Department of Labor January 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in the Personal Protective Equipment Standard for General Industry (29 CFR part 1910, subpart I).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Petition Requirements and Investigative Data Collection: Trade Act of 1974, as Amended,'' 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.).

This Notice describes changes to the Department of Labor's (Department) Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVC Program or Program). Administrators of employee benefit plans subject to Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) who fail to file annual reports on a timely basis can be subject to civil penalties under section 502(c)(2) of ERISA. The DFVC Program is intended to encourage delinquent plan administrators to comply with their annual reporting obligations under ERISA through the assessment of reduced civil penalties. The DFVC Program was initially adopted in 1995 and was last updated in a published Federal Register Notice on March 28, 2002 (2002 Notice). The Department's DFVC Program Web site has been updated periodically since 2002 to reflect the adoption of technical changes to the Program. Most recently, the DFVC Program Web site was updated to reflect the Department's final regulation mandating electronic filing of annual reports as part of the implementation of a wholly electronic ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST2) for those reports. (See www.dol.gov/ebsa.) This Notice also describes an existing online penalty calculator and Internet-based payment system for the DFVC Program. (See https://www.dol.gov/ebsa/ calculator/dfvcpmain.html). This Notice is intended to be a comprehensive update and restatement of the DFVC Program that incorporates the changes that have been made in the DFVC Program since the 2002 Notice.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its request for an extension of the information collection requirements specified in its standards on Electrical Protective Equipment (29 CFR 1910.137) and Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution (29 CFR 1910.269).

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is revising the Agency's existing regulation for pattern of violations (POV). MSHA has determined that the existing regulation does not adequately achieve the intent of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) that the POV provision be used to address mine operators who have demonstrated a disregard for the health and safety of miners. Congress included the POV provision in the Mine Act so that mine operators would manage health and safety conditions at mines and find and fix the root causes of significant and substantial (S&S) violations, protecting the health and safety of miners. The final rule simplifies the existing POV criteria, improves consistency in applying the POV criteria, and more effectively achieves the Mine Act's statutory intent. It also encourages chronic safety violators to comply with the Mine Act and MSHA's health and safety standards.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), announces the availability of approximately $75 million in grant funds authorized by the YouthBuild provisions of the Workforce Investment Act [29 U.S.C. 2918a]. The final amount available depends on the amount of funds appropriated for YouthBuild in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013. YouthBuild grants will be awarded through a competitive process. Under this solicitation, DOL will award grants to organizations to oversee the provision of education, occupational skills training, and employment services to disadvantaged youth in their communities while performing meaningful work and service to their communities. The complete SGA and any subsequent SGA amendments in connection with this solicitation are described in further detail on ETA's Web site at https://www.doleta.gov/grants/ or on https://www.grants.gov. The Web sites provide application information, eligibility requirements, review and selection procedures, and other program requirements governing this solicitation.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning its proposal to revise the information collection requirements currently approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for handling of retaliation complaints filed with OSHA under various whistleblower protection statutes and the procedural regulations described in this notice. These regulations contain procedures employees must use to file a complaint with OSHA alleging that their employer violated a whistleblower protection provision contained in certain statutes that generally prohibit retaliatory action by employers against employees who engage in activities protected by the statutes. The revised information collection requirements include a new form providing additional methods for employees to submit retaliation complaints to OSHA, including electronic submission.

The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the 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 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, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the collection of data about The Trade Activity Participant Report (OMB No. 1205-0392), which provides information on participant activities and performance outcomes for those served under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, as authorized under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the 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 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, ETA is soliciting comments on the current data collection for the Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium (RACC). The RACC exists to facilitate applying the Registered Apprenticeship completion certificate towards college credit. RACC post-secondary members agree to accept apprentice graduates from member Registered Apprenticeship sponsors who have the approximate amount of credit toward college that has been designated by a third party evaluator. The Department has modeled the RACC after the Servicemembers Opportunities Colleges Consortium supported by the Department of Defense. The RACC data collection includes three application forms to join the consortium, differentiated by membership type: (1) The application for Registered Apprenticeship sponsors requests contact information for the national, regional or single guideline standards or program; all participating training centers, if applicable; and the value of the apprenticeship program toward college credit, recommended by a third party evaluator; (2) the application for two- and four-year post-secondary institutions requests contact, degree and credit transfer information; and (3) the application for national, regional or State organizations that represent sponsors and/or two- and four-year post-secondary colleges and will facilitate membership in the consortium requests contact information and the nature of the relationship with sponsors or colleges. Subsection II of the Supplementary Information paragraphs below provides greater detail on the types of comments that would be most helpful.

The Department of Labor (DOL), 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 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 is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to collect information about employment experiences and workers' knowledge of basic employment laws and rules so as to better understand employees' experience with worker misclassification. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

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. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed extension of the ``Veterans Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS),'' to be conducted in August 2013, August 2014, and August 2015. 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.

The Department of Labor (we or the Department) is issuing this notice to announce new prevailing wage and piece rates covering the employment of temporary or seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers (H-2A workers) and corresponding employees to perform agricultural labor or services in certain occupations with special procedures established under 20 CFR 655.102 in the H-2A program, including open range production of livestock, itinerant animal shearing, sheepherding, goatherding, and custom combine operations. The new prevailing wages are based on surveys conducted by State Workforce Agencies (SWA) of employers and transmitted to the Department between May 1, 2012 and June 1, 2012 in accordance with the Department's Training and Employment Guidance Letters (TEGLs) for these occupations. For open range production of livestock, sheepherding, and goatherding occupations, which are characterized by other than a reasonably regular workday or workweek, the prevailing wage results, reflected as monthly or daily prevailing wage rates, are deemed to be the Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for those occupations.

This notice provides the semiannual agenda of rules scheduled for review or development between fall 2012 and spring 2013. The Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 12866 require publication of the agenda.