[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 152 (Friday, August 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47525-47526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19385]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Information Advisory Council

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Establishment of the Workforce Information Advisory 
Council and Solicitation of Nominations for Membership.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department) announces the 
establishment of the Workforce Information Advisory Council (WIAC), 
invites interested parties to submit nominations for individuals to 
serve on the WIAC, and announces the procedures for those nominations.

DATES: Nominations for individuals to serve on the WIAC must be 
submitted (postmarked, if sending by mail; submitted electronically; or 
received, if hand delivered) by October 6, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit nominations and supporting materials 
described in this Federal Register Notice by any one of the following 
methods:
    Electronically: Submit nominations, including attachments, by email 
using the following address: [email protected] (use subject line 
``Nomination--Workforce Information Advisory Council'').
    Mail, express delivery, hand delivery, messenger, or courier 
service: Submit one copy of the nominations and supporting materials to 
the following address: Workforce Information Advisory Council 
Nominations, Office of Workforce Investment, U.S. Department of Labor, 
200 Constitution Ave. NW., Room C-4526, Washington, DC 20210. 
Deliveries by hand, express mail, messenger, and courier service are 
accepted by the Office of Workforce Investment during the hours of 9:00 
a.m.-5:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday. Due to 
security-related procedures, submissions by regular mail may experience 
significant delays.
    Facsimile: The Department will not accept nominations submitted by 
fax.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kimberly Vitelli, Division of National 
Programs, Tools, and Technical Assistance, Office of Workforce 
Investment (address above); (202) 693-3045; or use email address for 
the WIAC, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background and Authority

    Section 15 of the Wagner-Peyser Act, 29 U.S.C. 49l-2, as amended by 
section 308 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 
(WIOA), Public Law #113-128 requires the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) 
to establish the WIAC.

[[Page 47526]]

    The statute, as amended, requires the Secretary, acting through the 
Commissioner of Labor Statistics and the Assistant Secretary for 
Employment and Training, to formally consult at least twice annually 
with the WIAC to address: (1) Evaluation and improvement of the 
nationwide workforce and labor market information system established by 
the Wagner-Peyser Act, and of the statewide systems that comprise the 
nationwide system, and (2) how the Department and the States will 
cooperate in the management of those systems. The Secretary, acting 
through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Employment and 
Training Administration (ETA), and in consultation with the WIAC and 
appropriate Federal agencies, must also develop a 2-year plan for 
management of the system, with subsequent updates every two years 
thereafter. The statute generally prescribes how the plan is to be 
developed and implemented, outlines the contents of the plan, and 
requires the Secretary to submit the plan to designated authorizing 
committees in the House and Senate.
    By law, the Secretary must ``seek, review, and evaluate'' 
recommendations from the WIAC, and respond to the recommendations in 
writing to the WIAC. The WIAC must make written recommendations to the 
Secretary on the evaluation and improvement of the workforce and labor 
market information system, including recommendations for the 2-year 
plan. The 2-year plan, in turn, must describe WIAC recommendations and 
the extent to which the plan incorporates them.
    The Department anticipates that the WIAC will accomplish its 
objectives by, for example: (1) Studying workforce and labor market 
information issues; (2) seeking and sharing information on innovative 
approaches, new technologies, and data to inform employment, skills 
training, and workforce and economic development decision making and 
policy; and (3) advising the Secretary on how the workforce and labor 
market information system can best support workforce development, 
planning, and program development.

II. Structure

    The Wagner-Peyser Act at section 15(d)(2)(B), requires the WIAC to 
have representative 14 members, appointed by the Secretary, consisting 
of:
    (i) Four members who are representatives of lead State agencies 
with responsibility for workforce investment activities, or State 
agencies described in Wagner-Peyser Act section 4 (agency designated or 
authorized by Governor to cooperate with the Secretary), who have been 
nominated by such agencies or by a national organization that 
represents such agencies;
    (ii) Four members who are representatives of the State workforce 
and labor market information directors affiliated with the State 
agencies responsible for the management and oversight of the workforce 
and labor market information system as described in Wagner-Peyser Act 
section 15(e)(2), who have been nominated by the directors;
    (iii) One member who is a representative of providers of training 
services under WIOA section 122 (Identification of Eligible Providers 
of Training Services);
    (iv) One member who is a representative of economic development 
entities;
    (v) One member who is a representative of businesses, who has been 
nominated by national business organizations or trade associations;
    (vi) One member who is a representative of labor organizations, who 
has been nominated by a national labor federation;
    (vii) One member who is a representative of local workforce 
development boards, who has been nominated by a national organization 
representing such boards; and
    (viii) One member who is a representative of research entities that 
use workforce and labor market information.
    The Secretary must ensure that the membership of the WIAC is 
geographically diverse, and that no two members appointed under clauses 
(i), (ii), and (vii), above, represent the same State. Each member will 
be appointed for a term of three years, except that the initial terms 
for members may be one, two, or three years in order to establish a 
rotation in which one-third of the members are selected each year. The 
Secretary will not appoint a member for any more than two consecutive 
terms. Any member whom the Secretary appoints to fill a vacancy 
occurring before the expiration of the predecessor's term will be 
appointed only for the remainder of that term. Members of the WIAC will 
serve on a voluntary and generally uncompensated basis, but will be 
reimbursed for travel expenses to attend WIAC meetings, including per 
diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by the Federal travel 
regulations.

III. Nominations Process

    Of the seven types of members listed above and at section 15(d)(2), 
the Secretary may consider all nominations for three types, but for the 
other four, the Secretary may only appoint individuals nominated by 
particular organizations. Type (i) requires nomination from ``lead 
State agencies with responsibility for workforce investment 
activities'' and type (ii) requires nomination from ``State workforce 
and labor market information directors.'' Type (v) requires nomination 
by national business organizations or trade associations and type (vi) 
requires nomination by a national labor federation. But for types 
(iii), (iv), and (vii), any interested person or organization may 
nominate one or more qualified individuals for membership. If you would 
like to nominate an individual or yourself for appointment to the WIAC, 
please submit, to one of the addresses listed below, the following 
information:
     A copy of the nominee's biographical information and 
resume;
     A cover letter that provides your reason(s) for nominating 
the individual, the constituency area that they represent (as outlined 
above in the WIAC membership identification discussion), and their 
particular expertise for contributing to the national policy discussion 
on: (1) The evaluation and improvement of the nationwide workforce and 
labor market information system and statewide systems that comprise the 
nationwide system, and (2) how the Department and the States will 
cooperate in the management of those systems, including programs that 
produce employment-related statistics and State and local workforce and 
labor market information; and
     Contact information for the nominee (name, title, business 
address, business phone, fax number, and business email address).
    In addition, the cover letter must state that the nomination is 
being made in response to this Federal Register Notice and that the 
nominee (if nominating someone other than oneself) has agreed to be 
nominated and is willing to serve on the WIAC.

    Authority:  Pursuant to the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, as 
amended, 29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.; Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 
Act, Pub. L. 113-128; Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 5 
U.S.C. App.

Portia Wu,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-19385 Filed 8-6-15; 8:45 am]
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