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

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, Notice of Controversion of Right to Compensation,'' 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.).

The Department of Labor (Department) is delaying the effective date of the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program (the Wage Rule) to October 1, 2012 in response to recently enacted legislation that prohibits any funds from being used to implement the Wage Rule for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2012. The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which we calculate the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status.

The Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA) in the Bureau of International Labor Affairs of the U.S. Department of Labor has determined that an extension of time is required for its review of a public submission concerning Bahrain filed under Chapter Fifteen (the Labor Chapter) of the BahrainUnited States Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The submission was received on April 21, 2011 from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and alleges actions by the Government of Bahrain that, if substantiated, would be inconsistent with Bahrain's commitments under the FTA Labor Chapter. OTLA accepted the submission for review on June 10, 2011, in accordance with its published procedures and standards for acceptance. Acceptance of the submission for review does not imply a finding that the allegations are true. Rather, it triggers a 180-day fact-finding and review period (unless circumstances as determined by OTLA require an extension of time) that results in the issuance of a public report of any findings and recommendations. As part of its ongoing review, OTLA sent a delegation to Bahrain from October 22-26, 2011 to gather information on issues raised by the public submission. The Department of Labor delegation met with representatives from the Government of Bahrain, Bahraini trade unions, employers' organizations, employers, workers, and other groups with information relevant to the submission. Due to the receipt of recent information relevant to the submission and the thorough on-going review process, OTLA has determined that the circumstances require an extension of time. The extension of time is necessary to permit adequate consideration of several recent developments: The Government of Bahrain has recently made commitments to the U.S. government and to the Bahraini public to promptly and favorably resolve the matters at issue in the AFL-CIO submission. It is important for OTLA to assess the progress made in coming weeks towards prompt and favorable resolution; OTLA has recently received a substantial amount of information and a large volume of documents, requiring careful study and analysis. Several hundred pages of documents in Arabic require translation; OTLA's visit to Bahrain for first hand collection of documentary and interview information, the source of much of the most substantive and relevant information, was twice delayed, to accommodate the schedule of elections in Bahrain and at the request of the Government of Bahrain; and There have been other recent developments in response to the issues raised by the AFL-CIO submission, and on matters closely related to them. It is important that there be sufficient opportunity to assess the Government of Bahrain's response to them. These include the issuance of the Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and the proposal of the Government of Bahrain to the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to constitute a tripartite committee to address the issue of workplace dismissals and reinstatements, to avail itself of the independent legal advice of the ILO, and to report to the ILO Director General and to the ILO Governing Body. OTLA will continue to give this matter the highest priority and to devote the resources necessary to completing the review as expeditiously as possible.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) proposal entitled ``Green Jobs and Healthcare Grants Implementation Study,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Cognitive and Psychological Research,'' 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.).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Green Jobs and Health Care Impact Evaluation of ARRA- funded Grants,'' 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.).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is committed to Environmental Justice (EJ). President Obama has renewed agencies' Environmental Justice planning by reinvigorating Executive Order 12898 (EO 12898), which tasked Cabinet Level 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 DOL's draft Environmental Justice Strategy.

The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) proposes to revise the current Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or the Act) regulations pertaining to the exemption for companionship services and live-in domestic services. Section 13(a)(15) of the FLSA exempts from its minimum wage and overtime provisions domestic service employees employed ``to provide companionship services for individuals who (because of age or infirmity) are unable to care for themselves (as such terms are defined and delimited by regulations of the Secretary).'' Section 13(b)(21) of the FLSA exempts from the overtime provision any employee employed ``in domestic service in a household and who resides in such household.'' These exemptions were enacted in 1974 at the same time that Congress amended the FLSA to extend coverage to domestic service employees employed by private households. The regulations governing these exemptions have been substantively unchanged since they were promulgated in 1975. Due to significant changes in the home health care industry over the last 35 years, workers who today provide in-home care to individuals are performing duties and working in circumstances that were not envisioned when the companionship services regulations were promulgated. The number of workers providing these services has also greatly increased, and a significant number of these workers are being excluded from the minimum wage and overtime protections of the FLSA under the companionship services exemption. The Department has re- examined the regulations and determined that the regulations, as currently written, have expanded the scope of the exemption beyond those employees whom Congress intended to exempt when it enacted Sec. Sec. 13(a)(15) and 13(b)(21) of the FLSA. Therefore, the Department proposes to amend the regulations to revise the definitions of ``domestic service employment'' and ``companionship services.'' The Department also proposes to clarify the type of activities and duties that may be considered ``incidental'' to the provision of companionship services. In addition, the Department proposes to amend the record- keeping requirements for live-in domestic workers. Finally, the Department proposes to amend the regulation pertaining to employment by a third party of companions and live-in domestic workers. This change would continue to allow the individual, family, or household employing the worker's services to apply the companionship and live-in exemptions and would deny all third party employers the use of such exemptions.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) proposal titled, ``Evaluation of the Young Parents Demonstration Project,'' 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.).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is correcting an interim final rule on the procedures for the handling of retaliation complaints under Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, As Amended, published in the Federal Register of November 3, 2011 (76 FR 68084).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Furnishing Documents to the Secretary of Labor on Request Under ERISA Section 104(a)(6),'' 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 notices of pendency before the Department of Labor (the Department) of proposed exemptions 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 proposed exemptions: D-11517, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its Current and Future Affiliates and Subsidiaries (JPMorgan Chase); D- 11579, Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Co. d\b\a\ Principle Trust Company (Principle Trust); D-11628, Aztec Well Servicing Company and Related Companies Medical Plan Trust Fund (the Plan); D-11669, Genzyme Corporation 401(k) Plan (the Plan or the Applicant); and Retirement Program for Employees of EnPro Industries (the Plan), D-11662 et al.

The Department of Labor (DOL or the 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/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to ensure that required 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 Department notes that a Federal agency cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it is approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the PRA and the related materials display a currently valid OMB control number. Also, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the related materials do not display a currently valid OMB control number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. A copy of the proposed ICR can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the addresses section of this notice or by accessing https://www.doleta.gov/OMBCN/ OMBControlNumber.cfm.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified by the Acrylonitrile Standard (29 CFR 1910.1045).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Coke Oven Emissions,'' 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.).

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 ``National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

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 Standard on Vinyl Chloride (29 CFR 1910.1017).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Davis-Bacon Certified Payroll,'' 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.).