Department of Labor January 21, 2009 – 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 (ERISA or 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.

OSHA is proposing to add two PortaCount[supreg] quantitative fit-testing protocols to its Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134); the proposed protocols would apply to employers in general industry, shipyard employment, and the construction industry. The first of the two proposed protocols consists of the eight fit-testing exercises described in Part I.A.14 of Appendix A of the Respiratory Protection Standard, except each exercise would last 30 seconds instead of the currently required 60 seconds.\1\ The second proposed protocol would eliminate two of the eight fit-testing exercises, and each of the remaining six exercises would last 40 seconds; in addition, this proposed protocol would increase the current minimum pass-fail fit- testing criterion from a fit factor of 100 to 200 for half masks, and from 500 to 1,000 for full facepieces.

The Department of Labor's Employment Standards Administration (``ESA'') Office of Labor-Management Standards (``OLMS'') publishes this Final Rule to make several revisions to the current Form LM-2 (used by the largest labor organizations to file their annual financial reports) that will provide additional information on Schedules 3, 4, 11 and 12, clarify reporting under certain functional categories and add itemization schedules corresponding to categories of receipts, and establish a procedure and standards by which the Secretary of Labor may revoke a particular labor organization's privilege to file a simplified annual report, Form LM-3, where appropriate, after investigation, due notice, and opportunity for a hearing. The changes are made pursuant to section 208 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (``LMRDA''), 29 U.S.C. 438. The final rule will apply prospectively.

This document contains corrections to compliance dates for the final rule published in the Federal Register on December 31, 2008 for Flame-Resistant Conveyor Belt, Fire Prevention and Detection, and Use of Air from the Belt Entry (73 FR 80580). In addition, minor typographical errors in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section, Compliance dates, are also corrected.