Department of Labor 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Claim for Continuance of Compensation (CA-12). 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 Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Overhead and Gantry Cranes Standard,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Concrete and Masonry Construction Standard'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Affordable Care Act Enrollment Opportunity NoticeProhibition on Lifetime Limits,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is proposing to revise its requirements for preshift, supplemental, on-shift, and weekly examinations of underground coal mines. The proposed rule would require operators to identify violations of mandatory health or safety standards. The proposal would also require that the mine operator record and correct violations and review with mine examiners (e.g., the mine foreman, assistant mine foreman, or other certified persons) on a quarterly basis all citations and orders issued in areas where preshift, supplemental, on-shift, and weekly examinations are required. The proposal would assure that underground coal mine operators find and fix violations of mandatory health or safety standards, thereby improving health and safety for miners.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Operator Response to Schedule for Submission of Additional Evidence, and Operator Response to Notice of Claim,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

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) hereby announces the submission of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Application for Approval of a Representative's Fee in Black Lung Claim Proceedings Conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

This notice is a request for information from the public regarding the recent amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a place for nursing mothers to express breast milk for one year after their child's birth. The Department of Labor (``the Department'') administers and enforces the FLSA through its Wage and Hour Division. Contained in this notice are the Department's preliminary interpretations of the new break time amendment to the FLSA. The Department seeks information and comments for its review on various issues addressed in this notice, as it considers how best to help employers and employees understand the requirements of the break time for nursing mothers law. The break time requirement that is now part of the FLSA is set forth in Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Law 111-148 (``Affordable Care Act''). The provision requires employers to provide ``reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.'' Employers are also required to provide ``a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.'' See 29 U.S.C. 207(r). The break time requirement became effective when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. To assist employers with complying with the new law, the Department has issued Wage and Hour Fact Sheet 73: ``Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA'' at https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf. The Department has also posted Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its Web site that reiterate the information provided in the Fact Sheet in a different format. Until the Department issues final guidance, the Department's enforcement will be based on the statutory language and the guidance provided in WHD Fact Sheet 73 and the associated FAQs. Employers, employees, and other stakeholders have requested additional guidance from the Department about the law's requirements and the Department wants to provide an opportunity for the public to submit information and comments for its consideration. The Department will consider the information and comments received in response to this Request for Information in formulating further guidance for the regulated community on complying with the new break time requirement. Until any such further guidance is issued, the RFI provides useful information for employers to consider in establishing policies for nursing employees. At this time, the Department does not plan to issue regulations implementing this provision. Because of the wide variety of workplace environments, work schedules, and individual factors that will impact the number and length of breaks required by a nursing mother, as well as the manner in which an employer complies with break time requirement, the Department believes that regulations may not be the most useful or effective means for providing initial guidance to employers and employees. If, however, based on its experience administering and enforcing the break time requirement and the comments received in response to this Request for Information, the Department determines that regulations are necessary, it will initiate rulemaking at that time. This Request for Information contains the Department's preliminary interpretations of the law's requirements. The Department's identification of key issues related to the law and the development of this Request for Information have been informed by the Department's meetings and discussions with various stakeholders, including employer organizations and representatives, public health and women's organizations, state agencies that have experience administering state laws concerning workplace lactation, and individuals and businesses that have contacted the Department with questions about the new law. The Department looks forward to continuing to receive input and invites the public to comment on the break time requirement generally and on the Department's preliminary interpretations in this Request for Information. All comments will be made publicly available.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Hazardous Conditions Complaints,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Pursuant to section 10 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92 463; 5 U.S.C. APP. 1), notice is hereby given to announce an open meeting of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) being held on January 10-11, 2011. The ACA, an advisory board to the Secretary of Labor, is a discretionary Committee established by the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended 5 U.S.C., App. 2, and its implementing regulations (41 CFR 101-6 and 102-3). All meetings of the ACA are open to the public.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor is publishing, for public information, notice of the issuance and availability of TEGL 13-10 entitled, FY 2011 State Initial Allocations and the Process for Requesting Additional TAA Program Reserve Funds, signed on November 17, 2010, by Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary for the Employment & Training Administration.

The Internet has become the means for disseminating the entirety of the Department of Labor's semiannual regulatory agenda. However, the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires publication of a regulatory flexibility agenda in the Federal Register. This Federal Register Notice contains the regulatory flexibility agenda. In addition, the Department's Regulatory Plan, a subset of the Department's regulatory agenda, is being published in the Federal Register. The Regulatory Plan contains a statement of the Department's regulatory priorities and the regulatory actions the Department wants to highlight as its most important and significant.

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 reinstatement of the ``Current Population Survey (CPS).'' 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.

Based on its analysis of comments received in response to a Request for Information published in October 2008, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not initiate rulemaking to permit the use of a Supplier's Declaration of Conformity as a means of ensuring the safety of products currently requiring approval by Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories.

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 continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to assure 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 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the information collection for applications for waiver of surface sanitary facilities' requirements at coal mines.

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 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to assure 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 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the information collection for Request for MSHA Individual Identification Number (MIIN).

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 continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps to assure 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 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is soliciting comments concerning the extension of the information collection for 30 CFR 40.2, 40.3, 40.4, and 40.5, Representative of Miners; 30 CFR 41.20, Legal Identity Report; 30 CFR 56.1000 and 57.1000, Notification of Commencement of Operations and Closing of Mines.

This document corrects an expiration date cited in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) of the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), Additional Indicator on Volunteer Work that was published on November 23, 2010. The NPRM updates the SCSEP regulations to add an indicator to measure the number of exiting participants who enter volunteer work. The relevant Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number for SCSEP's approved information collection is 1205-0040. The NPRM stated that the expiration date for 1205-0040 was October 31, 2010. However, that date is incorrect. The information collection is now pending with OMB, as the Department has requested a 3-year extension on the expiration of the approval date for it. Therefore 1205-0040 remains current on a month-by-month basis until OMB acts on the current information collection extension request. For more information on this request, see https://www.reginfo.gov.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, as amended), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation and Trade Policy. Date, Time, Place: January 12, 2011; 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m.; U.S. Department of Labor, Secretary's Conference Room, 200 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. Purpose: The meeting will include a review and discussion of current issues which influence U.S. trade policy. Potential U.S. negotiating objectives and bargaining positions in current and anticipated trade negotiations will be discussed. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 2155(f) it has been determined that the meeting will be concerned with matters the disclosure of which would seriously compromise the Government's negotiating objectives or bargaining positions. Accordingly, the meeting will be closed to the public.

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). This notice includes the following: 2010-31, Deutsche Asset Management (UK) Limited, D-11495; 2010-32, Sherburne Tele Systems, Inc. Amended and Restored Stock Ownership Plan and Trust (the ``ESOP''), D- 11569; 2010-33, Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and Its Affiliates (together, CGMI or the Applicant), D-11573; and 2010-34, Retirement Plan for Employees of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (the Plan), D-11585.

This initial determination proposes to revise the list required by Executive Order No. 13126 (``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor''), in accordance with the Department of Labor's ``Procedural Guidelines for the Maintenance of the List of Products Requiring Federal Contractor Certification as to Forced or Indentured Child Labor.'' This notice proposes to add a product, (along with its country of origin) to the list that the Department of Labor preliminarily believes might have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. This notice also proposes to remove a product (along with its country of origin) from the list where, preliminarily, the Department of Labor has reason to believe that the use of forced or indentured child labor has been significantly reduced if not eliminated. The Department of Labor invites public comment on this initial determination. The Department will consider all public comments prior to publishing a final determination updating the list of products, made in consultation and cooperation with the Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Labor (DOL) hereby announces the submission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Telephone Point of Purchase Survey,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

On October 19, 2010, OSHA published a notice of proposed interpretation entitled Interpretation of OSHA's Provisions for Feasible Administrative or Engineering Controls of Occupational Noise, giving interested parties 60 days to comment. The comment period is being extended by 90 days to give interested parties additional time to assess the impact of the proposed interpretation and submit comments.

This notice announces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's final decision expanding the recognition of MET Laboratories, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) under 29 CFR 1910.7. This notice also proposes a correction to the scope of recognition of FM Approvals, LLC.