Department of Labor March 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announces that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved certain collections of information, listed in the Supplementary Information section below, following EBSA's submission of requests for such approvals under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). This notice describes the approved or re-approved information collections and provides their OMB control numbers and current expiration dates as required by the PRA.

The internet has become the means for disseminating the entirety of the Department of Labor's semiannual regulatory agenda. However, the Regulatory Flexibility Act requires publication of a regulatory flexibility agenda in the Federal Register. This Federal Register Notice contains the regulatory flexibility agenda.

This notice is a summary of a petition for modification submitted to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by the party listed below.

In this notice, OSHA announces the final decision to grant renewal of recognition to SolarPTL, LLC (PTL) as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is providing notice to the public that the WHD sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Records to be kept by EmployersFair Labor Standards Act,'' has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). WHD is notifying the public that the revision to this ICR is effective immediately and approved through November 30, 2022.

On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor (Department) published a final rule (Delay Rule) extending until April 30, 2021, the effective date of the rule titled Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (2020 Tip final rule) in order to allow the Department the opportunity to review issues of law, policy, and fact raised by the 2020 Tip final rule before it takes effect. This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to further extend the effective date of three portions of the 2020 Tip final rule in order to complete a separate rulemaking, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, and to provide the Department additional time to consider whether to withdraw and repropose that portion of the 2020 Tip final rule addressing the application of the FLSA's tip credit provision to tipped employees who perform both tipped and non-tipped duties. The proposed 8-month delay, until December 31, 2021, would allow the Department to finalize the separate rulemaking, which would include, inter alia, a 60-day comment period and at least a 30-day delay between publication and the rule's effective date.

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

The Department of Labor's (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension for the authority to conduct the information collection request (ICR) titled, ``Experience Rating Report.'' 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).

In this notice, OSHA announces the final decision to expand the scope of recognition for TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

On March 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (Department or DOL) published a final rule delaying the effective date of the rule entitled Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States (the rule or Final Rule), published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2021, from March 15, 2021 until May 14, 2021. This action proposes to further delay the effective date of the rule by eighteen months or until November 14, 2022, along with corresponding proposed delays to the rule's transition dates. This additional delay will provide a sufficient amount of time to thoroughly consider the legal and policy issues raised in the rule, and offer the public, through the issuance of a separate Request for Information, an opportunity to provide information on the sources and methods for determining prevailing wage levels covering employment opportunities that United States (U.S.) employers seek to fill with foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through certain employment-based immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 nonimmigrant visas. This proposed delay will also provide agency officials with a sufficient amount of time to compute and validate prevailing wage data covering specific occupations and geographic areas, complete and thoroughly test system modifications, train staff, and conduct public outreach to ensure an effective and orderly implementation of any revisions to the prevailing wage levels.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)-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 is reopening for 15 days the comment period on the January 11, 2021, notice of proposed rulemaking that would have provided for electronic filing (e-filing) and electronic service (e-service) of papers, required e-filing for persons represented by attorneys or non-attorney representatives unless good cause is shown justifying a different form of filing, and required advance notice to the parties of the manner of a hearing or prehearing conference.

The Department of Labor is withdrawing the proposed rule that accompanied its direct final rule (DFR) that requires electronic filing (e-filing) and makes acceptance of electronic service (e-service) automatic for attorneys and non-attorney representatives representing parties in proceedings before the Administrative Review Board (Board), unless the Board authorizes non-electronic filing and service for good cause; establishes a new part containing rules of practice and procedure for the Board; and amends existing regulations concerning filing and service that apply where a governing statute or executive order does not establish contrary rules of filing and service.

In this notice, OSHA announces the application of TUV Rheinland of North America, Inc., for expansion of the scope of recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the agency's preliminary finding to grant the application.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)-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.

On February 1, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL or Department) proposed to delay the effective date of the final rule entitled ``Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States,'' published in the Federal Register on January 14, 2021, for a period of 60 days. The Department proposed to delay the effective date of the final rule until May 14, 2021, in accordance with the Presidential directive as expressed in the memorandum of January 20, 2021, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled ``Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.'' As stated in the proposal, the 60-day delay would allow agency officials the opportunity to review any questions of fact, law, or policy. The Department invited written comments from the public for 15 days on the proposed delay of effective date. All comments had to be received by February 16, 2021. The Department received 57 comments from the stakeholder community. The Department has reviewed the comments received in response to the proposal and will delay the effective date of the final rule for a period of 60 days.

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.

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 and/or continuing 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. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed reinstatement, with change of the Survey of Respirator Use and Practices.'' A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS)-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 (the ``Department'') requests information on issues related to the development of a report concerning ``Labor Market Information on the Indian Workforce,'' pursuant to the requirement in the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017. The law tasks the Secretary of Labor to ``in a consistent and reliable manner, develop, maintain and publish, not less than biennially'' information related to 574 federally recognized tribes who are eligible for services under the Bureau of Indian Affairs (in the Department of the Interior). The Department invites tribal leaders, representatives, data specialists, and tribal members, as well as researchers and other interested parties to submit information related to the discussion and questions identified in the Supplementary Information section below. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will help the Department to identify approaches for generating accurate, timely and useful labor market information, and will complement the Department's consultations, as required under the law, with the Department of the Interior, tribes, and the Census Bureau.

In this notice, OSHA announces the final decision to grant renewal of recognition to Nemko North America, Inc. as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).