Wage and Hour Division 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 collections 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. Currently, the Wage and Hour Division is soliciting comments concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval of the Information Collection: Requests to Approve Conformed Wage Classifications and Unconventional Fringe Benefit Plans Under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act. A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.

The Employment and Training Administration and the Employment Standards Administration issued a proposed rule on September 4, 2009, to amend its regulations governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural (H-2A) employment and the enforcement of the contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. The proposed rule provided a comment period for the regulatory text through October 5, 2009. The agencies have received several requests to extend the comment period and have decided to extend the comment period for an additional 15 days, to October 20, 2009. The comment period for the Paperwork Reduction Act portion remains the same as published, i.e. November 5, 2009.

The Department of Labor (DOL or the Department) is suspending the H-2A Final Rule published on December 18, 2008 and in effect as of January 17, 2009. That Final Rule amended the regulations governing the certification for temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in agricultural occupations on a temporary or seasonal basis, and the enforcement of contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. To ensure continued functioning of the H-2A program, the Department is republishing and reinstating the regulations in place on January 16, 2009 for a period of 9 months, after which the Department will either have engaged in further rulemaking or lift the suspension.

The Department of Labor (DOL or the Department) proposes to suspend for 9 months the H-2A regulations published on December 18, 2008, which became effective on January 17, 2009, that amended the rules governing the certification for temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in agricultural occupations on a temporary or seasonal basis, and the enforcement of contractual obligations applicable to employers of such nonimmigrant workers. A suspension would provide the Department with an opportunity to review and reconsider the new requirements in light of issues that have arisen since the publication of the H-2A Final Rule, while minimizing the disruption to the Department, State Workforce Agencies (SWAs), employers, and workers. To avoid the regulatory vacuum that would result from a suspension, the Department proposes to reinstate on an interim basis the rules that were in place on January 16, 2009, the day before the revised rules became effective, by reprinting those previous regulations.

On December 14, 2008, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) the Department of Labor's information collection request for requirements regarding Family and Medical Leave Act regulations, as published in the Federal Register on November 17, 2008. The PRA requires this notice to set forth the effectiveness of information collection requirements contained in a final rule.