[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 179 (Thursday, September 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55930-55931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-20843]



[[Page 55929]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part IV





Department of Labor





-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Office of the Secretary



-----------------------------------------------------------------------



Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibilities to the 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans--Employment and Training; 
Notices

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 179 / Thursday, September 16, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 55930]]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

[Secretary's Order 3-2004]


Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibilities to the 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training

    1. Purpose. To delegate authority and assign responsibility to the 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, and 
to consolidate those responsibilities regarding veterans into one 
Order.
    2. Authority and Directives Affected. This Order is issued pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 301; 5 U.S.C. 5315; 29 U.S.C. 551, et seq.; additional 
authorities are listed in Paragraph 4.A.(1) and 4.A.(2) of this Order. 
This Order supersedes Secretary's Orders 1-83, 4-83, and 8-83. This 
Order does not affect Secretary's Order 4-2001 or Secretary's Order 4-
75, both of which remain in effect.
    3. Background. Several Secretary's Orders exist that delegate 
responsibilities to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' 
Employment and Training. Congress established the position of an 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment in 1980. See 
Public Law 96-466, Sec.  504, 94 Stat. 2171 (1980) (now 38 U.S.C. 
4102A). Among other things, Secretary's Order 4-83 (March 24, 1983) 
redesignated the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Veterans' Employment as the Veterans' Employment and Training Service. 
In 1986, Congress formally redesignated the position to be the 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training. 
Public Law 99-619, Sec.  2(b)(3), 100 Stat. 3491 (1986).
    Under the current statutory terms, the Assistant Secretary of Labor 
for Veterans' Employment and Training is appointed by the President 
with the advice and consent of the Senate and ``shall formulate and 
implement all departmental policies and procedures to carry out (A) the 
purposes of this chapter [chapter 41], chapter 42, and chapter 43 of 
this title [title 38], and (B) all other Department of Labor 
employment, unemployment, and training programs to the extent they 
affect veterans.'' 38 U.S.C. 4102A(a). The Assistant Secretary of Labor 
for Veterans' Employment and Training is the principal advisor to the 
Secretary of Labor regarding veterans' issues. While the title, 
authorities, and responsibilities previously assigned and encompassed 
by statute will remain with the Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Veterans' Employment and Training under this Secretary's Order, the 
Department and the public are better served by a single delegation 
encompassing all responsibilities.
    4. Delegation of Authority and Assignment of Responsibilities. A. 
Except as hereinafter provided, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for 
Veterans' Employment and Training is delegated the authority (including 
the authority to re-delegate) and assigned the responsibilities of the 
Secretary of Labor:
    (1) Under 38 U.S.C. 4102A, including any amendments.
    (2) Under the following statutes, including any amendments:
    (i) Administrative Redress for Preference Eligibles under Veterans 
Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA), 5 U.S.C. 3330a;
    (ii) Transition Assistance Program (TAP), 10 U.S.C. 1144;
    (iii) Veterans' Workforce Investment Programs (VWIP), Workforce 
Investment Act of 1998, 29 U.S.C. 2913;
    (iv) Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), Homeless 
Veterans Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001, 38 U.S.C. 2021;
    (v) Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program, Homeless Veterans 
Comprehensive Assistance Act of 2001, 38 U.S.C. 2023;
    (vi) President's National Hire Veterans Committee, 38 U.S.C. 4100 
note;
    (vii) State Directors for Veterans' Employment and Training (State 
DVETs), 38 U.S.C. 4103;
    (viii) Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP), 38 U.S.C. 4102A, 
4103A;
    (ix) Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVERs), 38 U.S.C. 
4102A, 4104;
    (x) Establishment of Administrative Controls and Application of 
Performance Standards, 38 U.S.C. 4107(a) and (b);
    (xi) National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute, 
38 U.S.C. 4109;
    (xii) Advisory Committee on Veterans Employment and Training, 38 
U.S.C. 4110(e)(4);
    (xiii) Performance Incentive Awards for Quality Employment, 
Training and Placement Services, 38 U.S.C. 4112;
    (xiv) Outstationing of Transition Assistance Program Personnel, 38 
U.S.C. 4113;
    (xv) Veterans' Employment Emphasis under Federal Contracts--Federal 
Contractor Veterans' Employment Report (VETS-100), 38 U.S.C. 4212(d) 
(2002 & Supp. 2004), and determination of compliance pursuant to 20 CFR 
1001.130 regarding Federal contractor priority of employment referral 
and employment listings under 38 U.S.C. 4212(a)(2)(B) and (C) (2002 & 
Supp. 2004) (Note: Secretary's Order 4-2001 remains in effect, which, 
in part, delegates authority and assigns responsibility to the 
Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards for the affirmative action 
provisions of the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 
1974, including 38 U.S.C. 4212(a)(1), 4212(a)(2)(A), and 4212(b) (2004) 
and 38 U.S.C. 4212(a) and (b) (2002). Subject to the above delegation 
to VETS, Secretary's Order 4-75 also remains in effect, which, in part, 
delegates authority and assigns responsibility to the Assistant 
Secretary for Employment and Training for administration of Federal 
contractor priority of employment referral and employment listing 
services under the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 
1974, now 38 U.S.C. 4212(a)(2)(B) and (C));
    (xvi) Electronic Delivery of Services to Covered Persons, 38 U.S.C. 
4215 note.
    (xvii) Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 
1994 (USERRA), Pub. L. 103-353, 38 U.S.C. 4301-4333 (2000) and its 
predecessor, the Veterans' Reemployment Rights provisions of the 
Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, 38 U.S.C. 
4301-4307 (as set forth in the Codification Note preceding 38 U.S.C. 
4301 (1994));
    (xviii) Priority of Service for Veterans in DOL Job Training 
Programs, 38 U.S.C. 4215, with respect to job training programs that 
are administered by the ASVET. This delegation does not include 
authority for priority of service of veterans in job training programs 
that are administered by the Assistant Secretary for Employment and 
Training;
    (xviv) As directed by the Secretary, such additional Federal acts 
similar to or related to those listed in paragraphs (i) through 
(xviii), above, that from time to time may assign additional authority 
or responsibilities to the Secretary.
    (3) to invoke all appropriate governmental privileges, arising from 
the functions of the Veterans' Employment and Training Service, 
following his/her personal consideration of the matter and in 
accordance with the following guidelines:
    (i) Generally Applicable Guidelines. The Assistant Secretary may 
not re-delegate the authority to invoke a privilege. The privilege may 
be asserted only with respect to specifically described information and 
only where the Assistant Secretary determines the privilege is 
applicable. In asserting a privilege, the Assistant Secretary shall

[[Page 55931]]

articulate in writing specific reasons for preserving the 
confidentiality of the information.
    (ii) Informant's Privilege (to protect from disclosure the identity 
of any person who has provided information to the Veterans' Employment 
and Training Service in cases arising under the statutory provisions 
listed in paragraph 4.A.(1) and 4.A.(2) of this Order that are 
delegated or assigned to the Veterans' Employment and Training 
Service). To assert this privilege, the Assistant Secretary must first 
determine that disclosure of the privileged matter may: (A) Interfere 
with the Veterans' Employment and Training Service's investigation or 
enforcement of a particular statute for which it exercises 
investigative or enforcement authority; (B) adversely affect persons 
who have provided information to the Veterans' Employment and Training 
Service; or (C) deter other persons from reporting violations of the 
statute.
    (iii) Deliberative Process Privilege (to withhold information which 
may disclose pre-decisional intra-agency or inter-agency deliberations, 
in cases arising under the statutory provisions listed in paragraph 
4.A.(1) and 4.A.(2) of this Order including: the analysis and 
evaluation of facts; written summaries of factual evidence; and 
recommendations, opinions, or advice on legal or policy matters). To 
assert this privilege, the Assistant Secretary must first determine 
that: (A) The information is not purely factual and does not concern 
recommendations that the department expressly adopted or incorporated 
by reference in its ultimate decision; (B) the information was 
generated prior to and in contemplation of a decision by a part of the 
Department; and (C) disclosure of the information would have an 
inhibiting effect on the Department's decision-making processes.
    (iv) Privilege for Investigative Files Compiled for Law Enforcement 
Purposes (to withhold information that may reveal the Veterans' 
Employment and Training Service's confidential investigative techniques 
and procedures). To assert this privilege, the Assistant Secretary must 
first determine that disclosure of the privileged matter may have an 
adverse impact upon the Veterans' Employment and Training Service's 
enforcement of the statutory provisions listed in paragraph 4.A.(1) and 
4.A.(2) of this Order, by: (A) Disclosing investigative techniques and 
methodologies; (B) deterring persons from providing information to the 
Veterans' Employment and Training Service; (C) prematurely revealing 
the facts of the Department's case; or (D) disclosing the identities of 
persons who have provided information under an express or implied 
promise of confidentiality.
    (v) Prior to filing a formal claim of privilege, the Assistant 
Secretary shall personally review the information sought to be 
withheld, including all the documents sought to be withheld (or, in 
cases where the volume of information is so large all of it cannot be 
personally reviewed in a reasonable time, an adequate and 
representative sample of such information) and a description or summary 
of the litigation in which the disclosure is sought.
    (vi) The Assistant Secretary may comply with any additional 
requirements imposed by local court rules or precedent in asserting a 
governmental privilege.
    (vii) In asserting a governmental privilege, the Assistant 
Secretary may ask the Solicitor of Labor or the Solicitor's 
representative to prepare and file any necessary legal papers or 
documents.
    B. The Solicitor of Labor is delegated authority and assigned 
responsibility for providing legal advice and assistance to all 
officials of the Department relating to the authorities of this Order, 
for bringing appropriate legal actions on behalf of the Secretary, and 
representing the Secretary in all civil proceedings.
    5. Reservation of Authority. A. The submission of reports and 
recommendations to the President and the Congress concerning the 
administration of statutory or administrative provisions is reserved to 
the Secretary.
    B. This Secretary's Order does not affect the authorities and 
responsibilities of the Office of Inspector General under the Inspector 
General Act of 1978, as amended, or under Secretary's Order 2-90 
(January 31, 1990).
    6. Effective Date. This Order is effective immediately.

    Dated: September 10, 2004.
Elaine L. Chao,
Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 04-20843 Filed 9-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-P