Department of Labor 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is issuing an emergency temporary standard (ETS) under section 101(b) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 in response to the grave danger that miners face when underground seals separating abandoned areas from active workings fail. MSHA has concluded from its investigations of mine explosions that occurred and other recent reports, that additional immediate action is necessary to protect miners. This ETS includes requirements to strengthen the design, the construction, the maintenance, and the repair of seals, as well as requirements for sampling and controlling atmospheres behind seals. It also increases the level of overpressure for new seals, thus implementing the requirements of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

The Employment and Training Administration published a document in the Federal Register of April 26, 2007, announcing the availability of funds and solicitation for grant applications for YouthBuild Grants to provide disadvantaged youth with the education and employment skills for meaningful work and service to their communities. The document is hereby amended.

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 proposed revision of the ``National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Department of Labor (DOL or Department) is amending its regulations to enhance program integrity and reduce the incentives and opportunities for fraud and abuse related to the permanent employment of aliens in the United States. This Final Rule includes several major provisions. It prohibits the substitution of alien beneficiaries on permanent labor certification applications and resulting certifications. The Final Rule provides a 180-day validity period for approved labor certifications; employers will have 180 calendar days within which to file an approved permanent labor certification in support of a Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140 hereafter) with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rule prohibits the sale, barter or purchase of permanent labor certifications and applications. In addition, this rule requires employers to pay the costs of preparing, filing and obtaining certification. An employer's transfer to the alien beneficiary of the employer's costs incurred in the labor certification or application process is strictly prohibited. The rule makes clear an alien may pay his or her own legitimate costs in the permanent labor certification process, including attorneys' fees for representation of the alien. The rule also reinforces existing law pertaining to the submission of fraudulent or false information and clarifies current DOL procedures for responding to incidents of possible fraud. Finally, the rule establishes procedures for debarment from the permanent labor certification program. Consistent with the proposed rule, the provisions in this Final Rule apply to permanent labor certification applications and approved certifications filed under both the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) program regulation effective March 28, 2005, and prior regulations implementing the permanent labor certification program. This rule also clarifies the Department's ``no modifications'' policy for applications filed on or after March 28, 2005, under the new, streamlined PERM process.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published in the Federal Register on April 30, 2007, an announcement from the Department of Labor, in collaboration with the Department of Education, regarding which states are eligible to apply for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) (Pub. L. 105-220, 29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) incentive awards under WIA section 503. The April 30, 2007, announcement did not include the complete list of states; the list is now revised to include all eligible states.

The U.S. Department of Labor (``DOL'' or ``Department''), Office of Disability Employment Policy (``ODEP'''), announces the availability of up to $1.7 million to fund a cooperative agreement to establish the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition and Employment for Youth with Disabilities with a 24-month period of performance. In addition, this initiative may be funded for up to three (3) additional option years at approximately $1,000,000 per year, depending on performance, identified need and the availability of future funding. Over the last 10 years, a number of federal and state efforts to improve access to transition planning and services to improve education, employment, and community living outcomes for youth with disabilities have emerged. As a result, there has been some improvement in indicators relevant to the successful transition of youth with disabilities, including increases in graduation rates, increases in enrollment in postsecondary education, and increases in the number of youth entering the workforce. While this progress is encouraging, education and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities continue to lag substantially behind that of their peers without disabilities. To address this situation, ODEP is funding a national technical assistance center to build capacity within and across both generic and disability-specific youth service delivery systems to help youth with disabilities successfully transition from high school to post-secondary education and/or employment in high-demand career areas. Effectively addressing the complex and significant barriers to employment faced by youth with disabilities transitioning into the adult world requires the use of multiple strategies and the active involvement of many stakeholders, including Federal, State and local governments, non- governmental organizations, and employers. This Center will conduct research, disseminate information, and provide technical assistance to a wide range of stakeholders on topics relevant to improving post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities including, but not limited to: Effective practices, such as the emerging use of individual learning or graduation plans, for aligning and improving the education and workforce development systems to better meet employer demand; Innovative service strategies which workforce development, and secondary and postsecondary programs and systems can utilize to better meet the needs of transitioning youth; Professional development strategies for practitioners who work with youth; and Effective models of multi-disciplinary interagency collaboration and systems coordination needed to support youth in achieving positive post-school outcomes through comprehensive service delivery consistent with the Guideposts for Success, see https:// www.dol.gov/odep/categories/youth/. The Guideposts for Success serves as a conceptual framework on improving transition outcomes for youth with disabilities.

The Employment and Training Administration published a document in the Federal Register on April 20, 2007, announcing the availability of funds for the operation of National Farmworkers Jobs Program (NFJP), under section 167 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. This notice is an addendum to the SGA and it adds Section VIII, entitled ``Other Information.''

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.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), announces the availability of approximately $3 million in grant funds to create a blueprint to build systems of multiple education pathways. Grants will be awarded through a competitive process and will support small cities (population 70,000-350,000) in the development of a multiple education pathway blueprint which will serve as the city's plan to support youth who are at risk of dropping out of school and youth who have already dropped out of school. ETA is targeting cities of this size in order for the blueprints to have maximum impact on the community's dropout challenges. ETA will fund grants to approximately 10 cities to create blueprints for building multiple education pathways that encompass various alternative education models and strategies. These blueprints will be used to build educational ecosystems that bring together all the educational assets in a community and leverage them to support multiple education pathways that move students to post- secondary education and career pathways and integrate education strategies that may cut across multiple schools and community colleges. It is not the intent for these grants to fund programs and/or slots in educational programs but rather to be used as a catalyst to bring together community partners to assess and address the challenge of serving youth who are at risk of dropping out and youth who have dropped out of school. These blueprints must be integrated with the city's broader education strategic plan and connected to regional talent and economic development strategies. The blueprints should identify a wide range of innovative and academically rigorous learning environments that address the needs of youth who are at risk of dropping out of school and youth who have dropped out of school. The blueprint will serve as the city's strategic plan for developing and benchmarking progress toward creating a multiple education pathway system. This solicitation provides background information and describes the application submission requirements, outlines the process that eligible entities must use to apply for funds covered by this solicitation, and outlines the evaluation criteria used as a basis for selecting grantees.

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.

OSHA solicits public comment concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in its Standard on Crawler Locomotive and Truck Cranes (29 CFR 1910.180).