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

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Certificate of Electrical Training and Applications for Mine Safety and Health Administration Approved Tests and State Tests Administered as Part of a Mine Safety and Health Administration Approved Program,'' 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.

In this document, the Department proposes to amend a regulation that describes how states may design and operate payroll deduction savings programs, using automatic enrollment, for private- sector employees without causing the states or private-sector employers to establish employee pension benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The proposed amendments would expand the current regulation beyond states to cover programs of qualified state political subdivisions that otherwise comply with the current regulation. This rule would affect individuals and employers subject to such programs.

The Department of Labor (DOL) will submit the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Registered Apprenticeship College Consortium,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 31, 2016, 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 Office of Workers' Compensation Programs is proposing rules to implement the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act's maximum and minimum compensation provisions. Some of these provisions, which cap the amounts of compensation and death benefits payable to entitled claimants and provide a floor below which compensation may not fall, have become the topic of litigation. The proposed rules would clarify how the Department interprets and applies these provisions. In addition, the proposed rules would implement the Act's annual compensation-adjustment mechanism for permanent total disability compensation and death benefits.

Announcement of meeting of the Subcommittee on Evidentiary Requirements for Part B Lung Disease of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health (Advisory Board) for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

In response to stakeholder requests, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is extending the comment period for Agency's proposed rule on Examinations of Working Places in Metal and Nonmetal Mines. The document also clarifies and seeks additional comments on selected proposed provisions.

The Department of Labor (the Department) is publishing final guidance (the Guidance) to assist the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (the FAR Council) and Federal contracting agencies in the implementation of Executive Order 13673, Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. Executive Order 13673 (the Order) contains new requirements designed to increase efficiency and cost savings in the Federal contracting process. By law, Federal agencies already must contract only with ``responsible'' sources. Among other directives, the Order provides explicit new instructions for Federal contracting officers to consider a contractor's compliance with certain Federal and State labor laws as a part of the determination of contractor ``responsibility'' that contracting officers presently must undertake before awarding a Federal contract. In addition, the Order directs the FAR Council to propose the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the Order and the Department to develop guidance to help implement the new requirements. In this final Guidance, the Department provides detailed definitions for various terms used in the Order and the FAR rule to categorize and classify labor law violations, and the Department provides a summary of the processes through which contracting agencies will assess a contractor's overall record of labor law compliance and carry out their other duties under the Order.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Data and Weekly Initial and Continued Weeks Claimed,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995. Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) sponsored information collection request (ICR) revision titled, ``Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses,'' 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 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Operations Under Water,'' 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.

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 Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) (or, collectively, Departments) issue this Joint Final Rule to implement jointly administered activities authorized by title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) signed into law on July 22, 2014 (hereafter ``Joint WIOA Final Rule''). Through these regulations, the Departments implement workforce education and employment system reforms and strengthen the nation's public workforce development system to provide increased economic opportunity and make the United States more competitive in the 21st century evolving labor market. This Joint WIOA Final Rule provides guidance for State and local workforce development systems that increase the skill and credential attainment, employment, retention, and earnings of participants, especially those with significant barriers to employment, thereby improving the quality of the workforce, reducing dependency on public benefits, increasing economic opportunity, and enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of the nation.

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 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship (ACA) on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 and Wednesday, September 28, 2016. 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.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4),'' 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.

Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR part 1500-08) implementing procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of Labor, ETA, in accordance with 29 CFR 11.11(d), gives notice that the alignment alteration of a proposed easement and transmission line on the Sacramento Job Corps Center, will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment.

The Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed revision for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Workforce Information Grants to States (WIGS).'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

This rule is a technical amendment revising OSHA's regulations to reflect the approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the collections of information contained in OSHA's standard for Confined Spaces in Construction.

Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463), as amended, and Section 166(i)(4) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) [29 U.S.C. 3221(i)(4))], notice is hereby given of the next meeting of the Native American Employment and Training Council (Council), as constituted under 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 (DOL) will submit the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Employee Benefit Plan Claims Procedure Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act,'' to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on July 29, 2016, 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.