Department of Labor February 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) described below. A copy of the ICRs may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available at reginfo.gov (https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this Notice to announce (1) the allowable charges for 2016 that employers seeking H-2A workers in occupations other than range herding may charge their workers when the employer provides three meals a day, and (2) the maximum travel subsistence meal reimbursement that a worker with receipts may claim in 2016 under the H-2A and H-2B programs. The Notice also includes a reminder regarding employers' obligations with respect to overnight lodging costs as part of required subsistence.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Health Insurance Claim Form,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Claim for Medical Reimbursement Form,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Workforce Investment Act Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs Gold Standard Evaluation,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 and Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations 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.

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)] (PRA). The PRA helps ensure that respondents can provide requested data in the desired format with minimal reporting burden (time and financial resources), 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 H-1B Technical Skills Training (TST), H-1B Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge (JA), and H-1B Ready To Work (RTW) grant programs. Data collection for these grant programs is currently approved under OMB Control No. 1205-0507, expiration March 31, 2016. If an extension with revisions of this information collection is approved, this data collection will only be applicable for the H-1B TST, JA, and RTW grantees. All future H-1B grantees will not report in accordance with this data collection, and instead will report in accordance with the information collection for WIOA reporting requirements, as applicable.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Representative Fee Request,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U.S. Department of Labor, announces the availability of up to $20,000,000 in grant funds authorized by section 169(c) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Public Law 113-128, Dislocated Worker Demonstration Projects, and the Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2016, Public Law 114-113 for the pilot grant program, Summer Jobs and Beyond: Career Pathways for Youth (CPY). ETA plans to award approximately 10-11 grants of approximately $2,000,000 each to Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB). This program is designed to provide employment-related services to eligible youth who are new entrants to the workforce, including those with limited current or past work experience. The program will provide youth with work experience opportunities, including summer and year[hyphen]round part[hyphen]time job opportunities for in-school youth and employment and work experience opportunities throughout the year for out-of-school youth, and exposure to career pathways in in[hyphen]demand job sectors. The grants will require partnerships between LWDBs and local summer employment programs, employers, Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and re[hyphen]engagement centers. Other community partners may provide services to eligible youth that assist in the development of work experience and entry into career pathways. The complete FOA and any subsequent FOA amendments in connection with this solicitation are described in further detail on ETA's Web site at https://www.doleta.gov/grants/ or 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 extend and revise the collections of information 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 collections of information include revisions to the form for employees to submit retaliation complaints to OSHA, including electronic submission.

In accordance with section 3687 of Public Law 106-398, which was added by section 3141(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2015, Executive Order 13699 (June 26, 2015), and the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and its implementing regulations issued by the General Services Administration (GSA), the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health was established on July 2, 2015. A Charter and Membership Balance Plan were filed in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The new provision added to EEOICPA by the NDAA specifies that the Director of the Advisory Board's staff must be a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). This individual will also perform the duties of the Designated Federal Officer (DFO). The original Charter for the Advisory Board specified that the DFO would be the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) Comptroller, a member of the SES. OWCP now amends the Charter to specify that the DFO is a member of the SES from OWCP, but not the Program Director of the EEOICPA program. The amended Charter has been filed in accordance with FACA.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Explosive Materials and Blasting Units in Metal and Nonmetal Underground Gassy Mines,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Jobs for Veterans State Grants Reports,'' 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.). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Carrier's Report of Issuance of Policy,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

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 revisions to the WIA Management Information and Reporting System data collection supporting statement to update the burden estimate to account for annual changes in hourly rates for respondents and remove any outdated language referencing updates made to the WIA reporting system prior to its 2013 renewal. No other revisions were made to the package. On July 22, 2015, the Department issued an information collection request (ICR) for implementing WIOA performance requirements in accordance with section 116. Section 136 of WIA will remain in place until the performance requirements under WIOA have been fully implemented. Because we are using WIA performance measures, we are referring to the reports collected under this collection as ``WIA Reports.'' Generally, WIOA took effect on July 1, 2015 (See WIOA sec. 506(a.)). Sec. 116 of WIOA, which outlines the performance accountability requirements, including the indicators of performance, does not take effect until July 1, 2016 (See WIOA sec. 506(b)(1)). Under the Department's transition authority, in order to provide for an orderly transition from WIA to WIOA, we will require the states to use the WIA performance metrics in WIA sec. 136 to report on WIOA participants for one program year. This means that WIOA participants who became WIOA participants after July 1, 2015, are being measured according to the WIA section 136 performance measures. Once the Department has fully implemented WIOA's performance system, and all reporting requirements under WIA are met, the WIA reporting system will be discontinued. ETA seeks extension and approval of WIA reporting requirements during this transition period. Provisions will cover both individuals who were participants under WIA and new participants who enter the workforce system prior to full implementation of WIOA. For convenience we have included references to both the WIA statute and their corresponding updated sections within WIOA.

The Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health invites interested individuals to submit nominations for membership on FACOSH.

The Department of Labor published a document in the Federal Register of December 28, 2015, inviting public comments on the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Job ChalleNGe Evaluation Information Collection Request (80 FR 80816). The document contained an incorrect date.

The Department of Labor published a document in the Federal Register of December 28, 2015, inviting public comments on the Institutional Analysis of American Job Centers Study Information Collection Request (80 FR 80814). The document contained an incorrect date.

The Department of Labor (Department) is providing notice that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's National Prevailing Wage Center, responsible for the processing of prevailing wage determination requests for use in the E-3 (Australia), H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), H-2B, and the permanent/``green card'' visa programs is relocating within Washington, DC effective on January 11, 2016.