Department of Labor December 14, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice is a request for information and/or comment on three reports issued by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) regarding child labor and forced labor in certain foreign countries. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by the Department of Labor (DOL) in preparing its ongoing reporting as required under Congressional mandates and a Presidential directive. The 2019 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor report (TDA report), published on September 30, 2020, assesses efforts of 131 countries to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in 2019 and reports whether countries made significant, moderate, minimal, or no advancement during that year. It also suggests actions foreign countries can take to eliminate the worst forms of child labor through legislation, enforcement, coordination, policies, and social programs. The 2020 edition of the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (TVPRA List), also published on September 30, 2020, makes available to the public a list of goods from countries that ILAB has reason to believe are produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of international standards. Finally, the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor (E.O. List), most recently updated on March 25, 2019, provides a list of products, identified by country of origin, that DOL, in consultation and cooperation with the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS), has a reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor. Relevant information submitted by the public will be used by DOL in preparing the next edition of the TDA report, to be published in 2021; the next edition of the TVPRA List, to be published in 2022; and for possible updates to the E.O. List, as needed.

The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) administers the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and its extensions. To improve program administration, OWCP is amending its existing regulations to require parties to file documents electronically, unless otherwise provided by statute or allowed by OWCP, and to streamline the settlement process. Additionally, to promote accountability and ensure fairness, OWCP is promulgating new rules for imposing and reviewing civil money penalties prescribed by the Longshore Act. The new rules set forth the procedures to contest OWCP's penalty determinations.