[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 239 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64161-64162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26928]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Workforce Information Advisory Council

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Request for nominations for membership on the Workforce 
Information Advisory Council.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor invites interested parties to submit 
nominations for individuals to serve on the Workforce Information 
Advisory Council (WIAC) and announces the procedures for those 
nominations. From the nominations received, the Department will fill 
all 14 slots on the Council. Information regarding the WIAC can be 
found at https://www.doleta.gov/wioa/wiac/.

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 February 11, 2019.

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., EST, 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: Steve Rietzke, Division of National 
Programs, Tools, and Technical Assistance, Office of Workforce 
Investment (address above); by telephone at (202) 693-3912 (this is not 
toll-free numbers) or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 a 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-Peyser Act, and of the statewide systems that comprise the 
nationwide system, and (2) how the Department of Labor 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 two-year plan for 
management of the labor market information system. 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 in writing to the Council. 
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.
    Pertinent information about the WIAC, including recommendations, 
reports, background information, agendas, and meeting minutes, can be

[[Page 64162]]

accessed at the WIAC's website located at https://www.doleta.gov/wioa/wiac/.
    The Wagner-Peyser Act, at section 15(d)(2)(B), requires the WIAC to 
have 14 members, appointed by the Secretary, consisting of:
    (1) 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 of Labor), who 
have been nominated by such agencies or by a national organization that 
represents such agencies;
    (2) 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;
    (3) One member who is a representative of providers of training 
services under WIOA section 122 (Identification of Eligible Providers 
of Training Services);
    (4) One member who is a representative of economic development 
entities;
    (5) One member who is a representative of businesses, who has been 
nominated by national business organizations or trade associations;
    (6) One member who is a representative of labor organizations, who 
has been nominated by a national labor federation;
    (7) One member who is a representative of local workforce 
development boards, who has been nominated by a national organization 
representing such boards; and
    (8) 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 
(1), (2), and (7), above, represent the same State. Each member will be 
appointed for a term that may be 2 or 3 years in order to establish a 
rotation of the members. The Secretary will not appoint a member for 
any more than two consecutive terms, which allows all current WIAC 
members to be re-nominated if they still meet all of the other 
membership requirements.
    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 Council 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.
    The WIAC is a permanent advisory council and, as such, is not 
governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act's (FACA) Section 14, on 
termination of advisory committees. In other respects, however, WIAC 
membership will be consistent with the FACA requirement that membership 
be ``fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the 
functions to be performed'' (5 U.S.C. App. 5(b)(2)), as specified in 
Wagner-Peyser section 15(2)(B) & (C), and the requirement that members 
come from ``a cross-section of those directly affected, interested, and 
qualified, as appropriate to the nature and functions'' of the WIAC (41 
CFR 102-3.60(b)(3)). Under the FACA regulation, the composition of the 
WIAC will, therefore, depend upon several factors, including: (i) The 
WIAC's mission; (ii) the geographic, ethnic, social, economic, or 
scientific impact of the WIAC's recommendations; (iii) the types of 
specific perspectives required; (iv) the need to obtain divergent 
points of view on the issues before the WIAC, such as those of 
consumers, technical experts, the public at large, academia, business, 
or other sectors; and (v) the relevance of State, local, or tribal 
governments to the development of the WIAC's recommendations (41 CFR 
102-3, Subpart B, Appendix A.).
    To the extent permitted by FACA and other applicable laws, WIAC 
membership should also be consistent with achieving the greatest 
impact, scope, and credibility among diverse stakeholders. The 
diversity in such membership includes, but is not limited to, race, 
gender, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
    Nominations Process: During the nominations period, 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 resume or curriculum vitae;
     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 of Labor 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 the nomination is being 
made in response to this Federal Register Notice and the nominee (if 
nominating someone other than oneself) has agreed to be nominated and 
is willing to serve on the WIAC. Nominees will be appointed based on 
their qualifications, professional experience, and demonstrated 
knowledge of issues related to the purpose and scope of the WIAC, as 
well as diversity considerations. The Department will publish a list of 
the new WIAC members on the WIAC's website at https://www.doleta.gov/wioa/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.

Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-26928 Filed 12-12-18; 8:45 am]
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