Department of Labor 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). A notice was published in the Federal Register of the pendency before the Department of a proposal to grant such exemption. The notice set forth a summary of facts and representations contained in the application for exemption and referred interested persons to the application for a complete statement of the facts and representations. The application has been available for public inspection at the Department in Washington, DC. The notice also invited interested persons to submit comments on the requested exemption to the Department. In addition the notice stated that any interested person might submit a written request that a public hearing be held (where appropriate). The applicant has represented that it has complied with the requirements of the notification to interested persons. No requests for a hearing were received by the Department. Public comments were received by the Department as described in the granted exemption. The notice of proposed exemption was issued and the exemption is being granted solely by the Department because, effective December 31, 1978, section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. App. 1 (1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue exemptions of the type proposed to the Secretary of Labor.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), the Department of Labor (the Department) conducts a preclearance consultation program so that the general public and other federal agencies can comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This program helps to ensure that the data the Department gathers arrive in the desired format, that the reporting burden on the public (time and financial resources) is minimized, that the public understands the collection instruments, and that the Department can accurately assess the impact of collection requirements on respondents. By this notice, the Department is soliciting comments on the information collection provisions of regulations pertaining to section 104(a)(6) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). The statute and the regulatory provisions codified at 29 CFR 2520.104a-8 require the administrator of an employee benefit plan subject to part 1 of Title I of ERISA to furnish the Secretary of Labor with certain documents relating to the plan upon request. A copy of the information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office shown in the addresses section of this notice.

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the Employment Standards Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Requirements of a Bona Fide Thrift or Savings Plan (29 CFR part 547) and Requirements of a Bona Fide Profit-Sharing Plan or Trust (29 CFR part 549). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

We are proposing to amend our regulations to reflect established policy and procedures for administering fees for testing, evaluation, and approval of equipment and materials manufactured for use in the mining industry. This proposed rule would eliminate the application fee, allow applicants to pre-authorize expenditures for processing applications, allow outside organizations conducting part 15 testing (explosives and sheathed explosive units) on our behalf to set fees for this testing, incorporate changes concerning our programs and organization, and make non-substantive conforming changes to related regulations.

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), intends to award U.S. $750,000 through a sole source cooperative agreement to Jesus Cares Ministries (JCM), a local, Zambian, faith-based organization. This funding will be used to support a three-year second phase of the JCM project ``Combating Child Labor Through Education''. Funding for this award is based on the FY 2005 appropriation to USDOL for improving ``access to basic education in international areas with a high rate of abusive and exploitative child labor'' through the Child Labor Education Initiative grant program. Since 1995, USDOL has awarded grants to international and non-governmental organizations working to eliminate the worst forms of child labor through the provision of basic education. ILAB is authorized to award and administer this program by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Pub. L. 108-447, 118 Stat. 2809 (2004). The cooperative agreement awarded under this initiative will be managed by ILAB's International Child Labor Program (ICLP) to assure achievement of the stated goals. ILAB finds JCM is uniquely qualified by virtue of its institutional and individual knowledge of conditions in Zambia, its familiarity with local officials and support groups, and its readily available personnel and facilities, to provide the kinds of services needed to best reach the intended target group in Zambiachildren working in the worst forms of child labor and those at-risk of entering such work, including children working in stone crushing, in exploitive agricultural work, and those who live and work on streets in urban areas. The range of services provided by JCM includes counseling, provision of transitional and vocational education, and placement of children in formal schools. JCM also has been instrumental in protecting children affected by HIV/ AIDS from entering harmful labor conditions in Zambia, where the HIV/ AIDS pandemic has left hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to such exploitation. USDOL's experience working with JCM dates back to 2002, when JCM submitted a proposal to USDOL in response to a solicitation for grant applications under USDOL's Child Labor Education Initiative (EI). As a result of that competitive procurement process, USDOL entered into a cooperative agreement with JCM to implement an EI project in Zambia. JCM has been innovative in using a community school approach to reach the over 2,000 children that it targeted in Phase 1 of the project. JCM was also successful in meeting all of the other goals it set for the first phase of the project. Moreover, this approach has encouraged local ownership and buy-in of the project. JCM has also secured additional funding from the Zambian government and from international organizations to complement its activities under their USDOL grant. JCM is staffed entirely by host country nationals and operates in several urban parts of the country, as well as in Zambia's Eastern Province. Given the extensive stakeholder relationships that JCM has nurtured in Zambia, their innovative community school approach, and efficient management structure, USDOL finds JCM to be uniquely qualified for this sole source award. The awarding of further USDOL support for JCM will allow it to reach many more vulnerable children and further expand its role as a leading local organization working to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in Zambia. For additional information on this award, please contact Kevin Willcutts at (202) 693-4843.

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the Employment Standards Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Notice of Controversion of Right to Compensation (LS-207). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

This final rule requires each insurance carrier authorized to write insurance under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions (the Defense Base Act; the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act; the Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities Act; and the District of Columbia Workmen's Compensation Act) to demonstrate to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) that its LHWCA obligations are sufficiently secured and, if necessary, to deposit security in an amount set by OWCP. This procedure will ensure the prompt and continued payment of compensation and medical benefits to injured workers and help protect the Longshore special fund's assets from consequences flowing from insurance carrier insolvencies. In addition, the rule conforms, where appropriate, the rules governing OWCP's authorization of employers as self-insurers to the provisions governing carrier security deposits.

This notice is a request for information for use by the Department of Labor in preparation of an annual report on certain trade beneficiary countries' implementation of international commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. This will be the fifth such report by the Department of Labor under the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA).

OSHA solicits public comment concerning its request for an extension of the information collection requirement contained in its Standard on Telecommunications (Training Certification Records) (29 CFR 1910.268(c)).