Employment and Training Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice announces a change in benefit period eligibility under the Extended Benefits program for Alaska and Wisconsin. The following changes have occurred since the publication of the last notice regarding the States' EB status: The Total Unemployment Rate (TUR) data for August 2010, released on September 21, 2010, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, brought the three-month average seasonally adjusted TURs in Alaska and Wisconsin below the 8.0% threshold to remain ``on'' for a High Unemployment Period (HUP) in the Extended Benefits program. As a result, Alaska and Wisconsin concluded their HUP on October 16 and eligibility for claimants has been reduced from a maximum potential entitlement of 20 weeks to a maximum potential entitlement of 13 weeks in the Extended Benefits program. The trigger notice covering state eligibility for the Extended Benefit program can be found at: https://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/ claimsarch.asp. A new trigger notice is posted at this location each week.

Announcement regarding states triggering ``off'' of Tiers Three and Four of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program. Public Law 111-205 extended provisions in Public Law 111-92 which amended prior laws to create a Third and Fourth Tier of benefits within the EUC08 program for qualified unemployed workers claiming benefits in high unemployment states. The Department of Labor produces a trigger notice indicating which states qualify for EUC08 benefits within Tiers Three and Four and provides the beginning and ending dates of payable periods for each qualifying state. The trigger notice covering state eligibility for the EUC08 program can be found at: https:// ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claimsarch.asp. A new trigger notice is posted at this location each week that the program is in effect. Based on data published September 21, 2010 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following trigger changes have occurred for states in the EUC08 program: New Hampshire's three month average seasonally-adjusted TUR for August declined to 5.8%, below the 6.0% threshold to remain ``on'' Tier Three, hence the state triggered off of Tier Three. As a result, New Hampshire concluded its payable period in the third tier of the EUC program on October 16, 2010. Eligibility for claimants in New Hampshire have been reduced from a maximum potential entitlement of 47 weeks to a maximum potential entitlement of 34 weeks in the EUC program. Delaware's three month average seasonally-adjusted TUR for August 2010 declined to 8.4%, below the 8.5% threshold to remain ``on'' Tier Four hence the state has triggered off of Tier Four. As a result, Delaware concluded its payable period in the Fourth tier of the EUC program on October 16, 2010. Eligibility for claimants in Delaware has been reduced from a maximum potential entitlement of 53 weeks to a maximum potential entitlement of 47 weeks in the EUC program.

On October 5, 2010, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend its regulations governing the certification of the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment and the enforcement of the obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. The proposed rule provided a comment period for the regulatory text through November 4, 2010. The agency has received several requests to extend the comment period and has decided to extend the comment period for an additional 8 days, to November 12, 2010.