[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 190 (Friday, October 2, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50929-50930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-23806]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

20 CFR Part 655

Wage and Hour Division

29 CFR Parts 501, 780, and 788

RIN 1205-AB55


Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United 
States; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Wage and Hour Division, 
Employment Standards Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: 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.

DATES: The comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking 
published September 4, 2009 (74 FR 45906) is extended through October 
20, 2009. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
the proposed rule on or before October 20, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Regulatory 
Information Number (RIN) 1205-AB55, by any one of the following 
methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the Web site instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Please submit all written comments (including disk 
and CD-ROM submissions) to Thomas Dowd, Administrator, Office of Policy 
Development and Research, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of

[[Page 50930]]

Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5641, Washington, DC 20210.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Please submit all comments to 
Thomas Dowd, Administrator, Office of Policy Development and Research, 
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5641, Washington, DC 20210.
    Please submit your comments by only one method. The Department will 
post all comments received on http://www.regulations.gov without making 
any change to the comments, including any personal information 
provided. The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is the Federal e-
rulemaking portal and all comments posted there are available and 
accessible to the public. The Department cautions commenters not to 
include their personal information such as Social Security Numbers, 
personal addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses in their 
comments as such submitted information will become viewable by the 
public via the http://www.regulations.gov Web site. It is the 
responsibility of the commenter to safeguard his or her information. 
Comments submitted through http://www.regulations.gov will not include 
the commenter's e-mail address unless the commenter chooses to include 
that information as part of his or her comment.
    Postal delivery in Washington, DC, may be delayed due to security 
concerns. Therefore, the Department encourages the public to submit 
comments via the Web site indicated above.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. The Department will also make all the comments it 
receives available for public inspection during normal business hours 
at the ETA Office of Policy Development and Research at the above 
address. If you need assistance to review the comments, the Department 
will provide you with appropriate aids such as readers or print 
magnifiers. The Department will make copies of the rule available, upon 
request, in large print and as electronic file on computer disk. The 
Department will consider providing the proposed rule in other formats 
upon request. To schedule an appointment to review the comments and/or 
obtain the rule in an alternate format, contact the Office of Policy 
Development and Research at (202) 693-3700 (VOICE) (this is not a toll-
free number) or 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information regarding 20 
CFR part 655, contact William L. Carlson, PhD, Office of Foreign Labor 
Certification, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department 
of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-5641, Washington, DC 
20210; Telephone (202) 693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number). 
Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone 
number above via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.
    For further information regarding 29 CFR parts 501, 780 and 788, 
contact James Kessler, Farm Labor Branch Chief, Wage and Hour Division, 
Employment Standards Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Room S-3510, Washington, DC 20210; Telephone 
(202) 693-0070 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals with 
hearing or speech impairments may access the telephone number above via 
TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 4, 2009, the Employment and 
Training Administration and the Employment Standards Administration of 
the Department of Labor issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking rule to 
amend 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. 74 FR 45906, 
Sept. 4, 2009. The proposed rule provided a comment period through 
October 5, 2009. The agencies have received several requests to extend 
the comment period and have decided to extend the comment period to 
October 20, 2009. Given the complexity of the proposed rule and the 
level of interest, as well as The Department's interest in receiving 
comments, the comment period is being extended until October 20, 2009.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 29th day of September 2009.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
Shelby Hallmark,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Employment Standards Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-23806 Filed 9-30-09; 11:15 am]
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