Department of Labor January 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance 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. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the Labor Market Information (LMI) Cooperative Agreement. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the Addresses section of this notice.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration is extending the period for comment on the proposed rule entitled ``Diesel Particulate Matter Exposure of Underground Metal and Nonmetal Miners (DPM),'' published in the Federal Register on September 7, 2005 (70 FR 53280).

The Department of Labor (the Department), 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 continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to ensure that the data the Department collects can be provided in the desired format, that the reporting burden on the public (time and financial resources) is minimized, that the public understands the Department's collection instruments, and that the Department can accurately assess the impact of its collection requirements on respondents. Currently, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments concerning an extension of the current approval of the information collection in the regulation entitled Definition of Plan AssetsParticipant Contributions, codified at 29 CFR 2510.3-102. A copy of EBSA's proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) commissioned two studies to determine whether data submitted by contractors in response to the Equal Opportunity Survey (EO Survey) could be used to develop an effective and efficient tool to target those contractors most likely to be discriminating. The first study failed to find a correlation between the predictive variables generated from the EO Survey and determinations of noncompliance. The second study showed that the EO Survey did not provide sufficiently useful data for enforcement targeting purposes. In light of these findings, together with a review of both the costs associated with the EO Survey and the utility of the EO Survey in accomplishing any of its stated objectives, OFCCP is proposing to remove the current requirement for nonconstruction federal contractors to file the EO Survey under Section 60-2.18. This proposed change is intended to more effectively focus enforcement resources and to eliminate a regulatory requirement that fails to provide value to either OFCCP enforcement or contractor compliance. OFCCP's resources could be better directed for the benefit of victims of discrimination, the government, contractors, and taxpayers.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is proposing new regulations to implement the amendments to the affirmative action provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (``VEVRAA'') that were made by the Jobs for Veterans Act (``JVA'') enacted in 2002. JVA amended VEVRAA by: Raising the dollar amount of the Government contracts that are subject to the requirements of VEVRAA; changing the categories of veterans protected under the law; and changing the manner in which the mandatory job listing requirement is to be implemented. The JVA amendments apply to Government contracts entered into on or after December 1, 2003. For the convenience of contractors, veterans, and other interested parties, OFCCP proposes to publish the regulations implementing the JVA amendments to VEVRAA in a new part. This proposed rule would apply only to Government contracts entered into on or after December 1, 2003. The existing VEVRAA implementing regulations will continue to apply to Government contracts entered into before December 1, 2003. Contractors with Government contracts entered into both before, and on or after December 1, 2003, would be subject to both the requirements found in the existing VEVRAA implementing regulations and the requirements in today's proposal.

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: Statement of Recovery Forms (CA/EN-1108, SOL/EN-1108, CA/EN-1122). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

The Employment and Training Administration is issuing this notice to announce the receipt of a ``Certification of Non-Relocation and Market and Capacity Information Report'' (Form 4279-2) for the following: Applicant/Location: Riverside Technologies Newell, LLC, Newell, West Virginia. Principal Product: The loan, guarantee, or grant applicant plans to build a plant which would use a proprietary technology known as ``pyrolysis'' to take scrap rubber and produce synthetic carbon black, oil, scrap steel and gas. The NAICS industry codes for this enterprise are: 32519 Other Basic Chemical Manufacturing; 325199 All Other Basic Organic Chemical Manufacturing; 324199 All Other Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing; 325120 Industrial Gas Manufacturing; and 423930 Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers.

This document gives notice of OSHA's approval of a change to the state of Oregon's occupational safety and health state plan to exclude coverage of private sector contractors at Crater Lake National Park. Accordingly, Federal OSHA will exercise enforcement authority over such employers. OSHA is amending its description of the state plan to reflect this change in the level of Federal enforcement in the state.

The Office of Trade Agreement Implementation (OTAI) gives notice that on January 6, 2006, U.S. Submission 2005-03 was accepted for review pursuant to Article 16(3) of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC). The submission was filed with the OTAI on October 14, 2005, by The Progressive Union of Workers of the Textile Industry, the Manufacturing, Cutting and Confection of Fabric and Garments in General and Related and Similar Industries in the Mexican Republic, a member of the ``Vanguardia Obrera'' Workers Federation of the Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants (FTVO-CROC), with the support of the U.S. Labor Education in the Americas Project and the Washington Office on Latin America. The submitters allege that the Government of Mexico has failed to fulfill its obligations under the NAALC to effectively enforce its labor laws in connection with freedom of association and the right to organize, the right to bargain collectively, the right to strike, prohibition of forced labor, labor protection for children and young persons, elimination of employment discrimination, prevention of occupational injuries and illnesses, compensation in cases of occupational injuries and illnesses, and minimum employment standards related to events at a textile plant operated by Rubie's de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., in the municipality of Tepeji del Rio, State of Hidalgo, Mexico. Article 16(3) of the NAALC provides for the review of labor law matters in Canada and Mexico by the National Administrative Office (NAO), which was redesignated as the OTAI in a Federal Register Notice issued on December 23, 2004 (69 FR 77128 (2004)). The objectives of the review of the submission will be to gather information to assist the OTAI to better understand and publicly report on the Government of Mexico's compliance with the obligations set forth in the NAALC.