Department of Labor October 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

OSHA solicits public comment concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Standard on the Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR 1910.147).

This document contains notices of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of proposed exemptions from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code).

This document contains a final regulation that implements recent amendments to title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006, Public Law 109-280, under which a participant in a participant directed individual account pension plan will be deemed to have exercised control over assets in his or her account if, in the absence of investment directions from the participant, the plan invests in a qualified default investment alternative. A fiduciary of a plan that complies with this final regulation will not be liable for any loss, or by reason of any breach, that occurs as a result of such investments. This regulation describes the types of investments that qualify as default investment alternatives under section 404(c)(5) of ERISA. Plan fiduciaries remain responsible for the prudent selection and monitoring of the qualified default investment alternative. The regulation conditions relief upon advance notice to participants and beneficiaries describing the circumstances under which contributions or other assets will be invested on their behalf in a qualified default investment alternative, the investment objectives of the qualified default investment alternative, and the right of participants and beneficiaries to direct investments out of the qualified default investment alternative. This regulation will affect plan sponsors and fiduciaries of participant directed individual account plans, the participants and beneficiaries in such plans, and the service providers to such plans.

Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 and 30 CFR part 44 govern the application, processing, and disposition of petitions for modification. This notice is a summary of petitions for modification filed by the parties listed below to modify the application of existing mandatory safety standards published in Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

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. Currently, the Employment and Training Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the collection of data contained in the procedures to petition for classification as a Labor Surplus Area (LSA) under exceptional circumstances criteria. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addressee section of this notice or at this Web site: https:// www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/OMBControlNumber.cfm.