Department of Labor October 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document extends the period for filing written comments for an additional 30 days on the proposed revisions to the child labor regulations published on September 2, 2011. The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is taking this action in order to provide interested parties additional time to submit comments.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Agreement and Undertaking,'' as revised, (Form OWCP-1) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Standard on Slings,'' as revised, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Notice is hereby given on the development of the U.S. Department of Labor (Department), Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Five-Year Research and Evaluation Strategic Plan for 2010-2015, hereafter referred to as the ``Research Plan.'' The Research Plan is required under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2916(a)). The Research Plan sets a research agenda by identifying high priority topics for potential pilot, demonstration, multiservice, multistate, research, and evaluation efforts that should be examined over the next five years. The draft Research Plan was based on a consultation process of internal and external stakeholders. This request for public comment is another opportunity for ETA to receive additional stakeholder feedback as part of its process in finalizing the Research Plan and transmitting it to Congress. To download a copy of the full draft report as a PDF, visit the ETA Research Web site at https://www.doleta.gov/reports/fiveyear_ researchplan.cfm.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Construction Recordkeeping and Reporting,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

This document contains a final rule that supersedes the existing procedure governing the filing and processing of applications for administrative exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA). The Secretary of Labor is authorized to grant exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA, the Code, and FERSA and to establish an exemption procedure to provide for such relief. This final rule clarifies and consolidates the Department of Labor's exemption procedures and provides the public with a more comprehensive description of the prohibited transaction exemption process.

The Office of Labor-Management Standards of the Department of Labor (Department) is revising the Form LM-30 Labor Organization Officer and Employee Report and its instructions upon review of the comments received in response to its August 10, 2010 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NRPM). The Form LM-30 implements section 202 of the Labor- Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA or Act), the purpose of which is to require officers and employees of labor organizations (unions) to publicly disclose possible conflicts between their personal financial interests and their duty to the labor union and its members. The rule revises the Form LM-30 and its instructions, based on an examination of the policy and legal justifications for, and utility of, changes enacted in the Form LM-30 Final Rule (2007 rule), published on July 2, 2007. The principal revisions are: Union leave and no docking payments are not required to be reported on the Form LM-30; union stewards and others representing the union in similar positions are not covered by the Form LM-30 reporting requirements; the requirement to report certain bona fide loans is limited, as is reporting of payments from certain trusts, unions, and employers in competition with employers whose employees are represented by an official's union; and the scope of reporting required of officers and employees of international, national, and intermediate body unions is revised. This rule also establishes a new form and instructions, as well as regulatory text concerning certain reporting obligations. This rule largely implements the Department's proposal in the NPRM, with modifications of several minor aspects of the layout of the form and instructions.

The Department of Labor (DOL or Department) is committed to Environmental Justice (EJ). President Obama has renewed agencies' environmental justice planning by reinvigorating Executive Order 12898 (EO 12898), which tasked several Federal agencies with making environmental justice part of their mission. The agencies were directed to do so by identifying and addressing, as appropriate, the disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs, policies, and activities on minority and low-income populations. In August 2011, agencies listed in EO 12898 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (EJ MOU), which, among other things, commits agencies to develop a final Environmental Justice Strategy. The purpose of this notice is to invite public comment on how the Department of Labor can address environmental justice through its programs, policies, regulations or reporting requirements.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Inorganic Arsenic Standard (29 CFR part 1910.1018).

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 (OWCP) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed collection: Notice of Controversion of Right to Compensation (LS-207). A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this Notice.

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 submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by the parties listed below to modify the application of existing mandatory safety standards codified in Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is holding a public meeting, and plans to hold additional public meetings, to gather more information on effective safety and health management programs to eliminate hazards and prevent injuries and illnesses at mines. Safety and health management programs are an important component of helping mine operators assure the safety and health of miners at their mines. MSHA encourages representatives from academia, safety and health professionals, industry organizations, worker organizations, government agencies, industries other than mining, and international organizations to present information on their model programs. MSHA believes that effective safety and health management programs in mining will create a sustained industry-wide effort to eliminate hazards and will result in the prevention of injuries and illnesses.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Shipyard Employment Standards (29 CFR 1915.112(a)(1), 29 CFR 1915.112(b)(1)(i), 29 CFR 1915.112(c)(1)(i), 29 CFR 1915.113(b)(1) and 29 CFR 1915.172(d)). The purpose of the collection of information (paperwork) provisions of the Standards is to reduce workers' risks of death or serious injury by ensuring that equipment has been tested and is in safe operating condition.

This document gives notice of OSHA's approval of a change to the state of Michigan's occupational safety and health state plan to exclude coverage of establishments on Indian reservations which are owned or operated by employers who are enrolled members of Indian tribes. Under the terms of a September 28, 2004 addendum to the September 24, 1973 Operational Status Agreement between OSHA and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), jurisdiction and enforcement have been relinquished back to federal OSHA for conducting safety and health inspections and interventions within the borders of all Indian reservations for employers who are ``enrolled members of Indian reservations'', i.e., members of Indian tribes. Non-member employers within the reservations and member employers located outside the territorial borders of Indian reservations remain under MIOSHA jurisdiction. Accordingly, OSHA amends its regulations to reflect this change in the level of federal enforcement.

This notice announces the application of Curtis-Straus LLC for renewal of its recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the Agency's preliminary finding to deny this application for renewal of NRTL recognition.