Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States; Ratification of Department's Actions, 38838-38839 [2024-10013]
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38838
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
ECCN 0E502. For the reference for
0E502, this correction removes this
ECCN from footnote 9 because none of
the technology under this ECCN
formerly required a license to Australia
or the United Kingdom for NS1 or RS1
reasons for control.
ECCN 0E505. For the reference for
0E505, this correction specifies that the
license requirement in footnote 9 for
0E505 is limited to ‘‘technology’’ for
‘‘development,’’ ‘‘production,’’
operation, installation, maintenance,
repair, overhaul, or refurbishing
commodities in 0A505.a and .x; for
‘‘equipment’’ for those commodities in
0B505; and for ‘‘software’’ for that
equipment and those commodities in
0D505.
proposed rulemaking and an
opportunity for public comment be
given for this rule, the analytical
requirements of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are
not applicable. Accordingly, no Final
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is
required and none has been prepared.
Export Control Reform Act of 2018
On August 13, 2018, the President
signed into law the John S. McCain
National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019, which included the
Export Control Reform Act of 2018
(ECRA), 50 U.S.C. 4801–4852. ECRA, as
amended, provides the legal basis for
BIS’s principal authorities and serves as
the authority under which BIS issues
this rule.
PART 738—COMMERCE CONTROL
LIST OVERVIEW AND THE COUNTRY
CHART
Rulemaking Requirements
1. This correction has not been
designated a ‘‘significant regulatory
action’’ under Executive Order 12866.
2. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, no person may be
required to respond to, or be subject to
a penalty for failure to comply with, a
collection of information, subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.) (PRA), unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Control Number. This regulation
involves a collection currently approved
by OMB under control number 0694–
0088, Simplified Network Application
Processing System.
3. This rule does not contain policies
with federalism implications as that
term is defined under Executive Order
13132.
4. Pursuant to Section 1762 of ECRA
(50 U.S.C. 4821), this action is exempt
from the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) requirements for
notice of proposed rulemaking,
opportunity for public participation and
delay in effective date. Additionally,
this rule is exempt from the ordinary
rulemaking requirements of the APA
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1) as a
military or foreign affairs function of the
United States Government.
5. Because neither the APA nor any
other law requires that notice of
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15:58 May 07, 2024
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List of Subjects in 15 CFR Part 738
Administrative practice and
procedure, Exports, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, part 738 of the Export
Administration Regulations (15 CFR
parts 730 through 774) is amended as
follows:
1. The authority citation for 15 CFR
part 738 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 50 U.S.C. 4801–4852; 50 U.S.C.
4601 et seq.; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.; 10 U.S.C.
8720; 10 U.S.C. 8730(e); 22 U.S.C. 287c; 22
U.S.C. 2151 note; 22 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.; 22
U.S.C. 6004; 42 U.S.C. 2139a; 15 U.S.C. 1824;
50 U.S.C. 4305; 22 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.; 22
U.S.C. 7210; E.O. 13026, 61 FR 58767, 3 CFR,
1996 Comp., p. 228; E.O. 13222, 66 FR 44025,
3 CFR, 2001 Comp., p. 783.
2. In supplement no. 1 to part 738,
revise footnote 9 to read as follows:
■
Supplement No. 1 to Part 738—
Commerce Country Chart
*
*
*
*
*
9A
license is required to these destinations
for items in the following ECCNs: 0A501
(except 0A501.y), 0A502 for shotguns with a
barrel length less than 18 inches (45.72 cm),
0A503, 0A504.i, 0A505.a, and .x, 0D501
(except ‘‘software’’ for commodities in ECCN
0A501.y or ‘‘equipment’’ in ECCN 0B501 for
commodities in ECCN 0A501.y), 0D505 for
‘‘software’’ for commodities in ECCN
0A505.a and .x and ‘‘equipment’’ in ECCN
0B505.a .and .x, 0E501, 0E504, and 0E505 for
‘‘technology’’ for ‘‘development,’’
‘‘production,’’ operation, installation,
maintenance, repair, overhaul, or
refurbishing commodities in 0A505.a and .x;
for ‘‘equipment’’ for those commodities in
0B505; and for ‘‘software’’ for that
‘‘equipment’’ and those commodities in
0D505.
Thea D. Rozman Kendler,
Assistant Secretary for Export
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024–10079 Filed 5–6–24; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
20 CFR Part 655
[DOL Docket No. ETA–2021–0006]
Adverse Effect Wage Rate
Methodology for the Temporary
Employment of H–2A Nonimmigrants
in Non-Range Occupations in the
United States; Ratification of
Department’s Actions
Employment and Training
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Ratification.
AGENCY:
The Department of Labor is
publishing notification of the Assistant
Secretary for Employment and
Training’s ratification of the rule
published February 28, 2023, titled
Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology
for the Temporary Employment of H–2A
Nonimmigrants in the Non-Range
Occupations in the United States.
DATES: This ratification was signed on
May 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification,
Employment and Training
Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Room N–5311, Washington, DC 20210,
telephone: (202) 693–8200 (this is not a
toll-free number). For persons with a
hearing or speech disability who need
assistance to use the telephone system,
please dial 711 to access
telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Background
On December 1, 2021, the Department
of Labor (‘‘DOL’’ or ‘‘Department’’)
issued a notice of proposed rulemaking
(‘‘NPRM’’) in the Federal Register to
amend the regulations governing the
methodology to determine the Adverse
Effect Wage Rate (‘‘AEWR’’) for H–2A
occupations other than herding and
production of livestock on the range
(i.e., non-range occupations). See
Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology
for the Temporary Employment of H–2A
Nonimmigrants in Non-Range
Occupations in the United States, 86 FR
68174 (Dec. 1, 2021) (‘‘NPRM’’). The
NPRM was open for public comment for
60 days from December 1, 2021 until
January 31, 2022. See id. at 68174,
68185.
On February 28, 2023, after having
considered the public comments, DOL
published a final rule in the Federal
E:\FR\FM\08MYR1.SGM
08MYR1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
Register that amended the methodology
to establish the AEWR, largely adopting
the proposals from the NPRM with some
technical changes. Adverse Effect Wage
Rate Methodology for the Temporary
Employment of H–2A Nonimmigrants in
the Non-Range Occupations in the
United States, 88 FR 12760 (Feb. 28,
2023) (‘‘Final Rule’’). The Final Rule
went into effect on March 30, 2023.
The Final Rule has become the subject
of litigation in which it has been
asserted that the Final Rule was
improperly issued. Specifically, a
question has been raised in litigation
concerning whether the Final Rule was
approved by the Attorney General in
consultation with the Secretary of Labor
and the Secretary of Agriculture. 8
U.S.C. 1188, Statutory Note.1 On April
29, 2024, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor and Secretary of
Agriculture, approved the Final Rule.
Prior to its issuance in February 2023,
the Final Rule was provided to the
Departments of Homeland Security and
Agriculture through the interagency
review process prescribed by Executive
Order 12866.
To resolve any possible uncertainty,
the Department, through its Assistant
Secretary for Employment and Training,
is ratifying the Final Rule. Under
established case law, an agency may,
through ratification, ‘‘purge[ ] any
residual taint or prejudice left over
from’’ a potential defect in a prior
governmental action.2 The Department
is issuing this ratification out of an
abundance of caution, and this
ratification is not a statement that the
Final Rule is invalid absent this
ratification.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
II. Ratification
By virtue of the authority vested in
Secretary of Labor by law, including by
the Immigration and Nationality Act of
1952, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.
(‘‘INA’’), and as delegated to the
Assistant Secretary for Employment and
Training, 75 FR 66268, I am affirming
and ratifying a prior action by Brent
Parton, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary, who was then serving as
Acting Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training before the
current Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Employment and Training assumed
office. On February 28, 2023, the
Employment and Training
Administration published in the FR the
Final Rule codifying amendments to the
regulations governing the methodology
to determine the AEWR for non-range
H–2A occupations (all H–2A
occupations other than herding and
production of livestock on the range). 88
FR 12760 (Feb. 28, 2023).
The Final Rule was signed by Acting
Assistant Secretary Parton. I have full
and complete knowledge of the Final
Rule action taken by former Acting
Assistant Secretary Parton. Subsequent
to the Secretary of Homeland Security’s
documented approval of the Final Rule
dated April 29, 2024, and out of an
abundance of caution and to avoid any
doubt as to its validity, I have
independently evaluated the Final Rule
and the basis for adopting it. I have
determined that the amendments to the
AEWR methodology in the Final Rule
are consistent with the Secretary of
Labor’s statutory responsibility to certify
that the employment of H–2A workers
will not adversely affect the wages and
working conditions of workers in the
United States similarly employed, and
that the changes adopted in the Final
Rule best strike the balance between the
statute’s competing goals of providing
employers with an adequate supply of
legal agricultural labor and protecting
the wages of workers in the United
States similarly employed. I also agree
with the Department’s certification that
the Final Rule does not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. See
88 FR 12760, 12799, 12802.
Therefore, pursuant to my authority
as the Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training and based on
my independent review of the action
and the reasons for taking it, I hereby
affirm and ratify the Final Rule, as of
May 3, 2024, including all regulatory
analysis certifications contained therein.
This action is taken without prejudice to
any right to litigate the validity of the
Final Rule as approved and published
on February 28, 2023. Nothing in this
action is intended to suggest any legal
defect or infirmity in the approval or
publication of the Final Rule.
Jose´ Javier Rodrı´guez,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and
Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024–10013 Filed 5–3–24; 4:15 pm]
1 Although
this provision vests approval authority
in the ‘‘Attorney General,’’ the Secretary of
Homeland Security now may exercise this
authority. See 6 U.S.C. 202(3)–(4), 251, 271(b), 291,
551(d)(2), 557; 8 U.S.C. 1103(c) (2000).
2 Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
& Explosives, 920 F.3d 1, 13 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
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38839
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Coast Guard
33 CFR Part 165
[Docket No. USCG–2024–0194]
Safety Zone; Fireworks Display;
Elizabeth River, Town Point Reach,
Norfolk, VA
Coast Guard, DHS.
Notification of enforcement of
regulation.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Coast Guard will enforce
a safety zone regulation for Norfolk’s
42nd Annual Independence Day
Fireworks on July 4th, 2024, to provide
for the safety of life on navigable
waterways of the Elizabeth River, at
Town Point Reach during this event.
Our regulation for marine events within
the Fifth Coast Guard District identifies
the regulated area for this event in
Norfolk, VA. During the enforcement
period, entry of vessels or persons into
this zone is prohibited unless
specifically authorized by the Captain of
the Port Virginia.
DATES: The regulations in 33 CFR
165.506 will be enforced for the location
identified as item 13 in table 3 to
paragraph (h)(3) from 9 p.m. until 10
p.m. on July 4th, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If
you have questions about this
notification of enforcement, call or
email LCDR Ashley Holm, Chief,
Waterways Management Division,
Sector Virginia, U.S. Coast Guard;
telephone 757–668–5580 email
Ashley.E.Holm@uscg.mil.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As noted
in paragraph (c) of § 165.506, the
enforcement period(s) for each safety
zone identified in paragraph (h) of this
section is subject to change, and the
enforcement period announced here
differs from the enforcement period
noted in item 13 of table 3 to paragraph
(h). The Coast Guard will enforce the
safety zone in 33 CFR 165.506 for
Norfolk’s 42nd Annual Independence
Day Fireworks regulated area from 9
p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 4th,
2024, rather than on one of the days of
the first or second weekend of July. This
action is being taken to provide for the
safety of life on navigable waterways
during this event. Section 165.506,
specifies the location of the regulated
area, which encompasses portions of the
Elizabeth River and Town Point Reach.
During the enforcement period, the
entry of vessels or persons into this zone
is prohibited unless specifically
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\08MYR1.SGM
08MYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38838-38839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10013]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
20 CFR Part 655
[DOL Docket No. ETA-2021-0006]
Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment
of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States;
Ratification of Department's Actions
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Ratification.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor is publishing notification of the
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training's ratification of the
rule published February 28, 2023, titled Adverse Effect Wage Rate
Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the
Non-Range Occupations in the United States.
DATES: This ratification was signed on May 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5311,
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-8200 (this is not a toll-
free number). For persons with a hearing or speech disability who need
assistance to use the telephone system, please dial 711 to access
telecommunications relay services.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On December 1, 2021, the Department of Labor (``DOL'' or
``Department'') issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (``NPRM'') in
the Federal Register to amend the regulations governing the methodology
to determine the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (``AEWR'') for H-2A
occupations other than herding and production of livestock on the range
(i.e., non-range occupations). See Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology
for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range
Occupations in the United States, 86 FR 68174 (Dec. 1, 2021)
(``NPRM''). The NPRM was open for public comment for 60 days from
December 1, 2021 until January 31, 2022. See id. at 68174, 68185.
On February 28, 2023, after having considered the public comments,
DOL published a final rule in the Federal
[[Page 38839]]
Register that amended the methodology to establish the AEWR, largely
adopting the proposals from the NPRM with some technical changes.
Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-
2A Nonimmigrants in the Non-Range Occupations in the United States, 88
FR 12760 (Feb. 28, 2023) (``Final Rule''). The Final Rule went into
effect on March 30, 2023.
The Final Rule has become the subject of litigation in which it has
been asserted that the Final Rule was improperly issued. Specifically,
a question has been raised in litigation concerning whether the Final
Rule was approved by the Attorney General in consultation with the
Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Agriculture. 8 U.S.C. 1188,
Statutory Note.\1\ On April 29, 2024, the Secretary of Homeland
Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and Secretary of
Agriculture, approved the Final Rule. Prior to its issuance in February
2023, the Final Rule was provided to the Departments of Homeland
Security and Agriculture through the interagency review process
prescribed by Executive Order 12866.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Although this provision vests approval authority in the
``Attorney General,'' the Secretary of Homeland Security now may
exercise this authority. See 6 U.S.C. 202(3)-(4), 251, 271(b), 291,
551(d)(2), 557; 8 U.S.C. 1103(c) (2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To resolve any possible uncertainty, the Department, through its
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, is ratifying the Final
Rule. Under established case law, an agency may, through ratification,
``purge[ ] any residual taint or prejudice left over from'' a potential
defect in a prior governmental action.\2\ The Department is issuing
this ratification out of an abundance of caution, and this ratification
is not a statement that the Final Rule is invalid absent this
ratification.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Guedes v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives,
920 F.3d 1, 13 (D.C. Cir. 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Ratification
By virtue of the authority vested in Secretary of Labor by law,
including by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, 8
U.S.C. 1101 et seq. (``INA''), and as delegated to the Assistant
Secretary for Employment and Training, 75 FR 66268, I am affirming and
ratifying a prior action by Brent Parton, Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary, who was then serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training before the current Assistant Secretary of Labor
for Employment and Training assumed office. On February 28, 2023, the
Employment and Training Administration published in the FR the Final
Rule codifying amendments to the regulations governing the methodology
to determine the AEWR for non-range H-2A occupations (all H-2A
occupations other than herding and production of livestock on the
range). 88 FR 12760 (Feb. 28, 2023).
The Final Rule was signed by Acting Assistant Secretary Parton. I
have full and complete knowledge of the Final Rule action taken by
former Acting Assistant Secretary Parton. Subsequent to the Secretary
of Homeland Security's documented approval of the Final Rule dated
April 29, 2024, and out of an abundance of caution and to avoid any
doubt as to its validity, I have independently evaluated the Final Rule
and the basis for adopting it. I have determined that the amendments to
the AEWR methodology in the Final Rule are consistent with the
Secretary of Labor's statutory responsibility to certify that the
employment of H-2A workers will not adversely affect the wages and
working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed,
and that the changes adopted in the Final Rule best strike the balance
between the statute's competing goals of providing employers with an
adequate supply of legal agricultural labor and protecting the wages of
workers in the United States similarly employed. I also agree with the
Department's certification that the Final Rule does not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
See 88 FR 12760, 12799, 12802.
Therefore, pursuant to my authority as the Assistant Secretary for
Employment and Training and based on my independent review of the
action and the reasons for taking it, I hereby affirm and ratify the
Final Rule, as of May 3, 2024, including all regulatory analysis
certifications contained therein. This action is taken without
prejudice to any right to litigate the validity of the Final Rule as
approved and published on February 28, 2023. Nothing in this action is
intended to suggest any legal defect or infirmity in the approval or
publication of the Final Rule.
Jos[eacute] Javier Rodr[iacute]guez,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024-10013 Filed 5-3-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P
