Department of Labor April 23, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (``DOL'') will hold a public hearing for the purpose of gathering factual information regarding the use of child labor and forced labor worldwide in the production of goods at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. The hearing will take place in the Auditorium of the Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington DC 20210, and will be open to the public. This hearing is conducted pursuant to section 105(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (``TVPRA of 2005''), Public Law 109-164 (2006), and as set forth in the Notice of Procedural Guidelines for the Development and Maintenance of the List of Goods From Countries Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (``Guidelines''), 72 FR 73374 (December 27, 2007). All members of the public attending the hearing must register by May 14 in order to facilitate building security. DOL is now accepting requests from all interested parties to provide oral and/or written testimony and/or exhibits at the hearing. Each presentation will be limited to 10 minutes and must be submitted in writing to the Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking by May 7. The Department is not able to provide financial assistance to those wishing to travel to attend the hearing. Those unable to attend the hearing are invited to submit written testimony. Please refer to the DATES, FURTHER INFORMATION, and ``Scope of Interest'' sections of this Notice for additional instructions on registration, notification, and submission requirements. The DOL Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (``Office'') is currently developing a list of goods (``the List'') from countries that the Office has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards. DOL is required to develop and make available to the public the List pursuant to the TVPRA of 2005. Information provided at the hearing will be considered by the Office in developing the List. Testimony should be confined to the specific topic of the use of child labor and forced labor in the production of goods internationally, as well as information on government, industry, or third-party actions and initiatives to address these problems. The Office is particularly interested in information tending to demonstrate the presence or absence of a significant incidence of child labor or forced labor in the production of a particular good.

The Department of Labor (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). 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 Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of a currently approved collection of information, Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 86-128 for certain transactions involving employee benefit plans and securities broker-dealers. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this notice.