Department of Labor December 19, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Solicitation of Nominations for the Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor,'' 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 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Records of Preshift and Onshift Inspections of Slope and Shaft Areas of Slope and Shaft Sinking Operations at Coal Mines,'' 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.).

Pursuant to Section 10 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (5 U.S.C. App. 2 Sec. 10), notice is hereby given to announce an open virtual meeting of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) on January 17, 2013, which can be accessed from the Office of Apprenticeship's (OA) homepage: https://www.doleta.gov/oa/. The ACA is a discretionary committee established by the Secretary of Labor, in accordance with FACA, as amended in 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. A virtual meeting of the ACA provides a cost savings to the government while still offering a venue that allows for public participation and transparency, as required by FACA.

Sections 3302(c)(2) and 3302(d)(3) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) provide that employers in a state that has an outstanding balance of advances under Title XII of the Social Security Act at the beginning of January 1 of two or more consecutive years are subject to a reduction in credits otherwise available against the FUTA tax for a calendar year, if a balance of advances remains at the beginning of November 10 of that year. Because the account of South Carolina in the Unemployment Trust Fund had a balance of advances at the beginning of January 1 of 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, and still had a balance of advances at the beginning of November 10, 2012, South Carolina employers were potentially liable for a reduction in their FUTA offset credit for 2012. Section 3302(g) of FUTA provides that a state may avoid credit reduction for a year by meeting certain criteria. South Carolina applied for avoidance of the 2012 credit reduction under this section. Pursuant to delegation of authority to me under Secretary's Order 06- 2010, I have determined that South Carolina meets all of the criteria of section 3302(g) and thus qualifies for credit reduction avoidance. Therefore, South Carolina employers will have no reduction in FUTA offset credit for calendar year 2012.