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

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Representative Payee Report, Representative Payee Report (Short Form), and Physician's/Medical Officer's Statement.'' 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).

This notice announces a change in benefit period eligibility under the EB program for Alaska, Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington.

This final rule makes two changes. First, the final rule more clearly permits Department of Labor agency heads (or designees) to send second and subsequent demand letters at intervals of time separated by less than thirty days. Second, the final rule encourages debt collection efforts to proceed promptly so that, if needed, uncollected debt may be referred to the Department of Justice in a timely manner.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in Subpart A ``General Provisions'' and Subpart B ``Confined and Enclosed Spaces and Other Dangerous Atmospheres in Shipyard Employment''.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements contained in Voluntary Protection Programs Information.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employment and Training Administration (ETA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the collections of information contained in the Forging Machines Standard.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has under OMB review the following proposed Information Collection Request ``Improving Customer Experience (OMB Circular A-11, Section 280 Implementation)'' for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).

This document contains a class exemption from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (the Act). Title I of the Act codified a prohibited transaction provision in title 29 of the U.S. Code (referred to in this document as Title I). Title II of the Act codified a parallel provision now found in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code). These prohibited transaction provisions of Title I and the Code generally prohibit fiduciaries with respect to ``plans,'' including workplace retirement plans (Plans) and individual retirement accounts and annuities (IRAs), from engaging in self-dealing and receiving compensation from third parties in connection with transactions involving the Plans and IRAs. The provisions also prohibit purchasing and selling investments with the Plans and IRAs when the fiduciaries are acting on behalf of their own accounts (principal transactions). This exemption allows investment advice fiduciaries to plans under both Title I and the Code to receive compensation, including as a result of advice to roll over assets from a Plan to an IRA, and to engage in principal transactions, that would otherwise violate the prohibited transaction provisions of Title I and the Code. The exemption applies to Securities and Exchange Commissionand state- registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, banks, insurance companies, and their employees, agents, and representatives that are investment advice fiduciaries. The exemption includes protective conditions designed to safeguard the interests of Plans, participants and beneficiaries, and IRA owners. The class exemption affects participants and beneficiaries of Plans, IRA owners, and fiduciaries with respect to such Plans and IRAs. This notice also sets forth the Department's final interpretation of when advice to roll over Plan assets to an IRA will be considered fiduciary investment advice under Title I and the Code.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the DOL is soliciting public comments regarding this OASAM-sponsored information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

This document includes final rules regarding grandfathered group health plans and grandfathered group health insurance coverage that amend current rules to provide greater flexibility for certain grandfathered health plans to make changes to certain types of fixed- amount cost-sharing requirements without causing a loss of grandfather status under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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.

OSHA solicits public comments concerning the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Safe + Sound Campaign.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Certification of Medical Necessity.'' 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).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

OSHA invites interested persons to submit nominations for membership on the Maritime Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (MACOSH).

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 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. Currently, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is soliciting comments on the information collection for Proximity Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.