[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65715-65716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-26587]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submissions for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; H-2A Foreign Labor Certification Program; 
Labor Certification Letter for H-2A Agricultural Foreign Workers, H-2B 
Foreign Labor Certification Program; and Application for Prevailing 
Wage Determination

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting four related 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored information 
collection requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
for review and approval for use in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). The ICR titles 
are H-2A Foreign Labor Certification Program, Labor Certification 
Letter for H-2A Agricultural Foreign Workers, H-2B Foreign Labor 
Certification Program, and Application for Prevailing Wage 
Determination.

DATES: Submit comments on or before November 29, 2012.

ADDRESSES: A copy of these ICRs with applicable supporting 
documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, 
proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be 
obtained from the RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, on the day following publication of this notice or by 
contacting Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-4129 (this is not a 
toll-free number) or sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about these requests to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-ETA, Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 
20503, Fax: 202-395-6881 (this is not a toll-free number), email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michel Smyth by telephone at 202-693-
4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

    Authority:  44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 
requires the Secretary of Labor to certify, among other things, that 
any foreign worker seeking to enter the United States (U.S.) to perform 
certain skilled or unskilled labor will not, by doing so, adversely 
affect wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. 
The Secretary must also certify that there are not sufficient U.S. 
workers able, willing, and qualified to perform such skilled or 
unskilled labor. Before any employer may petition for any temporary 
skilled or unskilled foreign workers, it must submit a request for 
certification to the Secretary containing the elements prescribed by 
the INA and regulations. See 8 U.S.C. 1011(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a), 
1011(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 1184(c), and 1188 and 8 CFR 214.2(h).
    The DOL currently obtains OMB approval for the subject information 
collections under Control Numbers 1205-0466, Foreign Labor 
Certification Instruments, and 1205-0404, Labor Certification Letter 
for H-2A Agricultural Foreign Workers. In order to improve internal 
administration of the information collection requirements, the DOL is 
taking this opportunity to rename OMB Control Number 1205-0466 and to 
separate out the three different sets of information collection 
requirements under three unique Control Numbers. While the Department 
believes it must now submit the information collections approved under 
Control Number 1205-0404 and 1205-0466 as separate ICRs, in order to 
maintain OMB clearance for the existing requirements, the DOL intends 
to merge the ICRs via a non-material change request to the 1205-0466 
ICR. Such a request would be made upon receiving OMB approval of the 
current actions and would not change the information collection 
requirements in any way; the DOL would simultaneously seek to 
discontinue Control Number 1205-0404.
    The first of current actions being submitted for OMB approval is 
revised Control Number 1205-0466 that will contain Form ETA-9142A, H-2A 
Application for Temporary Employment Certification and Appendix A; and 
most regulatory information collection requirements applicable to the 
H-2A program. The H-2A program enables employers to bring nonimmigrant 
foreign workers to the U.S. to perform agricultural work of a temporary 
or seasonal nature as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a). 
Information obtained on Form ETA-9142A provides the basis for the 
Secretary's determination whether no U.S. workers are available. Form 
ETA-9142A, collects information to permit the Department to meet its 
statutory responsibilities for administering the H-2A temporary labor 
certification program.
    The second current ICR being submitted for OMB approval is Control 
Number 1205-0404, which specifically has to do with the notification 
requirements of the 50 percent rule in the H-2A program and is being 
submitted without changes. Regulations 20 CFR 655.135(d) stipulates 
that an employer must continue to provide employment to any qualified 
and eligible U.S. worker who applies to the employer until 50 percent 
of the work contract period, under which the foreign worker is in the 
job, has elapsed. The notification required under the regulations at 20 
CFR 655.135(c) is written by the employer and sent to the applicable 
State Workforce Agency (SWA), if the foreign worker begins traveling to 
the employer's place of work any time after the three days prior to the 
first date of need specified in the work contract. The SWA uses the 
information to calculate the end of the 50 percent rule referral 
requirements. The regulations also specify other notifications the 
employer must make (e.g., remind the worker of the requirement to leave 
the U.S. at the end of the certified period for work or upon separation 
from the employer, unless the worker is being sponsored by a subsequent 
employer; and informing the DOL of H-2A workers who have abandoned 
their jobs or been terminated). The ETA uses Form ETA-9144 to inform 
employers of these obligations.
    The first new ICR the DOL is currently submitting has been issued 
ICR Reference Number 201210-1205-001, H-2B Foreign Labor Certification 
Program. This new ICR will contain forms and most regulatory 
information collection requirements applicable to the H-2B program. 
Specifically, it will contain Form ETA 9142B, H-2B Application for 
Temporary Employment Certification and Appendix B.
    The second new ICR the DOL is submitting has been assigned ICR 
Reference Number 201210-1205-002, Application for Prevailing Wage 
Determination, will contain Form ETA-

[[Page 65716]]

9141, Application for Prevailing Wage Determination. That form is 
applicable to the H-2B, H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM programs.
    On April 8, 2012, the OMB approved changes to the information 
collected under Control Number 1205-0466, in accordance with the 2012 
H-2B final rule published on February 21, 2012 (77 FR 10038). On April 
27, 2012, the DOL received from the OMB a six-month approval to revert 
to the old information collection requirements. The approval allowed 
the ETA to comply with a Federal Court for the Northern District of 
Florida, Pensacola Division, injunction preventing the DOL from 
implementing the 2012 H-2B Final Rule. (Bayou Lawn & Landscape 
Services, et al. v. Hilda L. Solis, et al., 12-cv-00183-RV-CJK.). With 
minor format changes (e.g., form names), these ICRs maintain the 
existing requirements.
    The information collections covered in this notice are subject to 
the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a 
collection of information, and the public is generally not required to 
respond to an information collection, unless it is approved by the OMB 
under the PRA and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In 
addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall 
generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection 
of information if the collection of information does not display a 
valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The current 
approval for both existing Control Numbers is scheduled to expire on 
October 31, 2012; however, it should be noted that existing information 
collections submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension 
while they undergo review. Changes only take effect upon OMB 
authorization. For additional information, see the related notice 
published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2012 (77 FR 49025).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should mention the applicable OMB Control 
Number or ICR Reference Number as shown in the information collection 
listing at the end of this notice. The OMB is particularly interested 
in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    The ICRs are summarized as follows:
    Agency: DOL-ETA.
    Title of Collection: Labor Certification Letter for H-2A 
Agricultural Foreign Workers.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0404.
    ICR Type: Extension without changes of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits, 
farms, and not-for-profit institutions.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 361.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 361.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 90.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.
    Title of Collection: H-2A Foreign Labor Certification Program.
    OMB Control Number: 1205-0466.
    ICR Type: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits, 
farms, and not-for-profit institutions.

    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 7,218.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 147,856.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 44,084.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $1,529,370.
    Title of Collection: H-2B Foreign Labor Certification Program.
    ICR Reference Number: 201210-1205-001.
    ICR Type: Request for new OMB Control Number.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits, 
farms, and not-for-profit institutions.

    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 5,387.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 32,686.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 15,333.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: 0.
    Title of Collection: Application for Prevailing Wage Determination.
    ICR Reference Number: 201210-1205-002.
    ICR Type: Request for new OMB Control Number.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--businesses or other for-profits, 
farms, and not-for-profit institutions.

    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 461,177.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 890,501.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 398,833.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $29,776,872.

    Dated: October 24, 2012.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-26587 Filed 10-29-12; 8:45 am]
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