Department of Labor November 15, 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document extends the period for submitting written comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) entitled ``Expanding Employment, Training, and Apprenticeship Opportunities for 16- and 17-Year-Olds in Health Care Occupations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.'' The comment period now ends on December 11, 2018. The Department of Labor (Department) is taking this action to provide interested parties additional time to submit comments in response to a request for extension, as some supporting documents for the proposal may not have been originally fully visible in the docket.

This notice amends a notice published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2018, for Affirmative Decisions on Petitions for Modification Granted in Whole or in Part.

These rules finalize, with changes based on public comments, interim final rules concerning religious exemptions and accommodations regarding coverage of certain preventive services issued in the Federal Register on October 13, 2017. These rules expand exemptions to protect religious beliefs for certain entities and individuals whose health plans are subject to a mandate of contraceptive coverage through guidance issued pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These rules do not alter the discretion of the Health Resources and Services Administration, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to maintain the guidelines requiring contraceptive coverage where no regulatorily recognized objection exists. These rules also leave in place an ``accommodation'' process as an optional process for certain exempt entities that wish to use it voluntarily. These rules do not alter multiple other federal programs that provide free or subsidized contraceptives for women at risk of unintended pregnancy.