Department of Labor July 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption involves certain principal trades involving J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (JPMS), J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (JPMIM), J.P. Morgan Advisors (formerly, J.P. Morgan Securities; JPMS Brokerage), and Chase Wealth Management (CWM) (collectively, the Applicants), and certain of their client plans that are subject to Code section 4975 but not covered by Title I of ERISA (the Non-ERISA Plan Clients).\1\ These principal transactions resulted in the Non-ERISA Plan Clients purchasing or selling securities from or to the Applicants.

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.

The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre- clearance request for comment to provide the public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This request 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 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (OASAM) is soliciting comments on the information collection for the Department of Labor Generic Clearance for the Collection of Feedback on Agency Service Delivery.

In this notice, OSHA announces the final decision to expand the scope of recognition for Intertek Testing Service NA, Inc., as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). Additionally, OSHA announces the final decision to add one test standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards.

In this notice, OSHA announces the application of Element Materials Technology PortlandEvergreen, Inc. (EMT), for recognition as a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and presents the agency's preliminary finding to grant this recognition.

The U.S. Department of Labor (Department or USDOL) invites interested parties to provide information relating to the disclosure of confidential wage records under the Department's regulations governing the confidentiality and disclosure of State UC information. The Department is considering comprehensive updates to the UC confidentiality regulations and the information received in response to this RFI will inform and be considered by the Department as it reviews the UC confidentiality regulations, which may result in the development of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulations in a manner that would address the evolution of both information technology (IT) and the public workforce system as these changes relate to the required and permissible disclosure of confidential UC data.

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. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is soliciting comments on the information collection for Examinations and Testing of Electrical Equipment, Including Examination, Testing, and Maintenance of High Voltage Longwalls.

OSHA is amending its occupational injury and illness recordkeeping regulation to require certain employers to electronically submit injury and illness information to OSHA that employers are already required to keep under the recordkeeping regulation. Specifically, OSHA is amending its regulation to require establishments with 100 or more employees in certain designated industries to electronically submit information from their OSHA Forms 300 and 301 to OSHA once a year. OSHA will not collect employee names or addresses, names of health care professionals, or names and addresses of facilities where treatment was provided if treatment was provided away from the worksite from the Forms 300 and 301. Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in certain industries will continue to be required to electronically submit information from their OSHA Form 300A annual summary to OSHA once a year. All establishments with 250 or more employees that are required to keep records under OSHA's injury and illness regulation will also continue to be required to electronically submit information from their Form 300A to OSHA on an annual basis. OSHA is also updating the NAICS codes used in appendix A, which designates the industries required to submit their Form 300A data, and is adding appendix B, which designates the industries required to submit Form 300 and Form 301 data. In addition, establishments will be required to include their company name when making electronic submissions to OSHA. OSHA intends to post some of the data from the annual electronic submissions on a public website after identifying and removing information that could reasonably be expected to identify individuals directly, such as individuals' names and contact information.

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. Additionally, OSHA proposes to add one test standard to the NRTL Program's List of Appropriate Test Standards.

The Secretary of Labor (Department) announces the renewal of the Native American Employment and Training Council (NAETC) charter.

The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will meet August 9, 2023. ACCSH Workgroups will meet on August 10, 2023.

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption permits the acquisition and holding by the Plan participants' accounts of warrants (the Warrants) issued by Unit Corporation, the Plan sponsor, in connection with Unit Corporation's chapter 11 bankruptcy filing (the Bankruptcy Filing) in exchange for the participants' waiver of claims against certain ``Released Parties'' (the Transactions).

The Department of Labor (the Department) is extending the comment period for the proposed individual exemption for certain prohibited transactions involving the Association of Washington Business (AWB) HealthChoice Employee Benefits Trust (the proposed exemption). As discussed in the DATES section below, the Department is extending the comment period through August 14, 2023.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) proposes to amend its existing standards to better protect miners against occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica, a carcinogenic hazard, and to improve respiratory protection for all airborne hazards. MSHA has preliminarily determined that under the Agency's existing standards, miners at metal and nonmetal mines and coal mines face a risk of material impairment of health or functional capacity from exposure to respirable crystalline silica. MSHA proposes to set the permissible exposure limit of respirable crystalline silica at 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air ([micro]g/m\3\) for a full shift exposure, calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average, for all miners. MSHA's proposal would also include other requirements to protect miner health, such as exposure sampling, corrective actions to be taken when miner exposure exceeds the permissible exposure limit, and medical surveillance for metal and nonmetal miners. Furthermore, the proposal would replace existing requirements for respiratory protection and incorporate by reference ASTM F3387-19 Standard Practice for Respiratory Protection. The proposed uniform approach to respirable crystalline silica occupational exposure and improved respiratory protection for all airborne hazards would significantly improve health protections for all miners and lower the risk of material impairment of health or functional capacity.

This document sets forth proposed rules that would amend the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance, which is excluded from the definition of individual health insurance coverage under the Public Health Service Act. This document also sets forth proposed amendments to the requirements for hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity insurance to be considered an excepted benefit in the group and individual health insurance markets. This document further sets forth proposed amendments to clarify the tax treatment of certain benefit payments in fixed amounts received under employer-provided accident and health plans. Finally, this document solicits comments regarding coverage only for a specified disease or illness that qualifies as excepted benefits, and comments regarding level-funded plan arrangements.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety & 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.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety & 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.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety & 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.

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

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Occupational Safety & 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.

This document contains a notice of exemption issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). This exemption allows certain asset managers with specified relationships to PIMCO (the PIMCO Affiliated QPAMs) to continue to rely on the exemptive relief provided by Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14 or the QPAM Exemption), notwithstanding the judgment of conviction against Allianz Global Investors US LLC (AGI US) for one count of securities fraud (the AGI US Conviction), as described below. This exemption does not grant any relief to AGI US. AGI US submitted an exemption request to the Department (D-12074), which it subsequently withdrew. The Department did not grant any relief to AGI US pursuant to its application or as part of this exemption.