[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34696-34697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15681]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Information Advisory Council

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of Renewal of the Workforce Information Advisory 
Council.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department) announces the renewal of 
the Workforce Information Advisory Council (WIAC) charter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Rietzke, Division of National 
Programs, Tools, and Technical Assistance, Office of Workforce 
Investment, Rm. C-4510, 200 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 
20212-0001; (202) 693-3912; 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 and maintain the WIAC.
    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-

[[Page 34697]]

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 ``solicit, 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 14 representative 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. 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.

    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.

Byron Zuidema,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2017-15681 Filed 7-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P