Department of Labor 2011 – 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). This notice includes the following: D-11601, 2011-21, BB&T Asset Management, Inc.; and D-11608, 2011-22, Russell Trust Company.

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 extension of the ``Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.'' 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.

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 Secretary of Labor signed the annual certifications under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. 3301 et seq., thereby enabling employers who make contributions to state unemployment funds to obtain certain credits against their liability for the federal unemployment tax. By letter, the certifications were transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury. The letter and certifications are printed below.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending the regulations governing employee protection (``retaliation'' or ``whistleblower'') claims under section 806 of the Corporate and Criminal Fraud Accountability Act of 2002, Title VIII of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act of 2002 (``Sarbanes-Oxley'' or ``Act''), which was amended by sections 922 and 929A of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, enacted on July 21, 2010. Public Law 111-203. These revisions to the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower regulations clarify and improve the procedures for handling Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower complaints and implement statutory changes enacted into law as part of the 2010 statutory amendments. These changes to the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower regulations also make the procedures for handling retaliation complaints under Sarbanes-Oxley more consistent with OSHA's procedures for handling complaints under the employee protection provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, 29 CFR part 1978; the National Transit Systems Security Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Act, 29 CFR part 1982; the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, 29 CFR part 1983; and the Employee Protection Provisions of Six Environmental Statutes and Section 211 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended, 29 CFR part 24.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend OMB approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard (29 CFR 1910.1030). The information collection requirements specified in the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard provide employers and workers with means to provide protection from adverse health effects associated with occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

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).