Employment and Training Administration August 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collection of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. 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 Employment and Training Administration provided guidance to States explaining the Department's position concerning the application of State-wide personnel actions to the unemployment compensation program. The original guidance, UIPL No. 09-98, was published in the Federal Register on February 10, 1998, as continuing guidance. This guidance had not been rescinded. However, to remind States of the Department's position, on March 11, 2009, the Department issued UIPL No. 18-09, with UIPL No. 09-98 as an attachment. UIPL No. 18-09 is published below to inform the public and is available at: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL18-09.pdf.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has provided guidance to State workforce agencies in response to the enactment of temporary changes to the extended benefits (EB) program as a result of recent Congressional enactments. The first guidance, issued on January 2, 2009, as Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 7-09, advised State workforce agencies of the temporary change, enacted by Public Law 110-449, in Federal sharing for the first week of extended benefits (EB) under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA) and is available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/UIPL7- 09.pdf. UIPL No. 12-09, issued on February 23, 2009, provided guidance related to temporary changes in the EB program as a result of Public Law 111-5. The UIPL (available at: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/ attach/UIPL/UIPL12-09.pdf) addressed questions related to Federal sharing for cost benefits, benefit eligibility provisions, amendments to State law and reporting requirements. On May 4, 2009, ETA issued additional guidance with UIPL No. 12-09, Change 1 (available at: https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/attach/UIPL/ UIPL12-09ch1.pdf) to address general questions about the EB program, work search requirements, submission of tangible evidence, suspension of work search requirements, interstate claims, terminating disqualifications using work, entitlement during high unemployment periods, beginning and ending dates of EB periods, and draft language for the Total Unemployment Rate (TUR) trigger. These three guidance documents are published below to inform the public.

The Employment and Training Administration published a document in the Federal Register on June 24, 2009, announcing the availability of funds and solicitation for grant applications (SGA) for Pathways Out of Poverty to be awarded through a competitive process. This amendment to the SGA clarifies items related to: (1) Use of funds for supportive services (section IV.F); and (2) identifying PUMA(s) to be served (section VIII.A.1). The document is hereby amended. 1. ``Use of Funds for Supportive Services'' section IV.F (page 30145) is revised as follows to indicate a change in the amount of grant funds that may be used for supportive services: a. Old Text``Grantees may use no more than 5% of their grant funds on these services.'' b. New Text``Grantees may use no more than 10% of their grant funds on these services.'' 2. ``Identify PUMA(s) to be Served'' section VIII.A.1 (page 30151) is revised to include the following paragraph at the end of the section regarding additional resources on PUMAs that may be helpful: a. New Text``Applicants should note that the PUMA maps display the outlines of census tracts but do not show census tract numbers or street names. Applicants looking for additional information on the street-level boundaries of PUMAs should cross-reference the appropriate PUMA map, which can be found here (https://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/ puma5pct.htm) with the appropriate census tract maps, which can be found here (https://ftp2.census.gov/plmap/pltrt/). Follow the census tract map link above, which will display a list of States. Click on the appropriate State, and then click the appropriate county for a directory of map files for that county. Each county directory contains map files that show numbered census tracts and street names for specific areas within the county. For some counties, the first file in the directory will be an overview map of the entire county, which serves as an index for the remaining map files. Applicants can then match the census tract outlines on the PUMA map with the numbered census tracts depicted on the census tract maps. Identifying the census tracts that serve as the outer edge of the PUMA and zooming in on the census tract maps to see the street names will help applicants to identify the street-level boundaries of the PUMA.''

This notice announces a change in benefit period eligibility under the EB program for Texas.

This notice announces a change in benefit period eligibility under the EB program for New Hampshire.