor supply states 
on a case-by-case basis, where the CO determines that an electronic 
advertisement placed under proposed section 655.151 is a sufficient 
means of recruiting U.S. workers in the traditional or expected labor 
supply states identified for the employer's job opportunity, this 
advertisement will likely fulfill the positive recruitment required by 
section 655.154.

C. DOL-Assisted Advertising

    The Department has taken initial steps toward creating an online 
platform to assist employers in complying with the requirements for 
electronic advertising under this proposed rule. Pending the outcome of 
this rulemaking, the Department intends to leverage the latest 
advertising technologies by establishing a mechanism to make 
advertising data available to popular job-search websites. 
Specifically, the Department is evaluating the development of a 
centralized platform to automate the electronic advertising of approved 
H-2A job opportunities. The Department anticipates that, once fully 
developed and implemented, this electronic advertising platform would 
maintain a standard set of data on each job opportunity that can be 
integrated with a wide array of job search website technologies. 
Through this platform, DOL would make available to job-search websites 
real-time access to the information that employers provide about their 
job opportunities subject to agreement to abide by terms of service. 
The companies that operate job-search websites would execute standard 
protocols to pull new H-2A jobs from the online platform in real time 
for advertising to U.S. workers. DOL is not proposing to mandate the 
use of the new electronic advertising platform but instead would make 
participation voluntary for H-2A employers.
    If developed as currently envisioned, the Department expects that 
employers would provide information about their job opportunities, as 
part of their H-2A applications for temporary labor certifications, and 
indicate their intention to use the electronic advertising platform. 
Employers that elect to use this platform would have information about 
their job opportunities transmitted by the Department to companies 
offering to provide advertising services, which in turn would advertise 
these jobs on the companies' job-search websites.
    The Department believes that facilitating employers' use of 
technology is in the best interest of employers and U.S. workers. 
Because information about the job opportunity would already be provided 
at the time of filing the H-2A application for a temporary labor

[[Page 55990]]

certification and transmitted by the Department to companies operating 
these job search websites, the burden associated with placing separate 
electronic advertisements would be significantly reduced. The goal is 
to reduce burdens on the regulated community, while ensuring that the 
maximum number of U.S. workers learn about job opportunities. Having 
DOL maintain a publicly available list of the companies offering this 
advertising service, would give U.S. workers and other organizations 
that provide employment placement services a greater degree of 
certainty regarding where these temporary or seasonal jobs will be 
advertised and available for U.S. workers to apply. Employers that 
elect to use the new platform would satisfy the advertising requirement 
in Sec.  655.151. Finally, offering this platform to employers would 
ensure more uniform compliance with advertising requirements.
    The Department is not soliciting comments on this electronic 
advertising platform at this time, but will inform the public about the 
advertising platform's completion through notices in the Federal 
Register.

D. Other Minor Changes for Conformity

    The Department is proposing minor revisions to two other sections 
to conform with the proposed changes to section 655.151. First, the 
Department is proposing to make a technical amendment to section 
655.167(c)(1)(ii), which specifies document retention requirements, to 
delete a reference to print advertisements in professional, trade, or 
ethnic publications, and to correct the text's cross-reference to 
another regulatory provision. Currently, the regulation directs 
employers to retain ``advertising as specified in Sec.  655.152.'' But 
the reference to ``655.152'' is incorrect, as that provision provides 
the content requirements. The advertising requirement is specified in 
Sec.  655.151. Accordingly, the text should properly read ``advertising 
as specified in Sec.  655.151.''
    Second, the Department is proposing to amend 655.225(d), which 
specifies the post-acceptance requirements for positions engaged in the 
herding or production of livestock on the range, to delete the 
reference to ``a newspaper of general circulation serving the area of 
intended employment,'' in order to conform with the proposed change to 
the advertisements required by section 655.151.

III. Administrative Information

A. Administrative Procedure Act

    The Department proposes to claim an exception under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(1) from the 30-day delayed effective date requirement on the 
basis that this rule relieves the restriction against online 
advertising of jobs for which an employer seeks to hire H-2A workers. 
The final rule would relieve regulated parties of the requirement that 
they only place paper advertisements in newspapers of general 
circulation in the area of intended employment. During the transition 
period, which would apply to all employers who file an Application for 
Temporary Employment Certification with a date of need prior to October 
1, 2019, the rule would allow employers to select between placing two 
paper newspaper advertisements or placing an online advertisement. 
After the transition period ends, the rule would altogether replace the 
newspaper advertising requirement with online advertising, which is 
anticipated to be more cost-effective and flexible for employers, as 
well as a more effective way of reaching U.S. workers who may be able, 
willing, and qualified for the employers' job opportunities. The online 
advertising would also provide flexibility for U.S. workers who are job 
seekers to identify and apply for the job opportunities for which 
employers seek to hire H-2A workers. The Department anticipates that 
allowing employers additional time to transition away from advertising 
by newspaper over an approximately six-month period after the rule's 
publication would provide needed flexibility, and thus provide 
employers with notice and time to conform their business practices to 
the new rule. Therefore, this rule would take effect immediately upon 
publication of the final rule.

B. Executive Orders 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review), 13563 
(Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review), and 13771 (Reducing 
Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs)

    Under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866, the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB)'s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs determines 
whether a regulatory action is significant and, therefore, subject to 
the requirements of the E.O. and review by OMB. 58 FR 51735. Sec. 3(f) 
of E.O. 12866 defines a ``significant regulatory action'' as an action 
that is likely to result in a rule that (1) has an annual effect on the 
economy of $100 million or more, or adversely affects in a material way 
a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
environment, public health or safety, or state, local or tribal 
governments or communities (also referred to as economically 
significant); (2) creates serious inconsistency or otherwise interferes 
with an action taken or planned by another agency; (3) materially 
alters the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, user fees, or loan 
programs, or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; or (4) 
raises novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal mandates, the 
President's priorities, or the principles set forth in the E.O. Id. OMB 
has determined that this proposed rule is a significant, but not 
economically significant, regulatory action under Sec. 3(f) of E.O. 
12866. Consequently, OMB has reviewed this rule.
    E.O. 13563 directs agencies to propose or adopt a regulation only 
upon a reasoned determination that its benefits justify its costs; the 
regulation is tailored to impose the least burden on society, 
consistent with achieving the regulatory objectives; and in choosing 
among alternative regulatory approaches, the agency has selected those 
approaches that maximize net benefits. E.O. 13563 recognizes that some 
benefits are difficult to quantify and provides that, where appropriate 
and permitted by law, agencies may consider and discuss qualitatively 
values that are difficult or impossible to quantify, including equity, 
human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts.
    E.O. 13771, titled Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory 
Costs, was issued on January 30, 2017. This proposed rule is expected 
to be an E.O. 13771 deregulatory action because the cost savings to H-
2A employers associated with the rule are larger than the costs. The 
estimated cost savings associated with this regulatory action are 
derived from the proposed revision to section 655.151(a), which would 
replace print newspaper advertisements with electronic advertisements 
posted on the internet.
1. Subject-by-Subject Analysis
    The Department's analysis below considers the expected impacts of 
the following aspects of the proposed rule against the baseline (i.e., 
the 2010 Final Rule): (a) The replacement of newspaper advertisements 
with electronic advertisements, and (b) the time it takes the regulated 
community to read and review the rule.
a. Electronic Advertisements
    The Department is proposing to modernize the positive recruitment 
that an employer must conduct under its regulations by eliminating the 
use of

[[Page 55991]]

print newspaper advertisements and replacing it with electronic 
advertisements posted on the internet, which will make the job 
opportunity more broadly available to U.S. workers. Specifically, the 
Department is proposing to revise section 655.151(a) to replace print 
newspaper advertisements requirements with a requirement for an 
electronic advertisement posted on a website that is widely viewed and 
appropriate for use by workers who are likely to apply for the job 
opportunity in the area of intended employment. As discussed in section 
I.B. of this NPRM, the basis for this proposal is rooted in the 
Department's determination that electronic advertisements will be a 
more effective and efficient means of recruiting U.S. workers than the 
print newspaper advertisements that its regulations currently require.
i. Cost Savings
    To estimate the cost savings to employers that would result from 
the proposed rule, the Department first calculated the average number 
of H-2A temporary labor certifications approved in Fiscal Year (FY) 
based on data from FY 2015-2017, which yielded an annual average of 
9,796.\8\ Next, the Department identified the top five states in which 
prospective H-2A employers received temporary labor certifications, and 
it researched the cost of placing a newspaper advertisement in the most 
populous city in each of these states (for several newspapers, 
including large and local papers) that would satisfy the content 
requirements set forth in section 655.152.\9\ The Department then 
averaged the data it obtained to estimate the average cost of complying 
with section 655.151. Based on these data, the Department determined 
that the average cost of placing the newspaper advertisements required 
by section 655.151 is $672 (or $336 for each advertisement).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ The average is based on 8,721 H-2A temporary labor 
certifications in FY 2015; 9,751 temporary labor certifications in 
FY 2016; and 10,917 temporary labor certifications in FY 2017. See 
https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm.
    \9\ The top 5 states in which employers seek to place H-2A 
workers are California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and 
Washington.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As mentioned above, the Department believes, based on preliminary 
research, employers can choose to advertise using online job search 
websites free of charge, so removing the requirement to advertise in a 
print newspaper would result in a cost savings equal to the cost of 
complying with the current regulation.\10\ Although section 655.151 
currently requires employers to advertise on two consecutive days, one 
of which must be a Sunday, the Department did not identify a 
significant difference in cost between advertisements placed on Sundays 
and weekdays, so the Department did not distinguish between these two 
costs when calculating total advertising cost savings. To estimate the 
annual cost savings of newspaper advertising costs that employers will 
avoid under the proposed rule, the Department multiplied the average 
annual number of approved H-2A temporary labor certifications (9,796) 
by the average newspaper advertising cost of $672. This yielded an 
average annual cost savings of $6.58 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \10\ The Department has data on three commonly used job-search 
websites that allow employers to advertise free of charge.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. Time To Understand Rule
    During the first year that this rule would be in effect, employers 
seeking H-2A workers would need time to learn about the new 
requirements. The Department assumes that many employers participating 
in the H-2A program would learn about the requirements of the new rule 
from an industry newsletter or bulletin. The Department assumes that 
the amount of time required to understand the rule change to be 10 
minutes. The proposed rule addresses only the job advertising 
requirements for employers seeking H-2A workers.
i. Costs
    This requirement represents a cost to employers participating in 
the H-2A program in the first year of the rule. The Department 
estimates this cost by multiplying the time required to read and review 
the new rule (10 minutes) by the median hourly wage of a human 
resources manager at an agricultural business ($31.84),\11\ multiplied 
by a factor of two (2) to account for fringe benefits and overhead, 
which yields a cost of $10.61 per employer. The Department estimates 
the total cost of reading and reviewing the rule by multiplying $10.61 
by the average number of employers participating in the H-2A program 
over FY 2015-2017 (6,676). This calculation results in a cost of 
$70,855 in the first year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Wage derived from Bureau of Labor Statistics median hourly 
wage for HR Specialists (occupation code 13-1071), May 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    DOL acknowledges, however, that there are some potentially limited 
situations--particularly in rural communities--where the upfront costs 
associated with accessing the internet and learning how to post such 
advertisements may result in notable opportunity costs for employers. 
DOL believes that very few employers do not have access to the 
internet. For those employers that do not currently have internet 
access, DOL estimates that it will take two hours to access the 
internet (which may include transportation to the nearest library), 
research the websites and pick one to use, establish an account on that 
website, learn how to post a job on the website, and establish an email 
account. In addition, employers would need to make additional trips to 
check for responses from U.S. workers. For employers with access to the 
internet who are not familiar with posting such advertisements online, 
there will be some up-front costs associated with the time it takes to 
research job advertisement sites, establish an account, and learn how 
to post a job on the website.
    Because of the uncertainties, we are unable to provide an estimate 
of the number of employers who do not have access to the internet, or 
those who have access to the internet but are unfamiliar with posting 
jobs online, and would incur these additional costs to post 
advertisements online. DOL seeks comment from the public on the likely 
magnitude and incidence of these costs. However, online advertisements 
for H-2A employment would increase the visibility of job openings to 
potential U.S. workers and increase the number of workers that would be 
able to access these jobs. This benefit would significantly outweigh 
any cost potentially incurred by the negligible number of employers 
that might be affected by the transition from print newspaper 
advertisements to online job postings. The Department therefore 
believes that the net societal benefit of implementing this rule would 
be maximized if all H-2A employers are required to utilize online 
advertisements. As such this rule constitutes as a deregulatory action.
2. Summary of Impacts
    The Department estimates the total first-year costs of the proposed 
rule to be $70,855. This cost results from the time required to read 
and review the proposed rule. This cost is incurred by employers 
seeking H-2A workers subject to proposed 655.151(a). The Department 
estimates first-year cost savings of $6.58 million. This cost savings 
results from replacing the requirement that employers place print 
newspaper advertisements with a requirement that employers place 
internet advertisements. Net first-year

[[Page 55992]]

cost savings amount to $6.51 million. This estimated cost savings 
excludes any increase in costs to employers without current access to 
the internet and any up-front costs incurred by those unfamiliar with 
posting job advertisements online who need to establish accounts, and 
invest time in learning how to post online.
    Generally, annual cost savings are expected to be $6.58 million in 
all years following the first year due to the lack of monetized costs 
regarding the time required to read and review the proposed rule. The 
10-year discounted net cost savings of the proposed rule range from 
$46.15 million to $56.06 million (with 7- and 3-percent discount rates, 
respectively). The annualized net cost savings of the proposed rule is 
$6.57 million (with 3- and 7-percent discount rates). When the 
Department uses a perpetual time horizon to allow for cost comparisons 
under E.O. 13771, the annualized cost savings of this proposed rule are 
$6.57 million at a discount rate of 7 percent (excluding any up-front 
familiarization costs or increased costs to employers without access to 
the internet).

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 
1996, Public Law 104-121 (March 29, 1996), requires federal agencies 
engaged in rulemaking to consider the impact of their proposals on 
small entities, consider alternatives to minimize that impact, and 
solicit public comment on their analyses. The RFA requires the 
assessment of the impact of a regulation on a wide range of small 
entities, including small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and 
small governmental jurisdictions. Agencies must perform a review to 
determine whether a proposed or final rule would have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603 
and 604.
    This proposed rule may impact small businesses that request H-2A 
temporary labor certifications. The Department assumed that the average 
number of H-2A temporary labor certifications requested by any small 
business per year would be one. The Department estimates that small 
businesses would incur a one-time cost of $10.61 to familiarize 
themselves with the rule and would incur annual cost savings of $672 
associated with advertising online rather than in print newspapers. 
Over a 10-year period, the net annualized cost savings for a small 
business would be $672 at a 7-percent discount rate.
    The Department reviewed the impacts of the proposed rule for two 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes that 
frequently request H-2A temporary labor certifications--NAICS 115115: 
Farm Labor Contractors & Crew Leaders, and NAICS 111998: All Other 
Miscellaneous Crop Farming. The Small Business Administration (SBA) 
estimates that revenue for a small business with NAICS Code 115115 is 
$15 million and for NAICS Code 111998 is $750,000.\12\ The impact of 
the proposed rule would be less than 1 percent of annual revenue for 
the small businesses in these industries with the employment size fewer 
than 5 ($710,717 for NAICS 115115 and $430,835 for NAICS 11).\13\ Based 
on this determination, the Department certifies that the proposed rule 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ U.S. Small Business Administration. (2017). Table of Small 
Business Size Standards Matched to North American Industry 
Classification System Codes. Retrieved from: https://www.naics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SBA_Size_Standards_Table.pdf.
    \13\ U.S. Census, 2012 SUSB Annual Data Tables by Establishment 
Industry, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2012/econ/susb/2012-susb-annual.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., provides 
that 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 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 that does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 
1320.5(a) and 1320.6. DOL has submitted the Information Collection 
Request (ICR) contained in this rule to OMB and obtained approval using 
emergency clearance procedures outlined at 5 CFR 1320.13.
    More specifically, this rule proposes to replace print newspaper 
advertisements with an advertisement posted on a website that is widely 
viewed and appropriate for use by U.S. workers who are likely to apply 
for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment. The 
proposed rule would require that this advertisement be clearly visible 
on the website's homepage or be easily retrievable through the website, 
posted for a period of no less than 14 consecutive calendar days, 
publicly accessible to U.S. workers at no cost using the latest browser 
technologies and mobile devices, and satisfy the advertising content 
requirements set forth in Sec.  655.152. Under the proposed rule and in 
accordance with 20 CFR 655.167(c)(1)(ii), an employer would be required 
to retain documentation demonstrating that it posted an electronic 
advertisement in compliance with the requirements in the proposed rule, 
including screen shots of the web page on which the advertisement 
appears and screen shots of the web pages establishing the path that 
U.S. workers must follow to access the advertisement. The employer must 
be prepared to produce all information and records contained in this 
information collection for the Department or other federal agencies in 
the event of an audit examination, investigation, or other enforcement 
proceedings in the H-2A program. The Department is using technology to 
reduce burden by replacing newspaper advertisements with electronic 
advertisements. The information collection requirements associated with 
this rule are summarized as follows:
    Agency: DOL-ETA.
    Type of Information Collection: New.
    Title of the Collection: Advertising Requirements for Employers 
Seeking to Employ H-2A Nonimmigrant Workers.
    Agency Form Number: None.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,796.
    Average Responses per Year per Respondent: 2.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 19,592.
    Average Time per Response: 7 minutes per application.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 1,142 hours.
    Total Estimated Other Costs Burden: $0.

E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) is intended, among 
other things, to curb the practice of imposing unfunded Federal 
mandates on State, local, and tribal governments. Title II of the Act 
requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement assessing 
the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed or final agency rule 
that may result in $100 million or more expenditure (adjusted annually 
for inflation) in any one year by State, local, and tribal governments, 
in the aggregate, or by the private sector.

[[Page 55993]]

    This NPRM, if finalized, does not exceed the $100 million 
expenditure in any 1 year when adjusted for inflation, and this 
rulemaking does not contain such a mandate. The requirements of Title 
II of the Act, therefore, do not apply, and the Department has not 
prepared a statement under the Act.

F. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996

    This NPRM, if finalized, is not a major rule as defined by section 
804 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Act of 1996, Public 
Law 104-121, 804, 110 Stat. 847, 872 (1996), 5 U.S.C. 804(2). This 
proposed rule has not been found to result in an annual effect on the 
economy of $100 million or more; a major increase in costs or prices; 
or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, 
productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based 
companies to compete with foreign-based companies in domestic or export 
markets.

G. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This NPRM, if finalized, does not have federalism implications 
because it does not have substantial direct effects on the States, on 
the relationship between the national government and the States, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels 
of government. Accordingly, Executive Order 13132, Federalism, requires 
no further agency action or analysis.

H. Executive Order 13175, Indian Tribal Governments

    This NPRM, if finalized, does not have ``tribal implications'' 
because it does not have substantial direct effects on one or more 
Indian tribes, on the relationship between the Federal government and 
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities 
between the Federal government and Indian tribes. Accordingly, 
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal 
Governments, requires no further agency action or analysis.

I. The Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1999: 
Assessment of Federal Regulations and Policies on Families

    This NPRM, if finalized, will have no effect on family well-being 
or stability, marital commitment, parental rights or authority, or 
income or poverty of families and children. Accordingly, section 654 of 
the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act of 1999 (5 
U.S.C. 601 note) requires no further agency action, analysis, or 
assessment.

J. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    This NPRM, if finalized, will have no adverse impact on children. 
Accordingly, Executive Order 13045, Protection of Children from 
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks, as amended by Executive 
Orders 13229 and 13296, requires no further agency action or analysis.

K. Environmental Impact Assessment

    This action is one of a category of actions that do not 
individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human 
environment. This action is therefore categorically excluded from 
further review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4375.

L. Executive Order 13211, Energy Supply

    This NPRM, if finalized, has not been identified to have impacts on 
energy supply. Accordingly, Executive Order 13211 requires no further 
Agency action or analysis.

M. Executive Order 12630, Constitutionally Protected Property Rights

    This NPRM, if finalized, will not implement a policy with takings 
implications. Accordingly, Executive Order 12630, Governmental Actions 
and Interference with Constitutionally Protected Property Rights, 
requires no further agency action or analysis.

N. Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform Analysis

    This NPRM, if finalized, was drafted and reviewed in accordance 
with Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. This proposed rule 
was written to provide a clear legal standard for affected conduct and 
was carefully reviewed to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguities, so 
as to minimize litigation and undue burden on the Federal court system. 
The Department has determined that this proposed rule meets the 
applicable standards provided in section 3 of Executive Order 12988.

List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 655

    Administrative practice and procedure, Employment, Employment and 
training, Enforcement, Foreign workers, Forest and forest products, 
Fraud, Health professions, Immigration, Labor, Longshore and harbor 
work, Migrant workers, Nonimmigrant workers, Passports and visas, 
Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Unemployment, 
Wages, Working conditions.


0
For the reasons stated in this document, 20 CFR part 655 is proposed to 
be amended as follows:

PART 655--TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN WORKERS IN THE UNITED 
STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 655 is revised to read as follows:

    Authority: Section 655.0 issued under 8 U.S.C. 
1101(a)(15)(E)(iii), 1101(a)(15)(H)(i) and (ii), 8 U.S.C. 
1103(a)(6), 1182(m), (n) and (t), 1184(c), (g), and (j), 1188, and 
1288(c) and (d); sec. 3(c)(1), Pub. L. 101-238, 103 Stat. 2099, 2102 
(8 U.S.C. 1182 note); sec. 221(a), Pub. L. 101-649, 104 Stat. 4978, 
5027 (8 U.S.C. 1184 note); sec. 303(a)(8), Pub. L. 102-232, 105 
Stat. 1733, 1748 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note); sec. 323(c), Pub. L. 103-206, 
107 Stat. 2428; sec. 412(e), Pub. L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681 (8 
U.S.C. 1182 note); sec. 2(d), Pub. L. 106-95, 113 Stat. 1312, 1316 
(8 U.S.C. 1182 note); 29 U.S.C. 49k; Pub. L. 107-296, 116 Stat. 
2135, as amended; Pub. L. 109-423, 120 Stat. 2900; sec. 205 of 
division M, Pub. L. 115-141, 132 Stat. 348; 8 CFR 2.1, 
214.2(h)(4)(i), and 214.2(h)(6)(iii).
    Subpart A issued under 8 CFR 214.2(h).
    Subpart B issued under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 1184(c), 
and 1188; and 8 CFR 214.2(h).
    Subparts F and G issued under 8 U.S.C. 1288(c) and (d); sec. 
323(c), Pub. L. 103-206, 107 Stat. 2428; and 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, 
Pub. L. 114-74 at section 701.
    Subparts H and I issued under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) and 
(b)(1), 1182(n) and (t), and 1184(g) and (j); sec. 303(a)(8), Pub. 
L. 102-232, 105 Stat. 1733, 1748 (8 U.S.C. 1101 note); sec. 412(e), 
Pub. L. 105-277, 112 Stat. 2681; 8 CFR 214.2(h); and 28 U.S.C. 2461 
note, Pub. L. 114-74 at section 701.
    Subparts L and M issued under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(c) and 
1182(m); sec. 2(d), Pub. L. 106-95, 113 Stat. 1312, 1316 (8 U.S.C. 
1182 note); Pub. L. 109-423, 120 Stat. 2900; and 8 CFR 214.2(h).

0
2. Revise Sec.  655.151 to read as follows:


Sec.  655.151   Advertising in the area of intended employment.

    (a) Where to conduct recruitment. The employer must place an 
advertisement for the job opportunity on at least one website that is 
widely viewed and appropriate for use by U.S. workers who are likely to 
apply for the job opportunity in the area of intended employment.
    (b) Nature of the recruitment. The advertisement must be clearly 
visible on the website's homepage or be easily retrievable through the 
website, posted for a period of no less than 14 consecutive calendar 
days, publicly accessible to U.S. workers at no cost using the latest 
browser technologies and mobile devices, and satisfy the requirements 
set forth in Sec.  655.152.

[[Page 55994]]

    (c) Proof of recruitment. An employer must retain documentation in 
accordance with Sec.  655.167(c)(1)(ii) that demonstrates compliance 
with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. Such documentation must 
include screen shots of the web page on which the advertisement appears 
and screen shots of the web pages establishing the path that U.S. 
workers must follow to access the advertisement.
    (d) Transition period for applications with dates of need prior to 
October 1, 2019. (1) All employers submitting an Application for 
Temporary Employment Certification with a date of need on or after 
October 1, 2019 must place and retain documentation of an electronic 
advertisement in accordance with paragraphs (a) through (c) of this 
section.
    (2) An employer submitting an Application for Temporary Employment 
Certification with a date of need prior to October 1, 2019 may elect to 
place two newspaper advertisements in compliance with the requirements 
in paragraphs (d)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section, in lieu of placing 
and retaining documentation of the electronic advertisement required by 
paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section.
    (i) The employer must place an advertisement (in a language other 
than English, where the CO determines appropriate) on 2 separate days, 
which may be consecutive, one of which must be a Sunday (except as 
provided in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section), in a newspaper of 
general circulation serving the area of intended employment and is 
appropriate to the occupation and the workers likely to apply for the 
job opportunity. Newspaper advertisements must satisfy the requirements 
set forth in Sec.  655.152.
    (ii) If the job opportunity is located in a rural area that does 
not have a newspaper with a Sunday edition, the CO may direct the 
employer, in place of a Sunday edition, to advertise in the regularly 
published daily edition with the widest circulation in the area of 
intended employment.
0
3. Amend Sec.  655.167 by revising paragraph (c)(1)(ii) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  655.167   Document retention requirements.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) Advertising as specified in Sec.  655.151;
* * * * *
0
4. Amend Sec.  655.225 by revising paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  655.225   Post-acceptance requirements for herding and range 
livestock.

* * * * *
    (d) The employer will not be required to place an advertisement as 
required in Sec.  655.151.
* * * * *

Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2018-24497 Filed 11-8-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P