Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program, 798-799 [2019-00441]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 798-799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-00441]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and 
Training (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision 
titled, ``H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program,'' to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Public 
comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives 
on or before March 4, 2019.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge 
from the RegInfo.gov website at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=201812-1205-002 (this link will only become active 
on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting 
Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are 
not toll-free numbers) or sending an email to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.
    Submit comments about this request by mail to the 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; by Fax: 202-395-5806 (this is not a toll-free 
number); or by email: OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov. Commenters are 
encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments 
by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the 
Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance 
Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 
DC 20210; or by email: DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or sending an 
email to DOL_PRA_PUBLIC@dol.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This ICR seeks approval under the PRA for 
revisions to the H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program information 
collection. The information collection is required by Sections 
101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) and 214(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(INA) (8 U.S.C. 1011(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) and 1184(c)), as well as 8 CFR 
214.2(h)(6), 20 CFR 655, Subpart A, and 29 CFR 503. The H-2B program 
enables employers to bring nonimmigrant foreign workers to the United 
States to perform non-agricultural work of a temporary nature. See 8 
U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 
consults with DOL with respect to the H-2B program, and DOL provides 
advice on whether U.S. workers capable of performing the temporary 
services or labor are available. See 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(1), INA Section 
214(c)(1) (providing for DHS to consult with ``appropriate agencies of 
the Government''). Under DHS regulations, an H-2B petition for 
temporary employment must be accompanied by an approved temporary labor 
certification from DOL, which serves as DOL's consultative advice to 
DHS regarding whether a qualified U.S. worker is available to fill the 
petitioning H-2B employer's job opportunity and whether a foreign 
worker's employment in the job opportunity will adversely affect the 
wages or working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers. See 8 
CFR 214.2(h)(6)(iii)(A), (iv)(A). DHS and DOL jointly promulgated 
regulations establishing the processes by which an employer must obtain 
a prevailing wage and temporary labor certification from DOL, and the 
rights and obligations of workers and employers. See 20 CFR 655, 
Subpart A; 29 CFR 503; 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(iii)-(iv).
    This ICR, OMB Control No. 1205-0509, includes the collection of 
information related to the use of employer-provided surveys for 
determining prevailing wages and the temporary labor certification 
process in the H-2B program. The Form ETA-9165, Employer-Provided 
Survey Attestations to Accompany H-2B Prevailing Wage Determination 
Request Based on a Non-OES Survey, is used to collect information that 
permits ETA to determine whether an employer-provided survey can be 
used to establish a prevailing wage in the occupational classification 
in lieu of a prevailing wage determined using the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. The 
information contained in the Form ETA-9142B, H-2B Application for 
Temporary Employment Certification, and corresponding appendices serve 
as the basis for the Secretary's determination that qualified U.S. 
workers are not available to perform the services or labor needed by 
the employer and that the wages and working conditions of similarly 
employed U.S. workers will not be adversely affected by the employment 
of H-2B workers. This determination is required before a petition can 
be approved by DHS. Employers use Appendix B of the Form ETA-9142B to 
attest that they will comply with all of the terms, conditions, and 
obligations of the H-2B program.
    ETA is seeking comments on proposed revisions to the Form ETA-
9142B, H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification; Form 
ETA-9142B, Appendix B; Form ETA-9165, Employer-Provided Survey 
Attestations to Accompany H-2B Prevailing Wage Determination Request 
Based on a Non-OES Survey; and the instructions accompanying those 
forms. The proposed revisions will better align information collection 
requirements with DOL's current regulatory framework, provide greater 
clarity to employers on regulatory requirements, standardize and 
streamline information

[[Page 799]]

collection to reduce employer time and burden preparing applications, 
and promote greater efficiency and transparency in ETA's review and 
issuance of labor certification decisions under the H-2B program.
    ETA is also seeking comments on the Form ETA-9155, H-2B 
Registration, which allows ETA to determine whether the nature and 
duration of the employer's need for H-2B workers is temporary. Where 
ETA has not operationalized the registration process through a separate 
notice in the Federal Register, H-2B applications are exempt from the 
registration requirements under 20 CFR 655.11, and the adjudication of 
the employer's temporary need will continue to occur based on 
information collected on the Form ETA-9142B.
    ETA is also seeking comments on its proposed implementation of 
three new appendices to the Form ETA-9142B. The proposed Appendix A 
would require an employer to use a standard format to disclose 
additional place(s) of employment and, if applicable, multiple wage 
offers for the job opportunity. Proposed Appendix C would require an 
employer to use a standard format to disclose the identity and location 
of all foreign labor recruiters. In order to recruit prospective 
foreign workers for the job opportunities offered by the employer under 
the Form ETA-9142B, the employer, and its attorney or agent (as 
applicable), must provide the identity and location of all persons and 
entities hired by or working for the recruiter or agent and any of the 
agent(s) or employee(s) of those person and entities. 20 CFR 655.9(b). 
Collection of this information in a standard format will also permit 
ETA more effectively to comply with 20 CFR 655.9(c), which requires the 
maintenance of a publicly available list of foreign labor recruiters 
and the location(s) in which they are operating. Proposed Appendix D 
would require an employer filing as a job contractor to disclose the 
name and contact information of its employer-client, as required by 20 
CFR 655.19(d)(1). These appendices will establish a more efficient and 
standardized method of collecting information currently submitted by 
employers to the Department using a variety of paper-based documents 
that are separately attached to the Form ETA-9142B.
    To promote greater efficiency in issuing temporary labor 
certification decisions and minimize delays associated with employers 
filing H-2B petitions with DHS, ETA is seeking to eliminate the 
issuance of paper-based labor certification decisions by proposing the 
creation of a one-page Form ETA-9142B, Final Determination: H-2B 
Temporary Labor Certification Approval, which will be issued 
electronically to employers granted temporary labor certification by 
DOL. In circumstances where the employer or, if applicable, its 
authorized attorney or agent, is not able to receive the temporary 
labor certification documents electronically, ETA will send the 
certification documents printed on standard paper in a manner that 
ensures overnight delivery.
    Finally, ETA is requesting a three-year extension, without change, 
of the Form ETA-9142B, Seafood Industry Attestation. Employers in the 
seafood industry who wish to stagger the entry of H-2B workers into the 
United States between 90 and 120 days after the certified start date of 
need will need to complete the Form ETA-9142B, Seafood Industry 
Attestation, and provide a copy to each H-2B worker to present, upon 
request by DHS, when seeking entry into the United States.
    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 that 
does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 
1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection 
under Control Number 1205-0509. The DOL notes that existing information 
collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month 
extension while they undergo review. New requirements would only take 
effect upon OMB approval. For additional substantive information about 
this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on 
September 7, 2018 (83 FR 45469).
    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 thirty (30) days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1205-0509. 
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 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: DOL-ETA.
    Title of Collection: H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0509.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households; Private Sector 
(businesses or other for-profit institutions); Federal Government; and 
State, Local and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 85,057.
    Annual Frequency: On Occasion.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 286,978.
    Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 80,748 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $931,287.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

     Dated: December 21, 2018.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-00441 Filed 1-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P