29 CFR Chapter XXV - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

In accordance with the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, this rule amends the regulation of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation that governs the examination and copying of PBGC records.

This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes to rescind the regulations established in the final rule titled “Interpretation of the `Advice' Exemption in Section 203(c) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act,” effective April 15, 2016.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in June 2017. The interest assumptions are used for paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress has passed, and the President has signed, Public Law 115-21, a resolution of disapproval of OSHA's final rule titled, “Clarification of Employer's Continuing Obligation to Make and Maintain an Accurate Record of each Recordable Injury and Illness.” OSHA published the rule, which contained various amendments to OSHA's recordkeeping regulations, on December 19, 2016. The amendments became effective on January 18, 2017. Because Public Law 115-21 invalidates the amendments to OSHA's recordkeeping regulations contained in the rule promulgated on December 19, 2016, OSHA is hereby removing those amendments from the Code of Federal Regulations.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in May 2017. The interest assumptions are used for paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

This document extends for 60 days the applicability date of the final regulation, published on April 8, 2016, defining who is a “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. It also extends for 60 days the applicability dates of the Best Interest Contract Exemption and the Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in Certain Assets Between Investment Advice Fiduciaries and Employee Benefit Plans and IRAs. It requires that fiduciaries relying on these exemptions for covered transactions adhere only to the Impartial Conduct Standards (including the “best interest” standard), as conditions of the exemptions during the transition period from June 9, 2017, through January 1, 2018. Thus, the fiduciary definition in the rule (Fiduciary Rule or Rule) published on April 8, 2016, and Impartial Conduct Standards in these exemptions, are applicable on June 9, 2017, while compliance with the remaining conditions in these exemptions, such as requirements to make specific written disclosures and representations of fiduciary compliance in communications with investors, is not required until January 1, 2018. This document also delays the applicability of amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 until January 1, 2018, other than the Impartial Conduct Standards, which will become applicable on June 9, 2017. Finally, this document extends for 60 days the applicability dates of amendments to other previously granted exemptions. The President, by Memorandum to the Secretary of Labor dated February 3, 2017, directed the Department of Labor to examine whether the Fiduciary Rule may adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice, and to prepare an updated economic and legal analysis concerning the likely impact of the Fiduciary Rule as part of that examination. The extensions announced in this document are necessary to enable the Department to perform this examination and to consider possible changes with respect to the Fiduciary Rule and PTEs based on new evidence or analysis developed pursuant to the examination.

On January 9, 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a rule entitled “Occupational Exposure to Beryllium” with an effective date of March 10, 2017 (“Beryllium Final Rule”). OSHA subsequently delayed the effective date of the Beryllium Final Rule to March 21, 2017 (February 1, 2017) and proposed to further delay the effective date to May 20, 2017 (March 2, 2017). This action finalizes that proposal. The additional time will allow OSHA the opportunity for further review of the new Beryllium Final Rule, including review of concerns that commenters raised, and is consistent with the memorandum of January 20, 2017, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) (collectively, “the Departments”) are jointly issuing this final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced in connection with the employment of temporary nonimmigrant workers under the H-2B program, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act). The Inflation Adjustment Act provides that agencies shall adjust civil monetary penalties notwithstanding Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Additionally, the Inflation Adjustment Act provides a cost-of-living formula for adjustment of the civil penalties. Accordingly, this final rule sets forth the Departments' 2017 annual adjustments for inflation to the H-2B civil monetary penalties, effective March 17, 2017.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulations on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans and Allocation of Assets in Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the benefit payments regulation for valuation dates in April 2017 and interest assumptions under the asset allocation regulation for valuation dates in the second quarter of 2017. The interest assumptions are used for valuing and paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

The National Labor Relations Board amends its procedural Rules and Regulations to: Reflect modern technology, such as E-Filing, and eliminate references to telegraphs, carbon copies, and the requirements for hard copy submissions and multiple copies; use more plain language and eliminate legalistic terms such as “therefrom,” “thereupon,” “therein,” “herein,” and “said;” reorganize the Rules and add headings so that the subject matter is easier to find; incorporate current practices that had not been included in the published Rules, such as the Board's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program; and update and streamline procedural provisions of the FOIA regulations. The amendments also clarify the means by which documents are filed and service is made by the parties and the Board. They also promote the parties' use of E-Filing, which will facilitate sharing documents with the public. These revisions are procedural rather than substantive.

In accordance with the Presidential directive in the memorandum from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, dated January 20, 2017, and entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is delaying the effective date of a final rule published in the Federal Register on January 3, 2017.

This final rule amends the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's regulation on Benefits Payable in Terminated Single-Employer Plans to prescribe interest assumptions under the regulation for valuation dates in March 2017. The interest assumptions are used for paying benefits under terminating single-employer plans covered by the pension insurance system administered by PBGC.

This final rule amends the Department of Labor's regulations under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). The regulations have been revised to update and streamline the language of several procedural provisions and to incorporate changes brought about by the amendments to the FOIA under the OPEN Government Act of 2007 and the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. Additionally, the regulations have been updated to incorporate changes in the agency's administrative structure.

The U.S. Department of Labor (Department) is publishing this final rule to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced in its regulations, pursuant to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 as amended by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Inflation Adjustment Act). The Inflation Adjustment Act requires the Department to annually adjust its civil money penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. The Inflation Adjustment Act provides that agencies shall adjust civil monetary penalties notwithstanding Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Additionally, the Inflation Adjustment Act provides a cost-of-living formula for adjustment of the civil penalties. Accordingly, this final rule sets forth the Department's 2017 annual adjustments for inflation to its civil monetary penalties, effective January 13, 2017.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or Commission) is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register of January 3, 2017 (82 FR 654). The document amended the regulations that require federal agencies to engage in affirmative action for individuals with disabilities, clarifying the obligations that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 imposes on federal agencies, as employers, that are over and above the obligation not to discriminate on the basis of disability. The document published January 3 neglected to indicate its effective date. This document corrects that omission. The applicability date remains January 3, 2018.