Title 20 published on 2011-04-01
The following are only the Rules published in the Federal Register after the published date of Title 20.
For a complete list of all Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices view the Rulemaking tab.
This amendment revises the Department of Labor's (DOL) regulations governing administrative claims submitted to DOL pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the Military Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act (MPCECA), and for payment of claims arising out of the operation of the Job Corps. The regulations governing such claims were last revised in 1995. MPCECA has since been amended to allow payment of up to $100,000 if the claim arose from an emergency or extraordinary circumstance. Further, the implementing authority for the Job Corps was changed to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) since the last time the regulations were updated. These regulations are being amended to reflect those changes, improve the clarity and ease of use of the regulations, and to harmonize the regulations governing these claims between those regulations in titles 20 and 29 of the CFR, which includes deleting the references to these claims in 20 CFR part 638 as these revisions have rendered those sections unnecessary. Finally, the regulations in title 20 have also been updated to reflect the recently revised regulations regarding claims of Job Corps students under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA).
This final rule removes regulations on the Black Lung program from the Social Security Administration's (SSA) chapter of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Black Lung Consolidation of Administrative Responsibility Act transferred the responsibility for administering Part B of the Black Lung benefits program from SSA to the Department of Labor (DOL), and we are removing the regulations in recognition of the fact that we are no longer responsible for administering any aspect of the Part B Black Lung program. DOL concurs with this final rule removing the regulations.
On February 21, 2012, the Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) published a Final Rule amending H-2B regulations governing the certification of temporary employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment. The Department's H-2B Final Rule also created new regulations to provide for enhanced enforcement under the H-2B program requirements when employers fail to meet their obligations under the H-2B program. The Department also made changes to the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, ETA Form 9142. The H-2B Final Rule becomes effective on April 23, 2012. All applications filed on or after that date will need to comply with all applicable program requirements. The purpose of this guidance is to provide transition procedures to ensure that employers filing H-2B applications on or after April 23, 2012, have sufficient information to file appropriately.
We are revising the Notification of implementation of requirement we published on January 31, 2012 (77 FR 4653). We are clarifying the requirement that appointed representatives file certain appeals using our electronic systems in matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment. Specifically, we are clarifying that the electronic filing requirement includes both the submission of the forms we require to file the appeal request and the Disability Report—Appeal. This is the first service required under the regulation we published on September 12, 2011 (76 FR 56107), Requiring Use of Electronic Services.
Under the Department of Labor's (we or the Department) H-2A temporary labor certification program, Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) are the minimum wage rates the Department has determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment for a particular occupation and area such that the wages of similarly employed United States (U.S.) workers will not be adversely affected. 20 CFR 655.100(b). AEWRs are derived from the Farm Labor Survey (FLS) issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In the interest of government transparency, we are publishing this document to announce a non-material change in the frequency of establishment surveys under the FLS (and its accompanying publication) beginning in 2012.
We are modifying the requirement to recontact your medical source(s) first when we need to resolve an inconsistency or insufficiency in the evidence he or she provided. Depending on the nature of the inconsistency or insufficiency, there may be other, more appropriate sources from whom we could obtain the information we need. By giving adjudicators more flexibility in determining how best to obtain this information, we will be able to make a determination or decision on disability claims more quickly and efficiently in certain situations. Eventually, our need to recontact your medical source(s) in many situations will be significantly reduced as a result of our efforts to improve the evidence collection process through the increased use of Health Information Technology (HIT).
We are clarifying our regulations to ensure the safety of the public and our employees in our hearing process. Due to increasing reports of threats to our hearing office employees, we are taking steps to explicitly increase the level of protection we provide to our staff and to the public during the hearing process. We expect these changes to result in a safer work environment for our employees, while at the same time ensuring that our claimants continue to receive a full and fair hearing on their claims for benefits.
The Department of Labor (the Department) is amending 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. This Final Rule revises the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. We have also created new regulations to provide for increased worker protections for both United States (U.S.) and foreign workers.
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) issues this final rule to implement the YouthBuild Transfer Act of 2006 (Transfer Act), which establishes the YouthBuild program in the Department under subtitle D of Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) as amended. The final rule clarifies the requirements of the Transfer Act for YouthBuild program providers and participants. The final rule sets the standards under which YouthBuild program providers can carry out the goals of the program, which are to assist at-risk youth in obtaining a High School diploma or General Educational Development (GED) diploma and acquiring occupational skills training that leads to employment through the construction/rehabilitation of housing for low-income or homeless individuals and families in the community.
We are announcing the requirement that appointed representatives file certain appeals using our electronic systems in matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment. This is the first service required under the regulation we published on September 12, 2011 (76 FR 56107), Requiring Use of Electronic Services.
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department) issues this final rule to implement an additional indicator for volunteer work in the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP). Specifically, this rule amends our regulations regarding Performance Accountability for title V of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and corresponding definitions. These regulations provide administrative and programmatic guidance and requirements for the implementation of the SCSEP.
This final rule adopts, without change, the interim final rule with request for comments we published in the Federal Register on December 29, 2010. The interim final rule incorporated changes to the Medicare prescription drug coverage low-income subsidy (Extra Help) program made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) enacted in March 2010. Under our interpretation of section 3304 of the Affordable Care Act, if the death of a beneficiary's spouse would decrease or eliminate the subsidy provided by the Extra Help program, we will extend the effective period of eligibility for the most recent determination or redetermination until one year after the month following the month we are notified of the death of the spouse. The effective date of this provision was January 1, 2011. We also revised our regulations to incorporate changes made by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) which affect the way we account for income and resources when determining eligibility for the Extra Help program. The statute provides that we no longer count the value of any life insurance policy as a resource for Extra Help effective on and after January 1, 2010. As of that date, we also no longer count as income the help a beneficiary receives when someone else provides food and shelter, or pays household bills for food, mortgage, rent, electricity, water, property taxes, or heating fuel or gas. These revisions updated our rules to reflect these statutory changes.
The Social Security Act (Act) states that we may issue a Ticket to Work (Ticket) to disabled beneficiaries for participation in the Ticket to Work program (Ticket program). Under our current rules, however, we mail initial Ticket notices to all Ticket-eligible beneficiaries, regardless of whether they are likely to participate in the program, immediately after they begin receiving benefits. We are modifying our rules so that we may send a Ticket to eligible disabled beneficiaries. We will inform all newly eligible and current beneficiaries of the availability of the program via routine correspondence. In addition, we will conduct Ticket outreach to those disabled beneficiaries who are most likely to return to work. We will send a Ticket to any eligible disabled beneficiary upon request, regardless of whether we have identified the beneficiary through our outreach efforts. We expect this change will make the Ticket program more effective. This change does not affect Ticket eligibility requirements.
The Department of Labor (Department) is delaying the effective date of the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program (the Wage Rule) to October 1, 2012 in response to recently enacted legislation that prohibits any funds from being used to implement the Wage Rule for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2012. The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which we calculate the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status.
The Department of Labor (we or the Department), as a result of Congressional appropriations language, recently delayed the effective date of the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program Final Rule (the Wage Rule) to January 1, 2012. This Notice provides additional guidance to those employers who have received from the Department either a supplemental or dual prevailing wage determinations based on a previous effective date of the new prevailing wage methodology. This guidance provides additional clarification regarding the wage payment requirements for employers participating in the H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural program.
This final rule contains regulations implementing amendments to the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), relating to the exclusion of certain recreational-vessel workers from the LHWCA's definition of “employee.” These regulations clarify both the definition of “recreational vessel” and those circumstances under which workers are excluded from LHWCA coverage when working on those vessels. The final rule also withdraws a proposed rule that would have codified current case law and the Department's longstanding view that employees are covered under the LHWCA so long as some of their work constitutes “maritime employment” within the meaning of the statute.
This document contains corrections to final regulations (TD 9517) that were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, March 31, 2011 (76 FR 17762) relating to the enrollment of actuaries.
This document describes correcting amendments to final regulations (TD 9517) relating to the enrollment of actuaries. These regulations were published in the Federal Register on Thursday, March 31, 2011 (76 FR 17762).
We are revising our rules of conduct and standards of responsibility for representatives. These revisions further clarify our expectations regarding representatives' obligations to competently represent their clients and constitute official notice concerning our requirements and procedures. We are also updating other rules about the representation of parties. These changes are necessary because our current regulations are insufficient to address some representative conduct that is inappropriate, but has technically fallen outside the scope of our regulations. These changes will allow us to better protect the integrity of our administrative process, ensure that claimants receive competent and effective representation, and further clarify representatives' responsibilities in their dealings with us and with claimants.
The Department of Labor (Department) is delaying the effective date of the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program; Final Rule, 76 FR 3452, Jan. 19, 2011, (the Wage Rule) to January 1, 2012 in response to recently enacted legislation that prohibits any funds from being used to implement administer, or enforce the Wage Rule before January 1, 2012. The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which we calculate the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status.
The Department of Labor (Department) recently delayed the effective date of the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program Final Rule, 76 FR 3452, Jan. 19, 2011 (the Wage Rule) to January 1, 2012. This notice provides guidance to those employers who have received from the Department either a supplemental or dual prevailing wage determinations based on a previous effective date of the new prevailing wage methodology. This guidance is intended to clarify the wage payment requirements for employers participating in the H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural program.
We are revising the procedures for how claimants who receive fully favorable revised determinations based on prehearing case reviews or fully favorable attorney advisor decisions may seek further review. We are also revising our procedure to provide that we will notify claimants who receive partially favorable determinations based on prehearing case reviews that an administrative law judge (ALJ) will still hold a hearing unless all parties to the hearing tell us in writing that we should dismiss the hearing request. These changes will simplify our administrative review process and free up scarce administrative resources that we can better use to reduce the hearings-level case backlog.
We are amending our Tax Refund Offset (TRO) and Administrative Offset regulations. We are conforming our regulations to those of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for the following reasons: Treasury removed the 10-year limitation to collect delinquent debts owed the United States by reducing eligible Federal payments, and more States are participating in reciprocal agreements with Treasury to offset State payments, including tax refunds to reduce or extinguish a federally owed debt. These changes will allow us to collect additional Federal debt.
The Department of Labor (Department) recently postponed the effective date of the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program Final Rule, January 19, 2011 (the Wage Rule), to November 30, 2011, due to pending legal challenges, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act. This document provides guidance to the employers who have received supplemental wage determinations based on the new prevailing wage methodology set forth in the Wage Rule, as to the prevailing wages that would apply before and after the new effective date of November 30, 2011.
The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) amends its regulations to allow alternative signature methods in addition to the traditional pen-and-ink or “wet” signature in order to implement an electronic application process which will eventually eliminate the need to retain paper applications and make the application process more convenient for the individuals filing applications.
The Department of Labor (Department) is postponing the effective date of the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment H-2B Program; Final Rule, 76 FR 3452, Jan. 19, 2011, (the Wage Rule). The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which we calculate the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. The effective date of the Wage Rule was set at January 1, 2012. However, the Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-Agricultural Employment H-2B Program; Amendment of Effective Date; Final Rule, 76 FR 45667, August 1, 2011 revised the effective date to September 30, 2011. Due to pending legal challenges, we are postponing the effective date of the Wage Rule to November 30, 2011, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 705.
We are revising our rules to require that claimant representatives use our electronic services as they become available on matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment. In the future, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register when we require representatives who request direct fee payment on a matter to use our available electronic services. We are also adding the requirement to use our available electronic services on matters for which the representative requests direct fee payment as an affirmative duty in our representative conduct rules. These revisions reflect the increased use of technology in representatives' business practices. We expect that the use of electronic services will improve our efficiency by allowing us to manage our workloads more effectively. These rules do not require claimants to use our available electronic services directly; they only require their representatives to use the services on matters for which the representatives request direct fee payment.
We are publishing the process we follow when we ban an individual from entering our field offices. Due to escalating reports of threats to our personnel and our customers in our offices, we are taking steps to increase the level of protection we provide. We expect that this rule will result in a safer environment for our personnel and members of the public who use our facilities, while ensuring that we continue to serve the American people with as little disruption to our operations as possible.
The Department of Labor (we or us) is amending the effective date of Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program; Final Rule, 76 FR 3452, Jan. 19, 2011 (the Wage Rule). The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which we calculate the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. The effective date of the Wage Rule was set at January 1, 2012. This Final Rule revises the effective date of the Wage Rule to 60 days after the publication date of this Final Rule.
We are revising our rules to implement amendments to the Social Security Act (Act) made by the Social Security Disability Applicants' Access to Professional Representation Act of 2010 (PRA). We are making permanent the direct fee payment rules for eligible non-attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act and for attorney representatives under title XVI of the Act. We also are revising some of our eligibility policies for non-attorney representatives under titles II and XVI of the Act.
We are revising our regulations to reflect our use of electronic case processing at the initial and reconsideration levels of our administrative review process. Our prior rule required adjudicators at these levels to complete a Form SSA-538, Childhood Disability Evaluation Form, in all cases of children alleging disability or continuing disability under title XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). However, we developed and now use a Web-based tool that assists our adjudicators in making disability determinations in several States, and we plan to expand its use to other States. We are revising our regulation to reflect the new tool. We are not changing the requirement that State agency medical and psychological consultants must affirm the accuracy and completeness of their findings of fact and discussion of the supporting evidence, only the manner in which they may provide the required findings and affirmation. We expect that this revision will improve our efficiency by increasing our use of electronic resources.
This final rule adopts, without change, the interim final rule with request for comments we published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2010 at 75 FR 41084. The interim final rule concerned what we consider major life-changing events for the Medicare Part B income-related monthly adjustment amount (IRMAA) and what evidence we require to support a claim of a major life-changing event. This final rule allows us to respond appropriately to circumstances brought about by the current economic climate and other unforeseen events, as described below.
On August 13, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed revisions to the regulations governing the administration of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). The FECA provides benefits to all civilian Federal employees and certain other groups of employees and individuals who are injured or killed while performing their jobs. At that time, DOL also proposed revisions to the regulations establishing the authority of the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) which administers the FECA. The proposed changes were summarized in that publication. The existing rules have been amended to acknowledge a change in the organization of the OWCP and amendments to the FECA which have occurred since the last time the regulations were amended in 1999. These changes also update the regulations by taking into account changes in technology and other changes to improve administrative efficiency. As many FECA claimants are not represented, the regulations are revised to insert FECA statutory references as a frame of reference for clarity and ease of use. The regulations include adding the skin as an organ pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 8107(c)(22). The regulations also create a new special schedule covering injuries to non-citizen non-resident Federal employees outside the United States. Finally, the regulations covering the processing of medical bills have been updated to provide for greater use of technology in that process to reduce costs and to clarify requirements for such submissions.
We are eliminating the Decision Review Board (DRB) portions of part 405 of our rules, which we currently use as the final step in our administrative review process for adjudicating initial disability claims in our Boston region. As of the effective date of this regulation, we will replace the DRB step with review by the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council will follow most of the rules in parts 404 and 416 that we use in the rest of the country to adjudicate disability claims at the Appeals Council level, with some differences needed to accommodate the rules that govern administrative law judge (ALJ) hearings in the Boston region. We will also authorize attorney advisors in the Boston region to conduct certain prehearing proceedings and make fully favorable decisions as they do in the rest of the country. We are making these changes to improve service to claimants and to increase consistency in our program rules.
We are revising the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (the listings) that we use to evaluate claims under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act) involving endocrine disorders in adults and children. The revisions reflect our adjudicative experience, advances in medical knowledge, information from medical experts, and comments we received from the public in response to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM), a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), and at an outreach policy conference.
We are extending for 2 years our rule authorizing attorney advisors to conduct certain prehearing procedures and to issue fully favorable decisions. The current rule will expire on August 10, 2011. In this final rule, we are extending the sunset date to August 9, 2013. We are making no other substantive changes.
The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to Title 20
This amendment revises the Department of Labor's (DOL's) regulations governing administrative claims submitted to DOL pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the Military Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act (MPCECA), and for payment of claims arising out of the operation of the Job Corps. The regulations governing such claims were last revised in 1995. MPCECA has since been amended to allow payment of up to $100,000 if the claim arose from an emergency or extraordinary circumstance. Further, the implementing authority for the Job Corps was changed to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) since the last time the regulations were updated. These regulations are being amended to reflect those changes, improve the clarity and ease of use of the regulations, and to harmonize the regulations governing these claims between those regulations in titles 20 and 29 of the CFR, which includes deleting the references to these claims in 20 CFR part 638 as these revisions have rendered those sections unnecessary. Finally, the regulations in title 20 have also been updated to reflect the recently revised regulations regarding claims of Job Corps students under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA).
We are withdrawing the proposed rules we published in the Federal Register on December 5, 2005.
This document contains proposed regulations implementing amendments to the Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA or Act) made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA amended the BLBA in two ways. First, it revived a rebuttable presumption of total disability or death due to pneumoconiosis for certain claims. Second, it reinstituted derivative entitlement to benefits for certain eligible survivors of coal miners whose lifetime benefit claims were awarded because they were totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis. These survivors need not also prove that the miner died due to coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The proposed rules would clarify how the statutory presumption may be invoked and rebutted and the application and scope of the derivative-survivor-entitlement provision. The proposed rules also eliminate several unnecessary or obsolete provisions.
The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) proposes to amend its regulations to reflect the restructuring of the Office of Programs and the elimination of the Regional Offices.
We propose to revise and reorganize the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate cases involving visual disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The proposed revisions reflect our program experience and address adjudicator questions we have received since we last revised these criteria in 2006. These proposed revisions reflect guidance we have issued in response to adjudicator questions and will ensure more timely adjudication of claims in which we evaluate visual impairments that involve a loss of visual acuity or loss of visual fields.
We are considering whether to propose new rules for evaluating language and speech disorders. The new rules would apply to disability claims involving language and speech disorders in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). Specifically, we are considering whether to add a new body system in the Listing of Impairments in appendix 1 to subpart P of part 404 of our regulations (listings) for these disorders. We are requesting your comments about whether we should establish these new rules, as well as suggestions about what the proposed rules should include. If we decide to propose specific listings, we will publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register.
We propose to revise the criteria in the Listing of Impairments (listings) that we use to evaluate cases involving impairments that affect multiple body systems in adults and children under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). The proposed revisions reflect our program experience and address adjudicator questions we have received since we last comprehensively revised this body system in 2005. We do not expect any decisional differences due the revisions in this body system.
We propose to give adjudicators the discretion to proceed to the fifth step of the sequential evaluation process for assessing disability when we have insufficient information about a claimant's past relevant work history to make the findings required for step 4. If an adjudicator finds at step 5 that a claimant may be unable to adjust to other work existing in the national economy, the adjudicator would return to the fourth step to develop the claimant's work history and make a finding about whether the claimant can perform his or her past relevant work. This proposed new process would not disadvantage any claimant or change the ultimate conclusion about whether a claimant is disabled, but it would promote administrative efficiency and help us make more timely disability determinations and decisions.
The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) proposes to amend the effective date of Wage Methodology for the Temporary Non-agricultural Employment H-2B Program; Final Rule, 76 FR 3452, January 19, 2011, (the Wage Rule). The Wage Rule revised the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. The effective date of the Wage Rule was set at January 1, 2012.
The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) proposes to amend its regulations to allow alternative signature methods in addition to the traditional pen-and-ink or ” wet” signature in order to implement an electronic application process which will eventually eliminate the need to retain paper applications and make the application process more convenient for the individuals filing applications.
We propose to modify the requirement to recontact your medical source(s) first when we need to resolve an inconsistency or insufficiency in the evidence he or she provided. Depending on the nature of the inconsistency or insufficiency, there may be other, more appropriate sources from whom we could obtain the information we need. By giving adjudicators more flexibility in determining how best to obtain this information, we will be able to make a determination or decision on disability claims more quickly and efficiently in certain situations. Eventually, our need to recontact your medical source(s) in many situations will be significantly reduced as a result of our efforts to improve the evidence collection process through the increased utilization of Health Information Technology (HIT).
This document contains final regulations under section 3042 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) relating to the enrollment of actuaries. These regulations update the eligibility requirements for performing actuarial services for ERISA-covered employee pension benefit plans, including the continuing professional education requirements, and the standards for performing such actuarial services. These regulations will affect employee pension benefit plans and the actuaries providing actuarial services to those plans.
We are making a technical correction to a listing in the neurological body system in the Listing of Impairments. We are correcting a cross-reference that became outdated when we published revisions elsewhere in the Listing of Impairments in 2010. This technical correction will provide an updated cross-reference to conform to the 2010 revisions.
The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) proposes 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. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM or proposed rule) proposes to revise and solicits comments on the process by which employers obtain a temporary labor certification from the Department for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status. The Department also proposes to create new regulations to provide for increased worker protections for both U.S. and foreign workers and enhanced enforcement under the H-2B program.
We are clarifying our regulatory procedures to ensure the safety of the public and our employees in our hearing process. Due to increasing reports of threats to our hearing office employees, we are taking steps to explicitly increase the level of protection we provide to our staff and to the public during the hearing process. We expect these changes to result in a safer work environment for our employees, while at the same time ensuring that our claimants continue to receive a full and fair hearing on their claims for benefits.
We developed “Compassionate Allowances” to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions obviously meet the definition of disability under the Social Security Act (Act) and can be identified with minimal objective medical information. In December 2007, April 2008, November 2008, July 2009, November 2009, and November 2010, we held Compassionate Allowance public hearings to help us identify the diseases and other serious medical conditions that we should consider under the Compassionate Allowance process. These hearings concerned rare diseases, cancers, traumatic brain injury and stroke, early-onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, schizophrenia, and cardiovascular disease and multiple organ transplants, respectively. We will hold our next hearing on March 16 to address the advisability and possible methods of identifying and implementing compassionate allowances for both adults and children with autoimmune diseases. While the public is welcome to attend the hearing, only scheduled witnesses will present testimony. We plan to address other medical conditions at subsequent hearings.
We propose to amend our Tax Refund Offset (TRO) and Administrative Offset regulations. We are conforming our regulations to those of the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) for the following reasons: (1) Treasury removed the 10-year limitation to collect delinquent debts owed the United States by reducing eligible Federal payments, and (2) more States are participating in reciprocal agreements with Treasury to offset State payments, including tax refunds to reduce or extinguish a federally owed debt. The potential exists to increase collection of Federal debts for two reasons: (1) We are authorized to collect debts indefinitely by offsetting eligible Federal payments through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), and (2) States that have reciprocal agreements with Treasury are authorized to offset payments to reduce or extinguish debts owed to the Federal agencies.
Treasury, SSA, VA, RRB and OPM (Agencies) are issuing an interim final rule to implement statutory restrictions on the garnishment of Federal benefit payments. The rule establishes procedures that financial institutions must follow when they receive a garnishment order against an account holder who receives certain types of Federal benefit payments by direct deposit. The rule requires financial institutions that receive such a garnishment order to determine the sum of such Federal benefit payments deposited to the account during a two month period, and to ensure that the account holder has access to an amount equal to that sum or to the current balance of the account, whichever is lower.
The Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS) of the Department of Labor (the Department) is proposing a rule to implement a uniform national threshold entered employment rate for veterans applicable to State employment service delivery systems. The Department undertakes this rulemaking in accordance with the Jobs for Veterans Act, which requires the Department to implement that threshold rate by regulation.
The Department of Labor (the Department or DOL) is amending its regulations governing the certification for the employment of nonimmigrant workers in temporary or seasonal non-agricultural employment. This Final Rule revises the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and United States (U.S.) workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification for use in petitioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to employ a nonimmigrant worker in H-2B status.
These final rules adopt, with some minor changes, the interim final rules with request for comment we published in the Federal Register on December 20, 1996. 61 FR 67203. The interim final rules concerned dedicated accounts and installment payments for certain past-due SSI benefits and reflected amendments to the Social Security Act (Act) made by sections 213 and 221 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). These final rules reflect these provisions, as well as subsequent changes to these provisions made by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (SSPA), and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). The changes we are making in these final rules will ensure that our rules accurately reflect the statutory provisions on which they are based.
