Employment and Training Administration 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department) is removing the regulations at 20 CFR parts 626, 627, 628, 631, 632, 633, 634, 636, 637, and 638, which implemented the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA or the Act). These regulations were designed to improve the employment status of disadvantaged youth, adults, dislocated workers, and other individuals facing barriers to employment. In 1998, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which required the Secretary of Labor to transition any authority under the JTPA to the system created by WIA. Therefore, the Department is taking this action to remove regulations for a program that is no longer operative.

Sections 3302(c)(2) and 3302(d)(3) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) provide that employers in a state that has an outstanding balance of advances under Title XII of the Social Security Act at the beginning of January 1 of two or more consecutive years are subject to a reduction in credits otherwise available against the FUTA tax for a calendar year, if a balance of advances remains at the beginning of November 10 of that year. Because the account of South Carolina in the Unemployment Trust Fund had a balance of advances at the beginning of January 1 of 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012, and still had a balance of advances at the beginning of November 10, 2012, South Carolina employers were potentially liable for a reduction in their FUTA offset credit for 2012. Section 3302(g) of FUTA provides that a state may avoid credit reduction for a year by meeting certain criteria. South Carolina applied for avoidance of the 2012 credit reduction under this section. Pursuant to delegation of authority to me under Secretary's Order 06- 2010, I have determined that South Carolina meets all of the criteria of section 3302(g) and thus qualifies for credit reduction avoidance. Therefore, South Carolina employers will have no reduction in FUTA offset credit for calendar year 2012.

The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the 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 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps 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, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the collection of data on the ETA 9048, Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services Activity, and the ETA 9049, Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services Outcomes, which expires March 31, 2013.

The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance consultation program to provide the 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 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps 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, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the collection of data about the Occupational Code Assignment Form (ETA 741), which expires on March 31, 2013. A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice or by accessing: https://www.onetcenter.org/ombclearance.html.

Announcement Regarding States Triggering ``on'' and ``off'' in the Emergency Unemployment Compensation 2008 (EUC08) Program. The U.S. Department of Labor (Department) produces trigger notices indicating which states qualify for EUC08 benefits, and provides the beginning and ending dates of payable periods for each qualifying state. The trigger notices covering state eligibility for this program can be found at: https://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp. The following changes have occurred since the publication of the last notice regarding states' EUC08 trigger status: With the week ending September 22, 2012, Utah had served a full 13 week ``off'' period in Tier 2 of the EUC08 program. Given that the trigger rate for Utah has been at the 6.0 percent trigger rate threshold, this state met the criteria to resume a payable period in Tier 2 of the EUC08 program. This payable period started with the week beginning September 23, 2012. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 2, the maximum potential entitlement in Tier 2 is the lesser of 54 percent of the maximum regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) entitlement or 14 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. With the week ending September 22, 2012, West Virginia and Wisconsin had both served a full 13 week ``off'' period in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. Given that the trigger rate for these states had been at or above the 7.0 percent trigger rate threshold, these states met the criteria to resume a payable period in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. The payable period for these states started with the week beginning September 23, 2012. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 3, the maximum potential entitlement in Tier 3 is the lesser of 35 percent of the maximum regular UC entitlement or 9 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. With the release of national unemployment data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 21, 2012, the estimated three month average, seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate for Maryland met the 7.0 percent threshold necessary to trigger ``on'' in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 3, the maximum potential entitlement is the lesser of 35 percent of the maximum regular UC entitlement or 9 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. The week beginning October 7, 2012, will be the first week in which EUC08 claimants in Maryland who have exhausted Tier 2, and are otherwise eligible, can establish Tier 3 eligibility. With the release of national unemployment data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 21, 2012, the estimated three month average, seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate for Michigan met the 9.0 percent threshold necessary to trigger ``on'' in Tier 4 of the EUC08 program. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 4, the maximum potential entitlement in Tier 4 is the lesser of 24 percent of the maximum regular UC entitlement or 6 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. The week beginning October 7, 2012, will be the first week in which EUC08 claimants in Michigan who have exhausted Tier 3, and are otherwise eligible, can establish Tier 4 eligibility. With the week ending October 6, 2012, Texas will have served a full 13 week ``off'' period in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. Given that the trigger rate for Texas is currently at or above the 7.0 percent trigger rate threshold, and no more unemployment rates will be released before October 19, 2012, Texas will meet the criteria to resume a payable period in Tier 3 of the EUC08 program. This payable period will start with the week beginning October 7, 2012. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 3, the maximum potential entitlement is the lesser of 35 percent of the maximum regular UC entitlement or 9 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. With the week ending October 6, 2012, Georgia and Mississippi will have served a full 13 week ``off'' period in Tier 4 of the EUC08 program. Given that the trigger rate for these states is currently at or above the 9.0 percent trigger rate threshold, and no more unemployment rates will be released before October 19, 2012, Georgia and Mississippi will meet the criteria to resume a payable period in Tier 4 of the EUC08 program. The payable period will start with the week beginning October 7, 2012. For claimants establishing new eligibility in Tier 4, the maximum potential entitlement in Tier 4 is the lesser of 24 percent of the maximum regular UC entitlement or 6 times the regular UC weekly benefit amount. Based on data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 21, 2012, the three month average, seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate for the District of Columbia fell below the 9.0 percent trigger rate threshold to remain ``on'' in Tier 4 of the EUC08 program. As a result, entitlement for claimants in the District of Columbia in the EUC08 program will decrease from a maximum possible duration of 47 weeks to a maximum possible duration of 37 weeks. The week ending October 13, 2012, will be the last week in which EUC claimants in the District of Columbia can exhaust Tier 3, and establish Tier 4 eligibility. Under the phase-out provisions, claimants can receive any remaining entitlement they have in Tier 4 after October 13, 2012.