[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 44 (Monday, March 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10505-10507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4743]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Office of Apprenticeship, Notice of Town Hall Meeting on Federal 
Regulations for Equal Employment Opportunity in Apprenticeship and 
Training

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of town hall meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Office of 
Apprenticeship (OA), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), is giving notice 
of three town hall meetings and one on-line webinar to allow interested 
individuals an opportunity to provide feedback on and suggestions for 
revising the current regulations for Equal Employment and Opportunity 
in Apprenticeship and Training codified at

[[Page 10506]]

Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 30.
    Notice of intention to attend the stakeholder meeting: OA requests 
that you submit a notice of intention to attend (i.e., to participate 
or observe) the stakeholder meetings no later than three business days 
prior to the meeting date.

DATES: The town hall meetings will be held on:

1. March 18, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Washington, DC;
2. March 23, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Oakland, California;
3. March 25, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Chicago, Illinois; and
4. April 7, 2010, 2 to 3 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, via an on-line 
webinar.

ADDRESSES: The town hall meeting locations are:

1. March 18, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., The Washington Court Hotel, 525 
New Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20001;
2. March 23, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., The James Irvine Conference 
Center, Plaza A, 353 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, California 94612;
3. March 25, 2010, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., University Center, 525 S. State 
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60605; and
4. April 7, 2010, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Eastern Standard Time for webinar 
hosted on the DOL ETA Web site at: http://www.workforce3one.org.
    Submit notice of intention to attend or present an oral statement 
at a town hall meeting to Carol Johnson, Coffey Consulting, LLC, at 
301-907-0900, or by e-mail to [email protected]. Written 
statements may be sent to the Employment and Training Administration, 
Office of Apprenticeship, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N5311, 
Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Mr. John V. Ladd, or on-line at 
www.regulations.gov. For detailed requirements related to these 
submissions, see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John Ladd, Administrator, Office 
of Apprenticeship, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room N-5311, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone: (202) 693-2796, (this is not a toll-
free number); and e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 
authorizes the U.S. Department of Labor to formulate and promote the 
furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of 
apprentices. 29 U.S.C. 50. The responsibility for formulating and 
promoting these labor standards lies with OA. As part of its duties, OA 
registers apprenticeship programs that meet certain minimum labor 
standards. Those standards, set forth at 29 CFR parts 29 and 30, are 
intended to provide for more uniform training of apprentices and to 
promote equal opportunity. In October 2008, OA published newly amended 
part 29 regulations, which set forth labor standards to safeguard the 
welfare of apprentices by prescribing policies and procedures 
concerning (1) the registration, cancellation, and deregistration of 
apprenticeship programs and agreements; (2) the recognition of State 
Apprenticeship Agencies; and (3) matters relating thereto (73 FR 64402, 
Oct. 29, 2008). These regulations can be accessed on OA's Web site at 
http://www.doleta.gov/oa/pdf/FinalRule29CFRPart29.pdf.
    DOL is now in the process of drafting a Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking (NPRM) to update and strengthen the equal employment 
opportunity (EEO) requirements under the part 30 regulations, which 
were last amended in 1978, and to ensure that the regulations align 
with the recent revisions to the part 29 regulations, as announced in 
the Department's Semiannual Agenda Of Regulations (74 FR 4, Dec. 7, 
2009). The current EEO requirements under the part 30 regulations can 
be accessed on the Department's Web site at http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/Title_29/Part_30/toc.htm
    As part of the rulemaking process, OA will be reviewing barriers to 
equal opportunity in registered apprenticeship programs and will be 
looking at ways to ensure that all individuals, including women and 
minorities, have equal opportunities in registered apprenticeship 
programs. Revisions to the equal opportunity regulatory framework for 
the National Apprenticeship Act are a critical element in the 
Department's vision to promote and expand registered apprenticeship 
opportunities in the 21st century while continuing to safeguard the 
welfare and safety of apprentices.
    The purpose of the upcoming town hall meetings is to listen to 
stakeholders' concerns and ideas about the part 30 regulations and to 
explain how stakeholders can participate in the impending official 
rulemaking process.
    To help inform the development of the NPRM, DOL is interested in 
receiving feedback from stakeholders on the effectiveness of the 
current apprenticeship EEO regulations and suggestions and 
recommendations for revising the regulations. DOL is particularly 
interested in the following:
     Sponsors' employment practices that have been particularly 
effective in recruiting women and minorities for registered 
apprenticeship programs, such as through pre-apprenticeship programs 
and partnerships with vocational schools;
     Effective outreach and recruitment strategies to notify 
the public about registered apprenticeship opportunities;
     Sponsors' employment practices, such as mentoring and 
support groups, that have been particularly effective strategies in 
retaining women and minorities in registered apprenticeship programs;
     The methods sponsors use for selecting registered 
apprentices; and
     Sponsors' experiences with the use of private review 
bodies for receiving and processing complaints.
    Each attendee is welcome to offer feedback and suggestions, but 
meeting participants are not expected to prepare and present formal 
testimony. Participants presenting oral statements will be heard in the 
order in which they sign up on-site on the day of the town hall 
meeting.

Public Participation

    All interested parties are invited to attend the town hall 
meetings. For the March 18, March 23, and March 25 meetings, DOL 
requests that you submit no later than three business days prior, a 
notice of intention to attend if you wish to participate or observe a 
town hall meeting. You may submit your intention to attend the town 
hall meetings to Carol Johnson, Coffey Consulting, LLC: (1) 
Electronically via e-mail to [email protected]; (2) by 
facsimile to (301) 907-2925 (this is not a toll-free number); or (3) by 
telephone to (301) 907-0900 (this is not a toll-free number).
    Notices of intention to attend the town hall meetings should 
include the following information:
     Name and contact information;
     Affiliation (organization, association, if any);
     Whether you wish to be an active participant or observer; 
and
     Whether you need any special accommodations in order to 
attend or participate in the town hall meeting.
    Members of the public wishing to make statements with their 
feedback on and suggestions for revising the current regulations should 
limit oral statements to five minutes at the town hall meetings. 
Members of the public wishing to present an oral statement at

[[Page 10507]]

a town hall meeting should forward their requests as soon as possible 
but no later than March 15, 2010, for the Washington, DC meeting, March 
19, 2010, for the Oakland meeting, and March 22, 2010, for the Chicago 
meeting. Individual requests may be made by telephone to Carol Johnson, 
Coffey Consulting, LLC, at 301-907-0900, or by e-mail to 
[email protected].
    Reasonable accommodations will be available for the town hall 
meetings. Persons needing any special assistance such as sign language 
interpretation, or other special accommodation, are invited to contact 
Carol Johnson of Coffey Consulting, LLC, at 301-907-0900, or by e-mail 
to [email protected].
    Members of the public wishing to participate in the on-line webinar 
must register for this session through the DOL ETA sponsored Web site 
at: http://www.workforce3one.org. Registration for this webinar is 
required prior to the event, and the capacity will be limited to the 
first 100 registrants. Staff and members of organizations are 
encouraged to register and participate as a single registrant.
    Members of the public may also submit written statements without 
presenting oral statements. Individuals may submit written feedback on 
and suggestions for revising the current regulations to the Employment 
and Training Administration, Office of Apprenticeship, 200 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Room N5311, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: Mr. John V. 
Ladd, or on-line at www.regulations.gov. In order to submit your 
comments via www.regulations.gov, use the Docket Identification Number 
``ETA-2010-0001'' and follow the Web site instructions for submitting 
comments. Please be advised that the Department will make the comments 
it receives available to the public without making any change to the 
comments, or redacting any information. Therefore, the Department 
recommends that submitters safeguard any personal information such as 
Social Security Numbers, personal addresses, telephone numbers, and e-
mail addresses included in their comments as such information may 
become easily available to the public. To ensure consideration, written 
comments must be must be received on or before April 16, 2010.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 2nd day of March 2010.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-4743 Filed 3-5-10; 8:45 am]
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